Tyler Savage Talks w/411 About His New Movie Inheritance

The 411 Interview: Tyler Savage

Tyler Savage is a writer, producer, and director who, according to imdb, has been making movies since at least 2008. He has made a number or short films, including The Thing Is… and Nostalgica, and recently made his feature film directorial debut with the excellent slow burn horror thriller Inheritance, available now on Amazon and iTunes (links below). In this interview, Savage talks with this writer about the making of Inheritance and more.

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Bryan Kristopowitz: How did you come up with the idea for the story of Inheritance?

Tyler Savage: I came up with the idea in the summer of 2015. I knew I wanted to make a psychological thriller, a subjective type of story, and I loved the idea of a seemingly good piece of news turning into something dark and dreadful. I also wanted to find a set-up that would allow me to explore themes of family and genetics.

BK: You’ve directed a number of short films in your career. Why did you want Inheritance to be your feature length directing debut? And how was making Inheritance different than making those shorts? How was it the same?

TS: I think it was just time. I’d written several features, but this was one I knew I could produce on a budget. I knew I could spend years weighing various ideas and never moving forward on one, so it was more about where I was at as a filmmaker than anything about this particular story.

BK: Where was Inheritance filmed? How much did you film in that house? How difficult was it to film on that beach?

TS: It was all filmed in California, mostly near Point Dume and up in San Luis Obispo county. I think nearly 70% of the shoot was in the house. Shooting on the beach was actually far easier than we originally expected. We got our permits in order and had no problem. It only cost us a couple hundred bucks in fees to shoot both the beach and pier.

BK: How long did it take to make Inheritance, from writing the script to finishing post-production?

TS: All in all, it was about 19-20 months from writing the first draft to locking picture. Then we had a year of festivals before we finally had our digital release. The shoot itself was just twenty days.

BK: How did you cast Inheritance?

TS: Chase is actually a close friend, so he was cast before I even finished the script. Alex Dobrenko, Ashley Spillers, Drew Powell, and Vince Van Horn are all friends too, so most of the casting came from my social life in a way.

BK: What was the hardest part of making Inheritance? The easiest?

TS: I think the hardest part was editorial. It’s so exciting to be on set, collaborating with talented people and feeling a sense of camaraderie. Then you get into post and you start to doubt yourself and wrestle with what you have versus what you imagined you’d have.

BK: The sort of opening theme is brilliant and unsettling. How did that theme come about? And the film’s sound?

TS: Thanks! Mini Mansions developed that theme, but it actually started from some Native American drum tracks I found. We knew we wanted to have a basey, heavy feel to the track.

BK: Is it wrong to call Inheritance a horror movie, or is it more apt to call it a thriller?

TS: I think thriller is probably more appropriate. It’s hard as a first-time filmmaker because you want to slap a genre label on the film to sort of tell people how to receive it, but I wish that wasn’t necessary because the best films often defy this sort of categorization.

BK: Do you have any movie making heroes?

TS: So many! I worked with Terrence Malick for a long time, so he’d certainly been an influence. But Hitchcock, Polanski, and William Friedkin were big influences on this one.

BK: Any upcoming projects you can tell us about?

TS: I’m working on another psychological thriller now that’s set in the Pacific Northwest. Sort of a reimagining of Rosemary’s Baby. Hope to shoot in early 2019 if all goes well…

BK: What would you prefer to inherit, a big house or a big check?

TS: Haha. Well after making this film, I may have to opt for the check.

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A very special thanks to Tyler Savage for agreeing to participate in this interview and to Justin Cook for helping set it up.

You can watch Inheritance here and here.

Check out the Inheritance Facebook page here

Check out Tyler Savage’s imdb page here

Inheritance images courtesy of Tyler Savage and Justin Cook. Tyler Savage image from Heaven of Horror

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMfXXq8Np28