Littermates Directors Talk Bait-and-Switch Horror Ahead of Fantastic Fest

A new teaser for Littermates is arriving just ahead of the film’s special presentation at Fantastic Fest, but our Littermates directors interview with Scott Tinkham and Michael Woloson goes much deeper than the latest footage.

The Fear Review sat down with the writers/directors to talk about why the movie spends so much time making you question Chester, how Liam and Mel essentially grow up all over again, how much of the outside world they actually wanted to explain, and why the film’s boxy 4:3 frame can feel both claustrophobic and strangely nostalgic.

We also had to ask about the surprisingly recognizable music. That led to Beyoncé, Chicago, Beau Is Afraid and, somehow, Scott holding a grudge against Bread.

Watch the New Littermates Teaser

Littermates follows Liam and Mel, two disoriented survivors who take refuge at an isolated cottage in the English countryside during a mysterious war. Chester takes them in, feeds them and begins teaching them basic skills again while insisting that whatever is happening outside makes leaving dangerous.

The film receives a special Fantastic Fest presentation on Sunday, September 20 at 2:00 p.m. CT at Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar. A post-screening conversation is scheduled with Tinkham, Woloson, executive producer Haley Nicole Johnson and cast members Oliver Woolf and Joey Bader.

Watch Our Littermates Directors Interview

We spoke with Tinkham and Woloson ahead of Fantastic Fest about some of the choices behind Littermates without getting into the film’s major reveals.

If you would rather read it, our full conversation is below lightly edited for clarity.

The Fear Review Interviews the Directors of Littermates

The Fear Review: I went into this movie purposefully knowing almost nothing. For most of it, I was convinced there had to be something sinister about Chester. Every time he did something kind, I was basically waiting for the other shoe to drop. How deliberately were you playing with those expectations?

Scott Tinkham: Very deliberately. I keep saying this whole movie is a bait and switch. Every scene is a bait and switch.

We didn’t want the movie to be a specific thing each step of the way. We didn’t want it to be too horror. We didn’t want it to be too funny. We wanted it to not take itself too seriously, but there are serious things about it.

I think that really rubbed off onto Chester and how he is as a character. He’s the whole bait and switch of this film in general.

The Fear Review: Once I understood what Liam and Mel were going through, I started viewing the movie almost like they were experiencing childhood and adolescence all over again at an accelerated pace. But they don’t seem to progress the same way. Liam stays much more impulsive and reward-driven while Mel becomes more curious and starts asking bigger questions. Was that developmental progression, and the difference between them, something you mapped out while writing them?

Scott Tinkham: Yeah. I think with the Mel and Liam difference, boys growing up are naturally focused on stupid shit more than girls.

I think girls progress mentally a little quicker. They mature faster and are more curious about the world. Whereas boys, as kids, are very primal and get distracted by things like the sexual side of life. Once you discover that, it’s suddenly more interesting than anything else that could be happening in the world. It’s ingrained in us.

That’s something I really latched onto with Liam, being distracted by the trivial, stupid things happening in this cottage and this world, where Mel is much more curious and excited about the grander, more mature themes of life.

The Fear Review: I have to ask about the karaoke songs because I love Chicago’s “If You Leave Me Now,” and then you’ve also got Beyoncé in there. Those are pretty major songs for an independent movie. Were those specific songs always written into the film, and how did you actually manage to get them cleared?

Michael Woloson: “If You Leave Me Now” was actually a backup. The original song written into the script was “Everything I Own” by Bread. We love that song, but Bread didn’t want to play, so we had to go a different route.

Beyoncé we actually found in the edit. That was the first one we tried for fun, and it stuck. We didn’t really look back from there. They’re very different in genre, but they’re both perfect for the situations they’re placed in. Once they were placed, there was really no going back.

The Fear Review: They fit so well that I assumed there had to be some meaning behind them. Other than the Bread song, were there any others you wanted but couldn’t get?

Scott Tinkham: No. I fell in love with “Everything I Own” because of Beau Is Afraid. They used it so brilliantly, and I really latched onto it. Then when we didn’t get it, I was like, “I have a grudge against Bread now.”

But “Diva” is very much Liam’s character. Liam is a diva, so it just fit really well.

The Fear Review: That’s what I thought when “Diva” came on. He’s sitting in the hot tub with his headphones on, relaxing while all this other stuff is happening around him.

Scott Tinkham: He doesn’t care about any of that.

Michael Woloson: Scott gave Joey the note a few times to make it more diva and more zesty. That really became a driving force for Joey.

Scott Tinkham: There’s a moment in the montage where they’re playing Connect Four in the shelter. Liam wins, takes some of the nifties and gives Mel this eye roll. It’s so perfect. We have something like a 20-minute blooper reel from the movie. Joey does that so many times, and every single one is on the money.

The Fear Review: A lot of post-apocalyptic movies are obsessed with explaining what happened. Here, we’re mostly stuck with the same limited understanding Liam and Mel have, and that mystery was a big part of what kept me engaged. How did you decide how much the audience actually needed to know about the outside world?

Scott Tinkham: Very much as a matter of taste. Michael and I don’t like when movies hold your hand too much. I think that can get really exhausting. Some people love it, though. My mom and dad need everything explained. They’ll say, “Okay, well, we didn’t get this part,” but that wasn’t the point. The point of this movie is this strange relationship happening between these three characters.

I think indie films can really shoot themselves in the foot when they try to answer all of the questions instead of honing in on one thing and doing that one thing to the nth degree. So it was very much a matter of taste and respect for the audience.

The Fear Review: Michael, since you shot and edited the film, I wanted to ask about how boxed-in the movie feels visually. There’s this enormous conflict happening somewhere outside, but we’re largely confined to this small domestic world. How much was the framing designed to make the cottage feel both safe and restrictive?

Michael Woloson: The 4:3 aspect ratio decision was baked into the script from the first draft. Scott wrote that into the first few action lines, and we never looked back.

We had conversations about framing it in a more traditional widescreen or 16:9 format to capture the landscape more horizontally. But we decided the boxier, more claustrophobic feeling could also have more of a nostalgic feeling. Think about the aspect ratio of a Polaroid or a home movie. It feels much more nostalgic. I think people will project their own feelings onto it. You could take it either way. It’s either going to feel claustrophobic and boxy, or it’s going to feel nostalgic and almost portrait-like.

To contrast that, we wanted to make sure the world didn’t feel bleak or gray. It was really about making the world feel rich and vibrant, almost like it does when you’re a child growing up. The world feels bright and beautiful and visually interesting.

For us, it was about having that boxy feeling, but what you’re seeing inside that frame is beautiful, vibrant, saturated and rich.

When Can You See Littermates?

Littermates receives its Fantastic Fest special presentation on September 20 at 2:00 p.m. CT at Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar in Austin.

After Fantastic Fest, Alamo Exclusives will release the film in more than 30 Alamo Drafthouse locations beginning November 6. The film runs approximately 87 minutes and stars Joey Bader as Liam, Kaylee McGregor as Mel and Oliver Woolf as Chester.

Sources: Official Littermates site, Fantastic Fest, Alamo Drafthouse / Alamo Exclusives announcement,