Stuart Flack [Interview]

Welcome to Day 8 of Trainwreck’d Society’s Annual Month of Horror Showcase! We have a fully loaded month of all things horror for you fine folks! October is our favorite month for this very reason, and we are so excited to share 31 full days of film showcases and interviews with some of the finest folks from the world of horror, just as we have been doing for the last 6 years. What started as a simple 5 day showcase, has now blossomed into a full blown month long event. You’re going to love this! Enjoy!

If you can remember as far back as to last week, you will remember we were gushing over a certain film that is hand’s down one of the best of the year during our interview with the film’s director. That film is Room For Rent. And we still love it, like a lot. So much so, we are extremely excited to have the man who penned this truly fascinating story. It’s Stuart Flack, Everyone! He is an absolute genius of a wordsmith and we are so excited that he was able to share a few words with us here today during our most celebrated time for the world of horror. To have both the director and the writer of our favorite horror film of 2019 show up in this very special month is a true god damned delight, and a real honor.

So Folks, please enjoy some wonderful words from the brilliant writer himself, the great Stuart Flack!

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What inspired you to get into the world of writing? Was it an early aspiration you can always remember having since your youth, or did you just find yourself in this world one day?

Some of my earliest memories involve books and writing. I was always that kid who was either reading stories or writing them. When I was about five, I ‘borrowed’ my mother’s diary and started filling in imaginary entries. It was the kind of shakily-written, simplistic stuff you’d expect of a kid that age, but looking back it was definitely a sign of what was to come.

What was your first paid gig in the world of writing? And were there any kind of lessons learned from this project that still affect your work today? 

My first paid gig was writing for the glamorous world of… shipping insurance. That gig quickly snowballed into a lot more copywriting for well-known brands. There were many times I resented having to write that stuff rather than all the stories in my head, but advertising is actually great training for a writer: you quickly learn that the business of writing involves collaboration and compromise, and that deadlines matter.

You penned the script to the recently released and absolutely brilliant film Room For Rent, one of my favorite films of the year. It is a very unique and fun mystery/thriller of a film that had me scared for damn sure. With that in mind, I am curious to know what inspired you to tell this tale? Where did the inspiration come from tell the tale?

I wrote the script years ago, in a cold and draughty old house in Shanghai. I was having some relationship issues at the time, so I found myself toying with the idea of a character who has regrets: that life and love hadn’t worked out the way she wanted, and that those regrets were beginning to poison her entire character. It was important to me that she also be an unreliable narrator, so that we’re never quite sure whether we should sympathize or run.

And as I know that things can change from pen to screen, I am curious to know what your thoughts are on the film that is now out in the world?

The original script was set in a run-down English seaside town in mid-winter, so it was fascinating to see how the director, Tommy Stovall, translated it to Arizona in mid-summer. It was a good reminder that the story’s themes are universal: loneliness, longing and revenge work in any setting. Lin Shaye did a great job of making the role her own. In addition to being the queen of horror, she has truly brilliant comedic timing, which added another dimension to the character. I think that’s what makes filmmaking so special: it’s a highly collaborative process, with everyone bringing something important to the table.

What is your favorite scary movie?

The first scary movie I ever saw from start to finish was Jaws, and it will always have a special place in my heart. I was really young at the time—probably way too young to be watching people get ripped apart by a psycho shark—and it scared the hell out of me. Even now, I think of that movie every time I go swimming in the sea.

Do you have any plans for this coming Halloween? And fun traditions that you try to stick to every year?

There are so many cool things to do at Halloween, but my ultimate definition of horror is to be queuing for hours in super-crowded places. If friends are having a party, I enjoy rising to the challenge of finding a good costume. Otherwise, I prefer to keep the evening low-key. 

What does the future hold for you?

My agent in LA is currently shopping a new script. It’s a psychological thriller that’s been getting strong coverage, so I’m hopeful it can find a good home. In the meantime, of course, there are more scripts to write. I’m also a published novelist under a different name, all of which keeps me pretty busy.

What was the last thing that scared the hell out of you?

I was recently hiking near the largest glacier in France. It was jaw-dropping—and I do mean that literally—to see how much the glacier has retreated in just the last twenty or thirty years. It’s like we’re living in the first act of a monumental horror movie, but most people still seem to be in denial that we’re alone in the woods surrounded by climate-change zombies. It’s becoming more and more obvious that the second act is going to be a total bloodbath. 

What was the last thing that made you smile?

I really appreciate a dark sense of humor. I had the chance to see Bianca del Rio on tour this summer. Most of her jokes were deeply inappropriate. Weeks later, they’re still making me laugh.