Today, Irish filmmaker Ivan Kavanaugh’s supernatural thriller The Canal arrives in limited theaters and on VOD/Amazon/iTunes, courtesy of The Orchard. Daily Dead recently had the opportunity to chat with the film’s star Rupert Evans about his role and experiences making the mind-bending horror project.
Can you start off by discussing what initially drew you into the story of The Canal and this horrific journey that your character David must endure throughout the film?
Rupert Evans: When I read it, I thought it was just great. David undergoes so much and I really responded to that. David faces a bit of a metamorphosis the deeper he digs into the mysteries inside his house and I thought that would make for some really fascinating character moments.
Was everything for the character of David there in the script or were you able to collaborate with Ivan (Kavanaugh) before you guys began shooting so that you could give him some of your own touches?
Rupert Evans: Ivan and I collaborated a lot throughout the process of making The Canal; it was a really great experience making this movie because of that very reason. Not every filmmaker allows an actor to come in and play but Ivan did just that. He also allowed us to do a lot of improv on set which I think added something very special to the overall movie as well; it almost feels like the performances across the board were more organic and believable because Ivan gave us all that freedom to find those authentic character moments.
Speaking of performances, you worked with a lot of great talents on this film including Steve Oram, Antonia (Campbell-Hughes) and Calum (Heath) who played your son. Can you talk about working with them on The Canal?
Rupert Evans: Antonia was so wonderful- we got along great. And Steve is just this huge talent; he was always making us laugh and his work in the film is brilliant. I really loved working with Calum and they spent a lot of time finding the perfect kid for The Canal too because we knew we needed someone who could come in and just feel like a real kid. We didn’t really tell him much about the story just because we didn’t want to scare him too badly and the two of us spent a lot of time together even when we weren’t shooting. I kind of became his ‘work father’ so that last day we worked on The Canal was really emotional for him.
As things get a bit crazier in the film, it seems like you had to endure a lot of physicality with this role, particularly in the finale. Was it as challenging as it appeared on the big screen or were you mentally ready to tackle all of that going into The Canal?
Rupert Evans: I did everything I could to prepare myself both mentally and physically for this role but there are some things you can never fully prepare yourself for ever, and this film was one of those things. I would have to say that making The Canal was undoubtedly one of the most intense experiences I have ever had in my life; we were shooting for 15-hour days and we shot most of the film chronologically so when it came time to shoot the tunnel finale, I was like a zombie. I was so exhausted physically and a bit sleep-deprived so I was kind of a lunatic during the filming of those scenes. I think it added a nice sense of madness to those moments but I feel like I barely got through them.
Heather A. Wixson was born and raised in the Chicago suburbs, until she followed her dreams and moved to Los Angeles in 2009. A 14-year veteran in the world of horror entertainment journalism, Wixson fell in love with genre films at a very early age, and has spent more than a decade as a writer and supporter of preserving the history of horror and science fiction cinema. Throughout her career, Wixson has contributed to several notable websites, including Fangoria, Dread Central, Terror Tube, and FEARnet, and she currently serves as the Managing Editor for Daily Dead, which has been her home since 2013. She's also written for both Fangoria Magazine & ReMind Magazine, and her latest book project, Monsters, Makeup & Effects: Volume One will be released on October 20, 2021.
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