Video Title: SPECIAL EDITION SPANISH Interview With Director F. Javier Gutiérrez about his film, Rings
Video Duration: 4:27
Javier: We’re here with Javier Gutierrez, Director of the most recent chapter in the Rings films.
Judith: When the opportunity presented itself to direct this film, was there a moment of contemplation or was it an instant [decision].
Javier: No. Truthfully, it appealed to me being a huge fan of the originals… of Gore Verbinski’s Rings and Koji Suzuki’s Ringu, the Japanese one. I thought that if I wanted to do something within the genre that I would have the opportunity to play with what Samara gives you…the psychology, the classic monster that she is, that background, that powerful history…it was very enticing the idea of it.
Judith: Yes, yes, because it’s already rich…a fullness, also, but a new layer in this chapter. There’s the technology on a very basic level, but with that opens a completely different door… the technology, the morality, the parallels with our society today. And, we see it with Julia and the change in her.
Javier: Yes, yes. It’s a film that really…I like films with a psychological aspect, and a moral decision or choice of need, and this film bases itself on a decision that Julia makes in the beginning. And, I think that in that sense well the film explores that psychology a bit. As with my previous movie, Before the Fall, the character had a series of options, and in the end takes the right path. In this movie Julia chooses the right path and for the genre that we’re dealing with it takes a bit of a different turn.
Judith: Yes, and it also opens the door for another chapter with an entirely new layer, also, and regardless of whether the opportunity exists, yet, is there any interest there to continue with the story that’s there?
Javier: Yes, I think that in this film we tried to do two things. We had it…the team was very, very clear on what we were going to do. On the one hand, give the fans a little more of a backstory about Samara & how she comes to be. On the other hand, make use to a certain degree the technology, which is something that can be built upon indefinitely. In this film, we were to a certain extent conservative, but in reality we can achieve so much more. I think it’s a bit that we’ve tried to clarify a little more regarding Samara, and to widen our scope.
Judith: Yes, and speaking of the technology, using and leveraging that to help with the psychology…in the beginning, it appears to be or that it will be a horror flick like any other, but the intrigue, the suspense, the anxiety keeps mounting in scene after scene how they’re constructed visually and that psychological aspect.
Javier: Yes, I like to play with a lot with the suspense...well, and more than the suspense and the darkness and the beasts soul…and, well, I like a good scare in a movie, but I like to play with the psychology, and play with and squeeze the audience some. It also offered me a very good opportunity to play with it in this sense because the cards are revealed as the story goes further and I can play with the suspense that it generates…the framework of the characters and how Julia gets pushed to the end.
Judith: Well, thank you very much for taking the time to speak with us.
Javier: Sure thing. C’mon.
