Filmmaking duo Joe Williams and Charlie Edwards-Moss’ latest short film O, Glory! is a thrilling folk horror that pays homage to the iconic films of the 70s that founded the horror sub-genre whilst also ushering in the co-directors’ modern sensibility to the formula. The story follows a psychiatric doctor who visits an isolated house when he learns of a potential patient by the name of Deborah, whose brother believes she is beginning to lose her mind. What then unfolds is a story of hysteria, hallucinatory paranoia and twists that keep you on your toes through a palpably tense atmosphere and genuine moments of terror. DN invited Williams and Edwards-Moss to join us for a chat about their filmmaking trajectory as creative partners, the era of filmmaking they drew influence from, and the artistic decision to capture everything on the scratchy, tactility of the 35mm film.
O, Glory! feels like a meeting of past and present, in terms of its style and feel. What inspired it as a project?
Joe Williams: We wanted to make an English horror that nodded towards that rich tradition of folklore, but without making a pastiche of it. It was really important that it didn’t feel like tongue-in-cheek, we want to properly freak people out! As we developed it further, we started incorporating more and more stylistic decisions of that decade in general, because we just love so many movies from the 70s, this informed everything from the cinematography to our choice of actors for their old-fashioned faces, and of course their talents. In the end, we shot this genre piece through the broader lens of that era of cinema, instead of a 70s horror, it was a horror that channeled a whole range of 70s filmmaking.
It was really important that it didn’t feel like tongue-in-cheek, we want to properly freak people out!
Charlie Edwards-Moss: We were hugely influenced by 70s folk horrors like The Wicker Man and Rosemary’s Baby, but also wanted to tinge it with more modern aesthetic from genre films like The Witch and Under The Skin, the latter maybe being where the small sci-fi element of the film comes in. So we wrote a script that would be able to catch a similar atmosphere whilst keeping our own unique flares and flourishes.
I read that you drew influence from Altman and Cassavetes, specifically in your approach to the story and structure of the film, what was it about those filmmakers that spoke to you both?
JW: The way they revel in messiness, knowing how naturalistic it makes things, and their emphasis on good faces and performances above everything else! So with O, Glory!, you’re willing to go with all the cosmic folky horror stuff that comes later because you, hopefully, believe in the characters.
CEM: They are the goats! There was a specific scene in Cassavetes’ Woman Under the Influence that we took huge inspiration from; where the doctor comes round to analyse Gena Rowlands’ character Mabel. It’s super uncomfortable and hard to watch and was a jumping off point for some of the character dynamics in O, Glory!
How did the pitch of a 70s-esque horror with a modern twist affect the funding for the film, and the ability to get it made?
JW: We were super lucky to have such supportive partners in Grey Moth and BFI Network, who trusted us even when we decided on massive, last minute overhauls in the edit, and asked for a change of title!
And what made you want to rename the short from its initial title of Original Villain?
JW: It gave off a sort of gothic, old-fashioned vibe that no longer represented what our film had become. Also, it’s not very good.
CEM: O, Glory! ties in way better with the song at the end and the dialogue in the film, it just worked a lot better. I also think Original Villain is good, obviously Joe doesn’t agree and this is the first I’m hearing of it!
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It’s also a story that asks for a lot from your actors, how was it casting and working with your ensemble?
CEM: It ended up being a kind of chamber piece; five actors in one space, which made casting dead important. We managed to assemble a wicked cast made up of Vince Shiels, Emily Stott, Jonathan Livingstone, Sam Spruell and Charlie Ratcliffe. We were so excited to work with a group of their calibre. It makes it so much easier to direct, you tell them to do something, and they do it, and they do it better than even how you told them to do it. It was a real breeze!
You’ve both been making films for a while but are still in the early days of your careers, was there anything that happened during the making of this film that showed you something new about filmmaking or gave you a piece of knowledge you’ll carry into your next film?
JW: We learned a lot, don’t be too precious with the script, surround yourself with cleverer people than you, and when you’ve got such great actors, let them do their thing.
What was it about the texture of 35mm that felt right for this project?
JW: I mean, it’s just the most gorgeous way to shoot anything ever. But that’s not always a compelling argument, certainly not for financiers… We did shoot some 16mm too in the cosmic trip sequence.
CEM: Yes! Luckily, shooting a 1970s set film on 35mm really helps to hammer home the authenticity of the period. It also meant the film was shot with a shooting ratio of 2:1, as we were on a tight budget.
I’d love to know more about your decision to shoot 35mm, what motivated that choice and the general look of the short?
CEM: We were lucky enough to be able to shoot on 35mm, something we’ve wanted to do since we started making movies, and it allowed us to capture the essence of the 1970s, through the wonderful cinematography of our DOP Csaba Kondor. This, coupled with super on-point production design, by Lili Lea Abraham, and costume, by Beth Bullock, is what makes the film feel true to that decade, something we are really proud of. Also, lots of people smoking tons of cigarettes helps set the decade.
How many days were you shooting for? And how/where did you find the house? It’s a great location, perfect for a 70s-inspired folk horror.
CEM: We shot over four days in Oxfordshire, using my folks’ house for the interiors. They were kind enough to let us change their beautiful home into a dingy, haunted 70s house and for that I am eternally grateful and love them very much. As the location also had bedrooms upstairs, Joe and I were staying and sleeping on set, this was a game changer, allowing us the time and freedom to perfect some of the specific things we had in mind, being able to block, re-write and make changes to the space up until the wee hours of the morning.
We were lucky enough to be able to shoot on 35mm, something we’ve wanted to do since we started making movies, and it allowed us to capture the essence of the 1970s.
How did the constant postponement of the shoot affect the end product? What changed in that period?
JW: I think it just gave us that extra time to really refine what we wanted to do and how we wanted to do it, and also identify moments in the script that we didn’t need to be too strict with, we had a better sense for the scenes which we’d open up to the actors and our crew.
How would you describe your relationship on set as co-directors? Do you each take on specific responsibilities during the making of a film?
JW: I think we’ve got a pretty good rhythm of both being across everything, without it being messy. Maybe we’ll finish a take and Charlie or I will have a note for one of the actors, so one of us will go chat to them while the other will speak to the crew.
CEM: We’ve been pals since we were six years old! 20 years of friendship forms a short hand in communication not too dissimilar to reading one’s mind, also being comfortable enough around someone to be honest about what is truly a good idea and what is not makes for a much better end product.
How was your collaboration with both Grey Moth and the BFI Network? When did the BFI come on board and how did you all gel to get the project over the line in the best way?
JW: Grey Moth we’ve known for quite a while now and they’re like our filmmaking parents. They looked after us and supported us. We were super lucky that our BFI Exec Tom Wightman completely got what we were trying to do with the film, right from the script, and then trusted us when we started to change it.
What are you both collaborating on next?
JW: A feature! If you liked O, Glory! and wanna see more from us, get in touch.
CEM: We have a super strong feature script we are furiously trying to get made!
