Brittany O'Grady, E.J. Bonilla, and Pedro Kos Talk Documentary-Style Horror and Major Sugar Rush For In Our Blood
In the upcoming horror film In Our Blood, Emily Wyland (Brittany O’Grady) teams up with cinematographer Danny (E. J. Bonilla) to shoot an intimate documentary about reuniting with her estranged addict of a mother. But the duo have to piece together sinister clues when her mother goes missing. Pop Culture Planet’s Kristen Maldonado spoke with Brittany O'Grady, E.J. Bonilla, and director Pedro Kos about the documentary-style horror movie, major sugar rushes, and a potential sequel for the surprising flick.
Director Pedro Kos brings a unique perspective to the genre film having built his career on social impact focused doumentaries. This film allowed him to bring that passion to the screen with a horror twist. Kos’ close friend, collaborator, and producer Aaron Kogan brough the script to him. “Before I read it, I was like, ‘I don't know, Aaron.’ I did theater in college, but then I became a documentarian,” he shared. “I was editing and making documentaries. It's like, ‘Am I the right person to make a genre film?’”
But after he read the script, he was hooked. “The initial twist and all that was so cool. It made me want to go back and reread the script,” Kos shared. “That exercise in going back and rereading and trying to really piece the puzzle together also made me see the opportunity to do the work that I do as a documentarian, which is look at our world. […] This is not a film about some magical world. It’s about our world today with all the issues and obstacles we face. A mother and a daughter torn apart by addiction, immigration, the human crisis that we have in our country and in the wold, and the humanity that we’re not seeing right in front of our eyes. It was really amazing to see the opportunity to explore the same issues and the same stories that I try to look for in my documentary work in this film.”
When it came to bringing the elements of the film to life, Kos said their motto was “the real deal” as they made sure to do their research and even use real locations. For instance, Anna's clinic was filmed at the Mesilla Valley Community of Hope in Las Cruses that does real work to help the community dealing with homelessness and rehabilitation services.
Kos was particularly thrilled to work with incredible artists that bring so many layers to their performances like O’Grady and Bonilla. He called their strength and vulnerability “mindblowing,” especially the way they “create the backstories and let [their] imagination go wild.”
This is a film that makes you question everything by the time you reach the final act, to the point that you truly will need to rewatch it again with a new perspective. O’Grady shared the mindset she had on set while exploring her character Emily. “It was almost like there was three roads in my head,” she explained. “It was like, okay, I've got this existence, I've got this existence, and I have this duty. It was like the intention, who she is, and what is she hiding. […] Pedro and I talked a lot about Emily's background and the stakes, what physically impacts her. All these little minute details that are a huge part of who she is and why she’s so isolated from society and doesn't even let Danny in as much as she should.”
“It was very collaborative,” O’Grady continued about the process of making the film. “It feels like we're part of an ecosystem. We're part of a body and each organ has their different function. I just took it in chunks. [..] I take that one moment and consider all those factors and have it marinate in my body for that moment and let it go and then the next one. […] Then you're sitting with this puzzle piece and you're like, ‘Oh, this is who she was in this moment with this person or that person.’”
When it came to that ecosystem, O’Grady felt that Emily was the nervous system, while Danny was the heart. He was able to be our eyes in as viewers to question the wild events that we’re seeing come to life, calling out the chaos. “You needed that in a film because you don't want your audience to wish that were happening,” shared E.J. Bonilla. “It makes it more tangible in a more real way and I love that I get to be a part of that grounding process.”
But the biggest horrors may have been for the dentist as O’Grady revealed the “blood” they used on set was actually Hershey’s syrup. “I was worried that my teeth were going to fall out. I’ve never had that much sugar in my mouth before,” she laughed. It didn’t help that there was a churro truck on set too. That combination left her with an intense sugar rush. “That’s why I was running so fast,” she joked about a bar scene in the film.
The end of the film almost feels like the beginning of a whole new story and the team hopes that, through word of mouth, they may be able to continue it. “There's so many layers to explore, starting with Emily and Sam's backstory, and so much to mine in that relationship,” said Kos. “There's so much humanity there to explore and dig into that we would love to continue telling these stories.”
In Our Blood makes its world premiere at Fantasia Film Festival.
