"X" Director Ty West An ambitious film disguised as a traditional horror film, its theme is "passion for filmmaking" [Director's Interview Vol.221]

The character is the director himself

Q: I was also impressed by the artistic shooting and editing throughout the film. In order to create such a unique worldview, were there any points in the filming or direction that you paid particular attention to?

West: I feel that filmmaking itself is very important, so I wanted the audience to feel the technology and passion of filmmaking. Of course, I am particular about the camera and lighting, and I plan everything myself, from acting to costumes and special makeup, and proceed with my own particularities. I thought that the audience these days may not be very aware of the behind-the-scenes of such filmmaking, so I wanted them to pay attention to it. So, by having the main characters make a movie in this film, I wanted the audience to see what I myself do on the set. The main theme was to let people know how movies are made.

We created the world view with that theme in mind, and paid particular attention to everything from makeup to music, aiming to make the audience feel, "This is a movie, this is moviemaking."

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Q: I was also impressed by how the film effectively used overhead shots in various places. In particular, the overhead shot of the crocodile approaching the main character is amazing. Were you particular about using overhead shots?

West: This may not be the answer, but I just intuitively thought, "It would look really cool," and shot it that way. I always draw an image of the image in my head and propose it to the staff, and at that time, I had an overhead shot of a crocodile swimming slowly. It may not be a very horror-like way of shooting, but I felt that it would be the best shot, so I shot it that way. That scene was surprisingly popular, and many people tell me, "That's my favorite scene."

Why "aging" became the theme