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The Conjuring director’s Malaysian ghost stories

SAN FRANCISCO — It is, in some gloriously perverted way, a proud admission to say that James Wan, the “grandfather of torture porn” (his words, not ours) was born from our loins. And by “our loins”, I mean across the Causeway. Okay, way across. In Sarawak, specifically.

Director James Wan directs Vera Farmiga on the set of The Conjuring.

Director James Wan directs Vera Farmiga on the set of The Conjuring.

SAN FRANCISCO — It is, in some gloriously perverted way, a proud admission to say that James Wan, the “grandfather of torture porn” (his words, not ours) was born from our loins. And by “our loins”, I mean across the Causeway. Okay, way across. In Sarawak, specifically.

But, hey, when it comes to things we in the region really love — chilli crab, bak kut teh and scary movies — it is worth the over-reaching claim.

This is, after all, the guy who, thanks to the Saw movie series (he directed the first one and was executive director of Saw II, III and IV), has been responsible for more missing body parts than the digital imaging department at those fashion mags.

“I am extremely squeamish. I know you guys will have a hard time believing that since I’m the grandfather of torture porn, but I’m extremely squeamish about gore and blood and guts and stuff like that,” he said. “So when I watch a movie that I did not make, I have to look away.”

The 36-year-old Wan moved to Australia at a young age, and has since made a name for himself in Hollywood not just with the Saw franchise, but also with the 2010 sleeper hit Insidious (its sequel hits screens in September).

He is, with his latest — and best — scary movie, The Conjuring, the reigning king of terror. The film opened huge in the United States with US$41.9 million (S$53.1 million) and crossed the US$100-million mark in just two weeks. Not too shabby for a little US$20-million haunted house flick.

The Conjuring, which stars Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Lily Taylor and Ron Livingston, tells the apparently true story of what happens when the Perron family moved into an old farmhouse to get away from city life.

The reason for the movie’s phenomenal success is simply that is it the scariest thing to hit cinemas in a long time.

“Growing up in Malaysia, when I was much younger, my aunties and uncles and grandparents would tell me ghost stories and I loved that. I can’t help but be fascinated by that world. As I got older, I thought, ‘Hey, I want to make scary movies and scare other people as well’. It’s fun!” said Wan.

“When I was growing up, my mum used to work in a hospital in Malaysia, and she would tell me these stories (about what happened) in the hospitals she worked at, and in some ways I’ve put them into Insidious, I’ve put them into The Conjuring. In a lot of ways, the stories that I’ve heard have found their way into my films.”

It’s almost a pity, then, that he’s looking to abdicate his horror throne for fast cars and Vin Diesel. Wan is going to step into the driver’s seat of the next Fast & Furious film.

“The Conjuring and Insidious 2 are my last (horror films),” said Wan. “I’ve been waiting a long time to get out of the horror genre. I’m a big fan of action, sci-fi, blockbuster-type films. That’s what I grew up loving. That’s what I always wanted to do — to come to Hollywood and make these blockbuster films. It just so happens that my independent world has been so successful that it’s actually been a bit tricky for me to break out. Luckily all the stars have lined up and I’m getting the chance to do Fast & Furious.”

That also means his mother will have to wait a little longer to show her famous son off to the folk back home. “I haven’t visited Malaysia in a long time, and I really want to. My mum and I were talking and she was hoping that after I finished Insidious 2, I could go back and visit my family, and go eat the food. I miss the food so much. But in the middle of Insidious, (Fast 7) came along, and that’s gonna keep me working for a long time,” he said.

“I want to go to Singapore, as well. I love the food in Singapore. Singapore has better nightlife!” he added. “Singapore is cool.”

Hear that, Sarawak? We’re taking him.

***

Q: Are you superstitious? And were you scared that “something” might follow you back home after the making a film about a real-life haunting?

A: Yes, I am somewhat superstitious. (Laughs) I try not to walk under a ladder if I can help it — that kind of stuff. Believe it or not, I’m really kind of scared of things in general. I don’t want to tempt fate.

Q: But you did the movie anyway!

A: (Laughs) I did the movie because I love the story of the Warrens. And the chance to scare the crap out of people. I love that.

Q: What makes a film creepy for you?

