This morning SpookyDan had the chance to chat with Director M. Night Shyamalan about his forthcoming DVD/Blu-ray release of The Happening, which arrives in stores October 7th from Fox Home Entertainment. During the interview he revealed that he has ideas for three more scary movies, one of which he hopes to be shooting by 2010.
Currently prepping for his upcoming live-action fantasy film AVATAR, Director M. Night Shyamalan spoke with SpookyDan (that’s me!) this morning about the forthcoming release of THE HAPPENING and revealed that he has a few ideas brewing for a new scary film!

THE HAPPENING was touted as an R-rated M. Night Shyamalan film – the violence certainly makes its mark early on in the film…

“As a filmmaker, there are two parts to me. One is the filmmaker that I have been, and the other is the filmmakers that inspire me,” says Shyamalan. “If you look at the movie posters around my house or my office, they are all these super intense movies; The Exorcist and The Godfather, both very strong and visceral movies. From the ’90s it’s Pulp Fiction and Goodfellas. It’s so funny that I never really tapped that love of the more visceral, and with the violence in The Happening, it is my first little baby step in that direction. I don’t know if I am capable, but I hope to make a movie that is as moving as E.T. and as visceral as Pulp Fiction.”

Shyamalan continues talking about the violence and the gore levels in the film and how he needs to keep himself from going over the deep end…

“We had a first cut of the movie and I think you would have loved it! For me there are two kinds of horror, first there is trauma horror, like a Korean ghost movie, and then there is entertainment horror, you have to be real careful that it doesn’t tip to far into trauma horror. I am capable of trauma horror, so I have to watch myself. In the movie Tale of Two Sisters, an amazing movie, its very scary, but basically, you feel traumatized after watching it. I remember taking notes after watching it about how powerful the experience was.

“I am lucky enough to get very broad audiences that come to my movies, from 12-year-olds to moms, and its always a dance. If you go into the more emotional side you lose the younger audience who would say; Aw its corny. If I am to go more the other way, like your (horrific) way, you get the older group going; Oh my gosh I can’t even watch this! I am willing to lose a little on either end to get the balance correct. Yet, sometimes I feel edgier than others, but I tend to lean younger in my tastes.”

For those of you dying to see more gore, you can catch a little exra on the DVD release.

“You see some of the extra gore and stuff on the DVD extras. I didn’t put it into the cut of the movie because I am kind of anal about keeping the film (frame for frame) the same experience. But on the DVD extras, I really wanted you to see the sequences that felt (to me) more like trauma.”

The big news, though, is that Shyamalan has some new ideas for more horror in the future.

“In my head I have three ideas that are fighting to be the next spec,” Shyamalan explains. “One is more straight up scary, one is more light hearted scary – kind of more in the Signs vein, which I had a great time doing the lighter end on that one – the other one isn’t… well, it’s not Gothic… but I am always in that world when I am working on original ideas. I will be shooting that one in 2010, so I have some time to decide.”

“I vote for the scary film!,” exclaims SpookyDan.

“You got it, your vote is in and everyone influences me!”

Catch THE HAPPENING on DVD next week.