Vincenzo natali

Master of Puzzles

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Master

Puzzles

From Cube to Splice, from Hannibal to Westworld, Vincenzo Natali is

one of the genre’s most subversive and exciting talents. We caught up

with the director to talk King, Gibson and Graboids...

WoRDS Samantha mcLaren

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When Vincenzo Natali burst onto
the horror scene in 1997 with the
compellingly unusual Cube, it
was clear he was one to watch.
Clever follow-ups like 2009’s twisted sci-fi
family drama Splice solidified the writer-
director as a force to be reckoned with in
the industry, and fans waited eagerly for his
adaptations of JG Ballard’s High Rise and
William Gibson’s Neuromancer.
And then Natali... disappeared.
Well, not exactly. After numerous projects
failed to make it off the ground – including
those much-anticipated adaptations, and
attempts to remake Predator, IT, and Swamp
Thing – Natali took a break from the big
screen to direct acclaimed episodes of some
of TV’s most beloved shows, from Westworld
to Hannibal. If you love genre TV, chances
are, you’ve fallen in love with some of
Natali’s work.
But it seems that Natali is on the cusp of a
triumphant return to the feature-length film.
Shooting has just wrapped on his adaptation
of In The Tall Grass for Netflix, scheduled for
release in 2019. While we wait, we caught
up with Natali to discuss his move from
film to TV and back again, and what exactly
happened with a certain project we were
trembling with anticipation to see...
What can you tell us about In The
Tall Grass?
Well, it’s based on a novella by Stephen King
and Joe Hill, who are father and son. And
it’s a kind of family movie [laughs] – in a
manner of speaking! But only as their two
twisted minds could conceive of such a
thing. And it really is twisted. The novella
shocked me when I read it. This has been
a project I have been passionately working
on for a number of years, and it has taken
a while, but Netflix was the first place that
was really brave enough to permit me to do
it. It was a really wonderful experience with
a lovely cast. If the movie adaptation of it IT
is sort of a warm bath for horror fans, I hope
this is a cold shower.
The film is based on your own script. Was
it intimidating adapting a book that was co-
authored by two of horror’s biggest legends?
It was enormously intimidating. But I had
just come off of adapting both JG Ballard
and William Gibson – both of which terrified
me! So, I had walked that road a few times
already. And as daunting as it is, it’s also
really exhilarating to step into the shoes of
a writer that I really admire and try to
channel them and to some degree write with
their voice.
What was really terrifying was that I knew
Stephen King was actually going to read
it! And I didn’t have very long to write it
before I had to submit it to him. I happened
to be very busy on other things when I was
working on the script and didn’t have as
much time as I would have liked. Anyway,
for whatever reason, he chose not to kick me
off of it!
Did you have a chance to talk with King or
Hill during the production?
I haven’t spoken to Stephen King. But
Joe Hill I have met and had a number of
conversations with, and he’s a lovely guy.
Both of them are very supportive. They don’t
interfere creatively; they’re very creator-
friendly, and I don’t think they’re precious
about their work. I think they understand
that a faithful adaptation doesn’t mean a
to-the-letter faithful adaptation – that in fact,
to be faithful, sometimes you have to change
things. It was a very positive interaction.
Compared to your first film Cube, you’re
obviously working with much bigger
budgets these days. Is it hard to imagine
making that sort of film now?
You know, the truth is, it always feels like I
have the same budget [laughs] because the
ratio of ambition to what’s being put on the
screen always seems to be the same. And
truthfully, especially in the television world,
the schedules aren’t all that different from
what I had with a movie like Cube. I look
forward to the day when I feel like I have a
luxurious schedule and budget!
There have been rumours about a potential
Cube reboot. How do you feel about people
remaking your work?
It’s a funny thing. I guess I’m a little
ambivalent about remakes in general. Not
that there aren’t good remakes, and not that
they can’t be done well. I feel that often the