A: It’s just the overall atmosphere. It’s a tricky one because you can’t … Not everyone knows how to create atmosphere. Just that sense, that palpable sense of dread. It just underlines it. It’s not quite tangible … People ask me what’s my formula for these films. I don’t have a formula. I just go by my instinct. I can’t really explain what my instinct is — I just inherently know what creeps me out. I use myself as a gauge.

One of the things that always creeps me out is the idea that if I wake up in the middle of the night, you open your eyes, you’re waiting for your eyes to adjust … and you think you see someone standing by the foot of your bed watching you sleep? That’s frightening to me! (Laughs) So I just think of all the things that scare me and I put them in my films.

Q: You made the decision to shoot most of the film in chronological order.

A: It’s not easy. It’s a logistic nightmare for my assistant director. His job is to schedule the whole movie. And it’s so much easier to shoot them out of order. For example, if we were to shoot a scene in this room, we’d light the room, we’d put the actors in here, we’d shoot all the scenes (in the movie) that take place in this room, then you’d move on to another location. It’s hard to go away and come back to it again.

But because the characters in the film go through such an emotional journey, such a big arc, they change so much, I didn’t want to shoot a really big, heavy scene and then go back and make them happy. Or have to get my actors to a place where they have to be so dark and they don’t quite know what they’ve been through to get there. By doing it in order as much as I could, they could see the development of their characters. And it really helps the actors a lot. And it makes it easier for me to gauge how to direct them, too.

Q: Didn’t your assistant director go, “are you f***ing kidding me?”

A: (Laughs) You know, most ADs would do that, but I have an awesome AD. I have an Asian AD. Korean!

Q: Did anything creepy happen to you while shooting the film?

A: You know, because of the true-life nature of this movie, because of talking to Lorraine (Warren, the clairvoyant of the ghost-busting husband-and-wife duo), talking to the Perron family members as well, it really got inside my head … It really messed with my head big time.

We shot this movie in North Carolina, Wilmington, and it’s a beautiful little country town. It’s gorgeous. And I was staying in this really nice townhouse — but it was four stories. Like, the bedroom’s on one floor, the kitchen’s on one floor. And it was just me. And it creeped me out at night when I had to go from the bedroom to the kitchen! And it was so dark. And outside was just water — it was the river. The fourth room at the top is a huge loft. And it’s empty. And there’s a little crawl space door in the loft. My imagination drove me crazy! I was so nervous every time I went to bed. But luckily nothing happened. I didn’t see anything.

Q: What scares you most in the whole wide world?

A: The whole wide world. No, seriously! I think what happens in our world is so much more frightening than anything I could come up with in my movies.

Q: Is it tricky working with small children on a scary movie? How do you protect them from being completely messed up in the head?

A: Luckily, the kids were already messed up. They can’t blame me! (Laughs) No, it was difficult on Insidious. My talented child actor in that one was very sensitive, so that was very challenging. But on The Conjuring, these girls were so fearless and so professional. They totally get that it’s just film-making.

They could be crying, they could be freaking out, screaming and all that, and then the moment I call “cut”, they turn to the camera and smile (and do a thumbs-up for the camera). It was so cool! (Laughs) I can’t believe how experienced they were.

And even the youngest girl who played April (10-year-old Kyla Deaver) — she had never really made a movie before but I’d give her directions and she’d just look and me and go, “Yeah, I think I’m going to do it my own way.” (Laughs) It’s cute. They were really cool to work with.

Q: Do you think one of the reasons you and other Asian film-makers are so effective in making horror films is that you approach the genre differently from Hollywood?

A: I don’t know, because my style is very much influenced by Hollywood film-making. But because I am a student of cinema, I watch a lot of European films, I watch a lot of Asian films, I have a big diet of films from around the world. So I just filter it all through my own sensibility.

Q: Are you afraid that you won’t have any horror element in Fast 7?

A: No, I’m not afraid of that — I’m thankful for that. Oh god, it’s good to do something non-horror for a change.

Q: Are you done with horror movies?

A: I am. Conjuring and Insidious 2 are my last.

Q: You could have Vin Diesel drive a haunted race car.

A: (Laughs) I should say I’m done for now. I want to go and rejuvenate. I’ll always love the genre and I think I will come back to it at some point, but we’ll see. I’d love to do a comedy. A rom-com! No, I’m serious! Notting Hill is one of my favourite films! My favourite movie from like two or three years ago was Tangled. (Laughs)

The Conjuring is out in cinemas now.

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