Filmmaker E.L. Katz is best known for directing the violent, noir-ish dramasCheap ThrillsandSmall Crimes.
“That was one of my favorite, freakiest parts of the season,” Katz tells EW.
“I was like, this is going to be a joy for Brandon to play.
Rafy/SYFY
This is really disturbing, and Ilovethat he just gets pulped at the end.”
Below, Katz reflects on makingThe Dream Doorand whether viewers might see more of Pretzel Jack.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How did you get involved inChannel Zero: The Dream Door?
SYFY
I had an executive send me one of Nick’s feature scripts.
It was just really freaky and weird.
It was kind of the same thing asChannel Zeroin its own way.
We started an email correspondence and then ended up meeting to get breakfast tacos.
He’s just a cool dude, and we talked about all sorts of weird, obscure horror movies.
We just stayed in touch.
I was like, “Are you fing kidding me?
It was so vivid.
I pitched [directing] it, and before I knew it I as on a plane to Winnipeg.
That’s where I was for most of this year.
Pretzel Jack is a homicidal contortionist clown with a very distinctive look.
How did you come up with that design, and what was it like working with Troy James?
Okay, so in the script, he pops up and he makes a real impact.
But the costume wasn’t really clear, his face wasn’t really [clear].
Designing a monster is just so fing crazy and cool, and it’s such a dream.
So it was a long process.
We were working with a lot of different concept artists.
Like, she’s not trying to create Freddy Krueger for herself.
She’s not going to create something intentionally scary.
They’re just odd, and they’re threatening in a different context.
It needs to not be obviously malevolent.
And Sam added just this cuteness to the eyes.
It was like, okay, well, that’s a start.
I was like, “Oh my God, this guy’s incredible.”
But we still went ahead and had a casting call.
We got all these really weird videos.
Most of it was wrong in the wrong way.
He was the best.
He’s really sweet, he’s really innocent, he’s really playful.
It was just clear that Troy was able to do that.
Pretzel Jack does become an oddly lovable character.
He’s a hero!
What was it like staging those fight scenes?
Well, you’re like, “What is this going to be?”
We don’t have the budget to doUnderworld.
So you have to scale it down.
It’s not going to feel magical; it’s going to feel very physical.
We had Sean Skene, who’s a great fight choreographer.
The room with all the doors created by Ian was such a startling, memorable image.
How did you come up with that?
To me,Channel Zerois this mixture of ’80s weird cult horror and direct-to video stuff and foreign films.
It’s like a mixture of high-low, which is what I really like.
But Ian was just focusing on perfection in this weird way.
So it was just showing a little bit of his insane focus on perfecting his issues.
He’s so fing crazy.
He has not masteredanythingwith his emotions or his life.
He hasn’t solved a goddamn thing!”
In the story, was it a complete accident when Tall Boy kills Ian?
Or did Ian want to die on some level?
I don’t think he was suicidal.
I don’t think he was thinking about that.
I think he was pure need.
I don’t think he was thinking about much else besides this addiction.
I don’t think Tall Boy’s trying to kill him.
Tall Boy’s just a car that drives through the door that can’t stop.
I think Ian finds it pretty unfortunate that it happens in those last moments.
I don’t think he’s stoked.
Do you think we will ever see Pretzel Jack on screen again?
Oh, man, I hope so.
But maybe he should do comic book stuff.
I don’t know.
But Pretzel Jack lives on in people’s hearts.
That’s really where he lives.
