By JORDAN VON NETZER
Writer-director Anubys Lopez‘s Those Who Call thrives on the adage “fear flourishes in darkness.” A year later, Lopez is back with his follow-up feature AGED, and this time, the filmmaker takes a different approach. In AGED, fear can also live in the daylight…
The official AGED synopsis reads, “After taking a temporary job as a caregiver, a young woman realizes her employer and the house have a dangerous, dark past. AGED stars Morgan Boss-Maltais (Netflix’s The Sleepover), Carla Kidd (Lifetime’s #TextMeWhenYouGetHome) and Dave McClain (Maverick Entertainment’s Platinum).”
To mark AGED’s recent release on VOD, RUE MORGUE spoke with Lopez. about AGED, shooting night scenes during the day, and the film’s menacing score.
Can you talk about the writing process for AGED? How much would you write at a time? How long did it take?
Absolutely. It was a lot of writing for sure. I would write for probably five to six hours a day at a time – until I felt like I couldn’t go anymore and my brain would start feeling tired. I’d say from the moment I started writing the script to when I revised it and decided on a final draft, it took me about 5 months. I’m very picky and had to do a lot of rewriting to make the story feel the way I wanted it to.
Did anything not translate well when shooting commenced and you had to pivot? If so, what scene was it?
Yes. The scene at the dinner table. The very first time they meet. It was originally a lot longer and ended very abruptly. We decided in post to delete about 30% of it. And through the use of B-roll and other shots, we were able to make a very smooth transition.
The house in AGED is always in the forefront of the viewer’s mind because of the noises it makes. How did you find this house and what made you choose it?
The house was difficult to find. We were looking at houses since probably 2019. We looked at a lot of them. We found the one we ended up using through a filmmakers’ group in Houston that we were all part of. The owner was very sweet, and she invited us to check it out in person. Once we saw it, it was love at first sight. It checked every box.
We heard that you shot a lot of the night scenes during the day. How did you pull that off?
It was a difficult process. But Alex, our DP, has a very imaginative mind and goes the extra mile on everything. He decided to cover up all the windows and use artificial light to simulate moonlight. Together with the gaffer, we created a beautiful environment that we used for maybe about ten scenes. When we would be done with a scene and would step out of the house, it would throw us off because we all legitimately believed it was nighttime!
What did you use to shoot the overhead shot of the truck driving on the dirt road?
We shot the entire film on the RED Komodo. For that specific shot, we rigged it on a drone and very cautiously filmed those scenes. Very nerve-wracking!
The score in AGED is pretty menacing. How involved were you with the scoring process?
One hundred percent involved. People seem to forget sometimes how important the score and audio can be in a film. I think it’s a make-it-or-break-it type of deal. I had an idea on how I wanted the film to sound before we even shot it. I spent a lot of hours talking with Kaizad Patel on the phone and through video calls and worked together to make sure it sounded as good as it did. He’s a wonderful composer. Couldn’t have been happier.
Did anything crazy happen behind the scenes while making AGED that you would like to share?
Not a lot happened. I can’t think of a specific thing – although we would hear things coming from the woods at times, but it was mostly coyotes or armadillos. We tried walking around the house late at night and around it to see if we would see or experience anything paranormal, but that didn’t happen either. Although a couple of people did tell us there was apparently a woman in a white dress that would show up at night on the swing. One of our crew members slept on the couch one time, and he said he saw something out the window. He woke everyone up terrified. It ended up being a trash bag!
You also directed the horror film, Those Who Call. What was the hardest part about making that film?
Everything about it was a bit hard, I believe. It was our first time working on a feature film, so we didn’t have a lot of the equipment and team we have now, so it was a learning process as we went. The night scenes were a bit complicated, and managing everything as a seven-person crew. But we got it done, and I think we did the best with what we had at the time.
If you could go back, would you do anything differently on Those Who Call?
Yes. I would probably do about 90% of it differently. There’s a lot of things that I know now that I didn’t know back then. But I’m grateful for Those Who Call for getting us out there and helping us start in the world of filmmaking.
Is there another type of horror film you would like to direct one day?
I think a slasher. I’m usually not the biggest fan of them, but I think it would be fun to direct with all the practical effects and the gore. I like psychological stuff a lot more, and that’s probably what I will do for the time being, but I do have a couple of slasher stories I wouldn’t mind trying out.
AGED is now available on VOD from AWW Entertainment and Harrow House Films.
