INTERVIEW: The Adams Family turns to the carnival circuit for latest feature
Photo: Where the Devil Roams follows a family of sideshow performers on a dying carnival circuit during the Great Depression. Photo courtesy of Wonder Wheel Productions / Provided by EPK with permission.
The Adams Family — consisting of parents John Adams and Toby Poser, and daughters Zelda Adams and Lulu Adams — are in the business of making horror movies, and this just so happens to be a family business. They slay with the best of them, releasing a number of well-received horror titles throughout the years, all of them collaborative projects that feature the unique talent of each family member. Previous efforts include Hellbender and The Deeper You Dig.
The Adams’ latest movie is called Where the Devil Roams, now playing in movie theaters and available on digital platforms starting tomorrow, Nov. 7. The horror-filled tale follows a family of sideshow performers as they make the rounds on a carnival circuit during the Great Depression, according to press notes. Their family’s production company, Wonder Wheel Productions, is responsible for the feature, with Yellow Veil Pictures representing the movie for distribution.
Recently Poser exchanged emails with Hollywood Soapbox to describe the experience of making Where the Devil Roams. For the movie, Poser serves as co-writer and co-director (along with John and Zelda). Every family member stars in the film. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
Where did the idea for Where the Devil Roams come from?
The concept for the film jumped from our daughter Zelda’s nightmare straight into our hearts. There’s always an autobiographical undercurrent in our films, and in this case the story of a family of sideshow performers — and what it takes to keep them together — spoke to where we were as a family on the cusp of Zelda’s going away to college. We were unsure whether our films would ever share the same DNA, the four of us together (our older girl Lulu came home briefly to make a wicked cameo). And so the narrative took on the film’s family, the family of carnies, and thematically asked questions about the complexities of family dynamics, unconditional love and acceptance; letting go or holding on. All through the lens of horror, of course!
Were you familiar with the history of sideshows and carnivals? Did you have to conduct any research?
We didn’t do much research, if any, as we like to dig deep into our own imaginations to build a unique world. It became clear quickly that with our limited resources, our carnival would have a backstage feel that felt right for our dusty Depression-era setting. We were not so interested in a perfect rendition from the era, as we wanted our story to have a strange timelessness, or to be able to break through eras (like with some modern tattoos and piercings on some characters), as if there has been some undertow of the Devil’s machinations across centuries before and to come … all through the broken and unseen, the odds and ends, perfectly characterized through a carny community.
When and where did filming take place?
All filming took place in the Catskill Mountains where we live. We shot for almost a year, through the seasons, mostly within a 3-mile radius of where we live. We built the carnival sets on our fields; shot the World War I flashbacks on family land; shot all interiors in various local family homes. The 1931 Chevy, our star actress, belongs to John’s dad.
Did you feel any pressure to deliver on this film because Hellbender was so well received?
We felt pressure, but in a way this pushed us to make an entirely different beast, which is a good thing to do as far as art goes. We really wanted to crack through the fascia of anything we’d done before, visually and creatively. There are certain things we always veer towards though, like devising our own mythologies and conjuring up our own takes on magic.
Is the idea of releasing on Nov. 3 to stay away from the crowded Halloween season?
I’d have to ask the the wonderful guys at Yellow Veil Pictures that question! They slay in every way and always take the film’s best path to heart. But this is a first for us, a fun diaspora of showings at various cool art houses across the U.S. Very exciting!
Still live in the Catskills? Does the rural area inspire your horror filmmaking?
We are still based in New York’s Catskill Mountains, yep. The girls live elsewhere — Lulu studies in Edinburgh and Zelda in NYC. And John and I travel almost, if not more than, as much as we are at home. The nature surrounding us here absolutely informs much of our work and imagination in general. We shoot with natural light almost 100% of the time, and each season here gives such gifts. The wildness of the woods — the sounds of life and death — and the carving of the river below us … everything inspires considerations of physical and magical worlds. Such good food for thought when making spellbinding stories to tell through pictures.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Where the Devil Roams, featuring the Adams Family, is now playing in movie theaters and will be released on digital platforms starting tomorrow, Nov. 7. Click here for more information.
