Arriving in limited theaters December 12th as part of Magnet’s “Six Shooter Series” is Nacho Vigalondo’s Spanish time travel thriller Timecrimes, which follows a man accidentally who gets into a time machine and travels back in time nearly an hour. Finding himself will be the first of a series of disasters of unforeseeable consequences. Beyond the break you can read our exclusive interview with director Nacho Vigalondo who chats about time travel, nudity, sequels and remakes (woh, that’s a lot!)… and did Mr. Disgusting inspire an entire movie?! TIMECRIMES is a twisted tale of time travel when a man accidentally gets into a time machine and travels back in time nearly an hour. Finding himself will be the first of a series of disasters of unforeseeable consequences. We spoke to writer/director Nacho Vigalondo about the complicated plot and story elements and makes some interesting comparisons.

“I love to think of this film as a mixture of PSYCHO and 12 MONKEYS, says Vigalondo. “At the beginning (of writing this script) I wanted to make a mathematical exercise in which one character and one location would all happen in real time. But it ultimately felt like a masturbation, like showing the world how I can do a mathematical equations. But in the fifth draft of the script, the naked girl arrived. In that moment I really felt that the movie took form. When you have math mathematical elements and tits you have everything,” he jokes, “with blood and violence and tits and math you have a perfect film!
 
“When I came up with the story, it really evolved over time. When you are trying to find financing on a project, you have plenty of time to make another draft and another draft and another! I made so many drafts of this script, (maybe too much). Each draft really evolved from one to the next as it got more and more complicated. It was a living nightmare making this script.”
 
In the film, Hector is played convincingly by Karra Elejalde and resides in an isolated house out in the woods. When he sees a naked girl off in the distance, he heads off to get a closer look, and everything goes terribly wrong. The naked girl played by Barbara Goenaga had to spend a good chunk of the film completely naked. Vigalondo spoke about filming of the nudity and how Goenaga took it.
 
“I did a short film a while back called Choque, and Barbara was in,” the director reveals. “When you are writing a script you never know what actors you may get so you can’t really write with someone in mind. After I finished the script, her name came to mind and I realized that she was the most obvious choice! I have worked with her in the past, and she IS perfect…on many levels. She has this amazing presence, yet at the same time show doesn’t look like an actress. Its funny, when I go with Barbara to film festivals, the guys don’t just treat her like an actress, they fall in love with her. She has this kind of Aura that is amazing. When I showed her the script, you can imagine how terrified I was of her reaction. The story is not about the girl, its about the attack and the torture and the chase, but not so much the girl. So I explained to her that I would understand if she wasn’t comfortable making this film, it’s such a complicated roll. It’s not the kind of roll that would make you win an Oscar, and it’s not really a scream queen roll either. Nevertheless, she fell in love with the script, yet she was very worried about her scenes being completely naked and exposed. I walked her through how it would be shot, and what would end up on screen, frame by frame, showing her that it would be elegant and not gratuitous. I have to say though, that I didn’t cast her for her tits, I didn’t do a body check or anything, I just had faith. And you can see in the film that the results are awesome!”
 
Vigalondo also chatted a bit about a sequel to TIMECRIMES, along with the US remake that is presently in the works.

I don’t think [there will be a sequel], even though I love the idea of sequels, in this case I think the story is over. Maybe if the American remake is a successful film they will want a sequel, but for me TIMECRIMES is TIMECRIMES. The remake is a United Artists film with some great names attached, it’s supposed to be a big film. I had the script for the remake in my hands, and half of me wanted to read it, and the other half wants to know nothing. So I will just go to the theater and watch the movie like anyone else. I won’t be involved in the remake at all, my real benefit is having a good position in Hollywood to now make an American film.”
 
So what’s next? Vigalondo explains that he loves both sci-fi and horror.

“I am really into horror, and sometimes I am really into sci-fi, right now I have a few scripts I have been bouncing around. Because I am really into the Giallo films, I actually like to think of TIMECRIMES as a modern Giallo,” he reveals. “I want to stick in the genre for my life. For me Bloody Disgusting is family! I don’t want to be one of those directors who turns their backs on the genre. Whe I asked if he considers Timecrimes a horror film he responded with: YES! Its about a masked guy with scissors chasing a girl, for me its horror. I know it’s a twisted way of seeing these elements, at the end of the day its about who dies, who survives, who is the victim, and who is the hero. My favorite horror film is DR JEKYLL AND HYDE, and this is a modern take on it because its about a guy who is essentially fighting with himself!”
 
Just before we wrapped up the interview, Vigalondo asked me to say hello to our very own Mr. Disgusting. “One of the scripts I have been developing is based on a conversation I had with him!” He wouldn’t spill any more details, when I asked Mr. D about it, he told me a bit more and it sounds amazing!

Stay here at Bloody Disgusting for all you upcoming horror news, as it happens!