Anthology horror fans offer a little bit of different subgenres to appease viewers of any and all tastes, but Parker Brennon makes one thing clear with their latest offering Hauntology – this one is for the queer community. The film follows two sisters who journey through their small town retelling the terrifying folk tales that have haunted history – with a link far too close to home.
Speaking to FILMHOUNDS, Brennon takes us through the journey of creating Hauntology, working with a “dream list” cast, and the importance of queer representation in horror.
How did you come up with the concept for Hauntology and how did the project get off the ground?
I wrote Hauntology as a movie I thought would be easy and inexpensive to make. Maybe a weekend here and a weekend there. Then the pandemic happened so it took a while to get back on track. I ended up meeting a team of producers who made the project have a much bigger budget than I originally planned, and then we got these fabulous cast members and everything changed. The original movie was going to be like a $30,000 thing I made with help from friends, and now it's like it's a professional movie.
You're essentially directing five films in one with Hauntology. How did you manage to weave these together?
It took a lot of rewrites – I had at least 30 versions of the script on my laptop. As I kept writing, I found new ways to add Easter eggs and little connections between the segments. Even in post-production, we found ways to tie things together. For example, in the segment The Day Mabel Came Out of the Grave, there's a radio show that mentions May Fellner, who is the artist mentioned in our giallo-inspired segment. It's those little connections that make the film rewatchable – you can always find something new.
The stories in Hauntology span different horror sub-genres. Was that a conscious decision?
Absolutely. I wanted to explore sub-genres of horror that are personally meaningful to me. We have a slow-burn 70s-style witchcraft story, a Giallo art gallery segment, and a gothic Victorian piece. I knew if I picked subgenres I love, I was gonna have a lot of fun with it. And there were even a few vignettes that kind of got left on the floor. I wrote a murder mystery segment inspired by Clue, which was too complicated and expensive to shoot. But it did keep the whole project really fun for me, because, I mean, just I loved everything.
One thing that stands out in Hauntology is the LGBTQ+ representation. Given the divisiveness surrounding queer representation in media, did you find it challenging to tell these stories?
It's definitely been a bit strange. On one hand, it's a great time to be telling queer stories because audiences are more open and accepting. But, as you said, there's still a lot of divisiveness. I've already seen comments online about our teaser trailer calling it “queer propaganda” or claiming it's just a “kill white people” movie. And they're just basing that off the trailer they haven't watched the movie. At the end of the day, though, this movie is for the queer community and those who support us. I just want them to find it and enjoy it.
The cast of Hauntology is incredible, with names like Samantha Robinson, Nancy Loomis, and Naomi Grossman. How did you bring them on board?
It was a mix. We started with a dream list of actors like “if we could have anyone from the horror genre, who would we have?”. Samantha Robinson was at the top of that list – I'm a huge fan of The Love Witch by Anna Biller. Naomi Grossman was also on the list. Zoe, who plays one of the leads, was recommended by our casting director. And Nancy Loomis – what a dream! She had retired ostensibly from acting, but Naomi's manager knew her and suggested sending her the script. We did, and she loved it. It felt like a miracle to get her on board.
What do you hope audiences take away from Hauntology?
I'd love for it to become a yearly rotation movie – something that people, especially in the queer community, pop on every October and find new Easter eggs. I think it's a perfect spooky season movie. Maybe Hauntology will be on someone's list.
What's next for you? Could we possibly see a Hauntology sequel, or do you have other projects in mind?
I think there's always a natural reaction after finishing a project to want to do something completely different. If I had a big budget I'd love to do an Event Horizon or Alien-type story. I've been thinking about doing a pseudo-documentary, inspired by Lake Mungo, or maybe a reimagining of Carnival of Souls, which is one of my favourite films. Maybe Hauntology 2 could come 10 years later, but I'd like to try something new first. If it does happen, I'd love to explore new sub-genres like sci-fi or found footage.
Hauntology had its international premiere at FrightFest 2024 on Friday, August 23. It is available to stream in the US from September 15.
