Alexandra O. PhilippesChain Reactionsis an extraordinary documentary about an extraordinary film.
Weve gotten invited by so many festivals now, I cant even keep track, says Philippe.
Its almost a daily occurrence at this point.
Gunnar Hansen as Leatherface in ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’Everett Collection
DEADLINE: Why did you chooseThe Texas Chain Saw Massacre?
They were looking to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the film.
They were familiar with my work, and they said, Wed like you to do something special.
Alexandre O. PhilippeGetty Images
For me, it was a no-brainer.
Its a film I have a very strong relationship with.
Its an absolute masterpiece, both artistically and also in terms of all the things it has to say.
DEADLINE: How did it come about?
PHILIPPE:As is always the case with me, it came together very quickly.
Im more and more interested in the idea of exploring a film through very intimate lenses.
I want to go beyond the anecdotes and really tap into the resonance the magic, really of movies.
Tobe Hooper once said, The zeitgeist blew through me.
Its just so smart.
Every aspect of it.
Its an extraordinary piece of work, and the way that it resonates 50 years later is extraordinarily powerful.
So, for me, the excitement was like, OK, so how do we do this?
DEADLINE: What is your process?
Is there any waste, or any interviewees who dont turn out to be quite right?
You picked five bullseyes there.
PHILIPPE:Ultimately, its really intuitive.
Honestly, in retrospect, I wouldnt go back and change this cast.
I think they work together in a beautiful way.
All of those people, ultimately, were no-brainers.
DEADLINE: But how do you know for sure?
PHILIPPE:Well, theres a lot of factors involved.
First of all, research is a component of it.
I thought, OK, thats interesting.
So immediately, I think, it clears the deck in terms of expectations.
And so thats why I gave him the High Noon chapter.
He was always going to be Chapter One.
But she invited me to dinner one day, and I told her about it.
She basically said, I have to be in it.
I said, OK. And then she told me why.
And I structured my questions that way.
I nudged her to give me just that, which she did.
So, for her, I had to commit to giving her the Sunrise chapter.
I had a lot of just really wonderful back and forth with Ari Aster.
He really wanted to do it.
He adoresThe Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
He happens to like my films, which is lovely.
I dont think he felt comfortable just coming in and shooting from the hip.
So that was that.
And Im sure his take on it would be amazing.
DEADLINE: As it is, the big coup of the film is Stephen King.
How did that come about?
A very dear friend of mine is a really big literary agent.
So, I asked her, Do you think that you could forward something to him?
She said, Write me your best letter and Ill forward it to my client.
Knowing him, if he likes your letter, hell forward it straight to Stephen King.
Thirty minutes later, she texts me again.
She says, Stephen King has your letter.
Heres his email address.
you’ve got the option to go ahead and contact him.
But he was just so gracious with his time; just so thoughtful and so passionate.
I love the way he ties the film to his own childhood experiences.
His chapter is such a masterclass in horror horror versus terror, and all of that.
You hear his voice first.
Its like, Whos the monster in the basement?
Oh, its Stephen King.
I wanted to play on that.
DEADLINE: How does this square with all your other films?
The moment you take a stab at explain something… Theres nothing more reductive to me than when people say, This is the definitive documentary.
What does that evenmean?
But now, of course, stylistically, my films are changing.
And so, I look atThe People versus George Lucas, and it was what it was.
I would do it very differently now.
I love to tap into the resonance of movies and the zeitgeist.
I love to find a style that gels with the spirit of the film.
Its not about mimicking it; its about gelling with the spirit of the film.
To a strange extent, I think a lot of my films are ghost stories of sorts.
Im summoning the ghosts from those films because thats what resonance is, right?
DEADLINE: So, what are you up to next?
What can you reveal about your new project?
But without giving too much away, its almost turned into a film seance.
We raised some spirits together, lets just put it that way.
And the emotions that came out when she opened that box…
I felt I was witnessing film history.
It was very, very special.
Theres a lot of stuff that happened.
We took her back to her old house in Carmel.
Shes had an incredible story.
Shes had multiple fires and mudslides, and multiple homes destroyed over the course of her career.
But we went back there.
I was digging into her attic for days, which in itself is crazy to think about.
I watched her paint.
Shes an extraordinary, extraordinary artist.
