By MICHAEL GINGOLD
Practical creature effects fans have something to look forward to in GINGER, one of the movies seeking financing partners at the Frontières International Co-Production Market during last month’s Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal. Writer/directors Dan Gitsham and Sophie Mair (pictured above) and producers Jude Goldrei and Rebecca Wolff spoke to RUE MORGUE about the project at the fest.
“It’s about a couple who are reeling from the loss of their unborn child in a tragic car accident,” Mair begins. “Fast-forward to nine months later, and Abel, our male protagonist, has taken a job as head gamekeeper on the North Yorkshire moors. It’s an environment that is incredibly isolating, and for him, it’s a high-pressure environment, because he is managing the grouse, and grouse shooting is a very elitist sport. So this leaves his wife Grace at home in the gamekeeper’s cottage, and as a consequence of the loss of her unborn baby, she goes into early menopause, so that hope of bearing a child is taken away from her. Left with her own thoughts, she takes a wander in despair onto the moors–and that’s where she encounters a parasitic creature called Ginger.
“It’s kind of a sexy body-horror film,” she continues. “I mean, a huge inspiration for us is David Cronenberg, and the kind of erotic nature of some of his work.”
“We love CRASH,” Gitsham says, “and how it’s so demented but kind of turns you on at the same time. That’s what we’re trying to go for with GINGER: Mess with people’s heads, give them a new kink. It has definitely got a bit of [Andrzej Zulawski’s] POSSESSION in there as well, and also THE UNTAMED, by Amat Escalante from Mexico.”
“That’s probably got more of a sci-fi bent, which this doesn’t have,” Wolff notes, “but it definitely feels like a good comp. We feel it’s such a good space for genre in the marketplace at the moment. People seem really excited by it.”
“And also erotica and sex,” Gitsham adds, “and putting that back into films a little bit, because it’s not really there so much.”
“It’s kind of sex positive,” Mair says. “In no way do we want to make something misogynistic or gratuitous, but rather a film that is genuinely meaningful.”
“It’s very complex and naughty and original, and avoids the normal clichés of sex and horror,” says Goldrei. “Rebecca and I find it very exciting working with Sophie and Dan as a couple. You’ve got a male and female perspective on the story. And as they’re writing the script and as we progress into making the film, there’s always a push-pull in terms of that perspective, which is great.”
“They’ve been together for 20 years!” Wolff says, and Mair chimes in, “And we have kids.”
“That kill each other in our movies,” Gitsham says, and everyone laughs. “I mean, we write out our therapy in our scripts, basically.”
“Absolutely,” Mair responds. “And I think the erotic nature of GINGER also must be inspired by Nicolas Roeg’s DON’T LOOK NOW, and BAD TIMING as well.”
For the monstrous side of GINGER, the team has recruited Dan Martin, whose creature and prosthetics work has been seen in films by Brandon Cronenberg, Peter Strickland and Ben Wheatley. “The practical effects are going to be so key to this film,” Wolff says, “and we’re so pleased to have Dan on board. He’s really good at working with visual effects as well, so I think this will be a mix of practical and visual. And Dan and Sophie are great with the practical effects. We had really good ones in [their previous short film] THE THING THAT ATE THE BIRDS, so it’s thrilling to be working with Dan.”
THE THING THAT ATE THE BIRDS went to 80 festivals and was co-financed by the British Film Institute, with whom the team developed the GINGER script. Goldrei and Wolff (who also produced Dean Puckett’s forthcoming folk-horror feature THE SEVERED SUN), Gitsham and Mair hope to have GINGER before the cameras in spring 2025. When we spoke to them, their presentation had already resulted in some unexpected honors. “We actually won two awards for the pitch last night,” Goldrei reveals. “We didn’t know there were awards for the pitches, so that was really exciting!”
