Lars Von Trier has forged a career from taking the unexpected, and giving it a ruddy good shake before turning it into a masterpiece. As a filmmaker operating on the border between North American cinema and the Rest Of The World, he’s always guaranteed to surprise both audiences. He’s showing no sign of conforming, either, and even better, he’s branching out into unchartered Von Trier territory! For his follow-up to the two-part sex epic, Nymphomaniac, he’s planning a horror flick based in and tentatively called, Detroit.
The word comes from Indiewire, who got the scoop during an interview with Danish director Kristian Levring. Levring, who served as script supervisor on Von Trier’s Antichrist, sounded excited at the prospect:
“I’ve always thought that Lars would be able to do a fantastic horror movie. And I’ve told him so many times throughout the years, and in the end he said: ‘I want you to stop talking about it, so I’ll write it for you instead.’ “
Goes to show that a bit of peer pressure goes a long way. The pair are now working on the film, with Von Trier having already begun scribbling – albeit an early first draft. As expected, there’s not a lot more known of the project, but Levring did reveal what he knew so far:
“It takes place in Detroit, and then there is the wordplay between Detroit and ‘destroyed.’ It’s about a man fighting his inner demons. That doesn’t tell that much, but that’s because we haven’t gotten any further so far.” He went on to affirm the film’s main proponent, just in case it was unclear, “…it’s real horror. Of course, there is a psychological aspect, but it’s a real horror movie. That’s what we’re aiming for, at least.”
The prospect of Von Trier debilitating a cast in a bona fide horror movie is incredibly exciting. Judging by the methods employed for his previous efforts, there’s no subject he won’t touch, exploit and embarrass.
Well, we’re pretty happy about the news of Detroit. What about you?
