Following its world premiere at the 2024 Pigeon Shrine FrightFest, the pitch-black psychological thriller CARA is set for general release in February. We spoke to the writer/director Hayden Hewitt to learn more about this disturbing tale…
STARBURST: Where did the idea for Cara come from?
Hayden Hewitt: I got together with Ken [Sunter], the other half of our production company Black Octopus, to work on a comedy idea. I had a script for a horror film and he said, “Well, let’s do that. I’ll raise the money”, so the pressure was on. I wanted to make something that was properly dark, not just gory, but serious. Where you can really dig into issues without being preachy, because I can’t abide that.
How was the shoot?
We only had 14 days; it was a lot of late nights, but we got pretty much everything we needed. It was a huge amount of fun. I’m living my best life. The film wouldn’t have happened without Graeme Booth [producer]. I surround myself with really talented people.
There’s a lot practical effects, what was that like?
Well, I could say things like, “Yes, I made an actor lie down in a bed covered in fake shit and blood. Yes, I’ve had guts and blood all over me. And yes, we did film one scene where, after it was finished, I had to go outside and have a minute with myself, thinking, ‘You’re a very bad man’. Baris Kareli from Artisn’t Art did the main core of the effects. He’s the closest I could find to a Tom Savini character. He’s a hugely talented sculptor. He seems capable of anything. Do you have any fake Stanley knives? Yeah, no problem. He’s one of those guys. His work is phenomenal. I love practical effects. Do as much as you can in camera, because that computer business, in the end, costs a lot of money.
You didn’t need any dinosaurs, then?
Not yet, anyway. Godzilla. Now we’re talking. I’d definitely make one of those.
CARA is released on digital platforms on February 17th, 2025. A limited edition Blu-ray release will follow.
