Q&A: Co-Writer/Director Peter Herro on Creating a New Slasher Story for WTF!

Out today on cable VOD platforms and Digital HD from Midnight Releasing is the new horror comedy WTF!, which follows a group of young friends spending spring break at a secluded cabin in the woods. Although the setup may sound familiar, WTF! has several twists up its blood-spattered sleeve, and for our latest Q&A feature, we caught up with co-writer/director Peter Herro to discuss the making of the new horror comedy.

Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions for us, Peter. What attracted you to bringing the story of WTF! to life, and how did you, Adam Buchalter, and Christopher Lawrence Centanni come up with the idea?

Peter Herro: Back in 2009, Christopher Centanni and I were out to dinner and talking about writing a horror movie. I really wanted to direct something and he really wanted to write. I also have a passion for writing, so we decided we wanted to co-write a project together and really create something fun and reminiscent of a classic horror slasher. So that is what we did. Later, Adam Buchalter came into the picture to help us out. He helped us a ton by adding in amazing one-liners and buttoning up some of the issues with the writing. Adam also played an amazing role on set. As things changed drastically, he would be there on his machine rewriting on the fly. It was awesome and super impressive how quickly he could patch a hole based on losing time, or a location change.

What was the shooting schedule like for WTF!?

Peter Herro: WTF! took 12 days to shoot. It was intense to shoot a feature in that amount of time. We had two days off in between just so we didn’t burn out for a total of 14 days in production. I believe three or four of those shooting days were a mere six hours of shooting due to the time of year we shot. Lesson learned. Don’t shoot horror in the summer unless you have the money and the time! I couldn’t call action until 9:00pm and our permits expired at 3:00am. I remember those three days were the most stressful. We thought our permits lasted longer and because of that, we ended up cutting about five or six pages from the script.

Morgon Rodner, my 1st AD [assistant director], was amazing and worked closing with me to make sure we could get the script where it needed to be so we could get everything shot on time. On a budget of less than $100k you need to be adaptable and he did just that.

Luckily, our amazing producer Kyle Zingler held the production together even when things felt like they were getting crazy. Some of the deadlines seemed unmanageable, but he kept the ship afloat and really kept production on track.

Where did filming take place on this project?

Peter Herro: We shot at about seven locations. The main location was a private home in the hills off of Mulholland Drive. We decided we could make it work, as the house had a really nice woodsy feel to it. It was where we spent most of our time shooting. Seven of the 12 days were spent there. We also shot at Four Aces, Canyon Ranch, and some other smaller private homes and locations.

How important was it for you to balance genuine scares with humor?

Peter Herro: I wanted the movie to be more about the journey of Rachel and her trying to get through her anxiety and overcome her fear. The scares were quick and meant to be fast. I wanted this film to feel more like a thriller/slasher with some comedic breaks every now and again. What I love about the film is that it knows what it is. I spent a great deal of time making sure the movie knew how to be funny and make fun of itself. I really enjoyed the final result.

When you look back at your time making this movie, is there a particularly funny or memorable moment that stands out?

Peter Herro: The most memorable moment was shooting the last scene in the movie. It was a moment when Rachel whispers into Jacob's ear. It was more of just knowing the second I called cut that I was about to say, “That’s a wrap!” Which was such a crazy thing to vocalize. It was a huge milestone for me in my career. I also remember many hours later at the wrap party being incredibly drunk. It was awesome.

What was the most challenging or rewarding scene to shoot?

Peter Herro: It had to be the motel scene. The lighting, the script, the seven lead cast members and the two wonderful actresses that came on set that day. Chloe Berman and Cheyann Dillon knocked it out of the park. The scenes of the rooms transitioning one by one was a lot of fun to shoot. There may be footage of me and my producer having a pillow fight floating around during a test shoot. It may be funny to share one of these days. It was also one of the most fun days on set.

Do you have any favorite movies—horror, comedic, or otherwise—that influenced or inspired you while making WTF!?

Peter Herro: I am in love with the classic slashers. Friday the 13th, A Nightmare On Elm Street, Halloween, etc. Those inspired me deeply. I also remember freaking out back in 2010 when Cabin in the Woods was announced. I thought that my movie was going to be made by someone else. Luckily, after watching it I felt relieved that they were nothing alike. But funny enough, I feel like I was influenced by it a bit.

With WTF! out on VOD beginning August 1st, what projects do you have on deck that you can tease, and where can our readers find you online?

Peter Herro: Yes! I have a few. The most notable at the moment is my next film, which looks like it may be an urban legend slasher called Locksmyth. We have a couple of names attached and I am hoping it will be picked up in the coming months so we can go into production this fall! I am also deep into writing WTF!!, or WTF2! So I am excited for that to be finished and ready if we decide we want to shoot it!