In his new film, The Windmill, Nick Jongerius transforms one of Holland's picturesque tourist attractions into a hub of blood-soaked horror. With XLrator Media releasing The Windmill on VOD and iTunes this Tuesday, followed by a theatrical release on October 28th, we caught up with Jongerius for our latest Q&A feature.

Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions for us, Nick. When did you first come up with the idea for The Windmill?

Nick Jongerius: My pleasure. Thanks for your interest in the film. I first started thinking about the idea for this film after Frankenstein's Army. Our investors at that time were really interested in Holland, especially Amsterdam—the dikes, windmills, clogs, etc. This triggered me. I thought, "What if we use these famous touristic symbols of Holland and drench them in blood? Sort of turning it upside down. From there we shot a proof of concept, which was really successful. We got a lot of views and gained the interest from sales agents and distributors.

What was the shooting schedule like on this film?

Nick Jongerius: It was a tight shoot. We had 24 days to shoot the film and 13 of those were night shoots in real remote locations. On night shoots, you average about three-fourths of the work you would do in a normal day, so we were pressed for time constantly. The special makeup effects were important to us and we wanted to do as much in camera (as in: no CGI) as possible, but of course those effects took a lot of time to prep. Fortunately, our special makeup team Rob's Prop Shop did a hell of a job!

It looks like The Windmill mixes elements of psychological horror and the slasher film. Were you aiming to incorporate both sub-genres into your movie?

Nick Jongerius: Yes, absolutely. I'm a big fan of fantasy elements in horror films. I was inspired by the work of Guillermo del Toro, amongst others. I like horror films with these kinds of elements. I see this film as a grim fairy tale where flawed characters are drawn to a place where they have to face the thing they are fleeing from.

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

Nick Jongerius: I loved working with the actors on this film. They were all truly committed to both the film and their part. Each of them brought so much extra to the table. I sometimes still miss that.

Were there any films that inspired or influenced you while making The Windmill?

Nick Jongerius: It was funny, during prep I looked at a lot of old films like Psycho and Night of the Hunter in terms of lighting styles. But when I was in editing, I saw that I was really inspired by the work of Brian De Palma. I mean the split diopter shot where Jennifer hears the radio and we see the radio, the razor where Ruby cuts herself. I put these things in the film subconsciously. but I guess you could still consider them homages.

Is this a world you would be willing to return to in a potential sequel?

Nick Jongerius: I don't know. For now, I would like to do something else: there’s another project that Chris Mitchell (screenwriter) and I have worked on for several years that I would like to make next, but I love the world we created and certainly there are only so many places you can go with a sequel. I learned the hard way to never say never ;-)

Where did filming take place and what did that environment add aesthetically and atmospherically to your movie? [Potential spoiler warning.]

Nick Jongerius: We shot throughout the whole country, pretty much chronologically. We started in Amsterdam and then went to a big Dutch river called De Rijn. I chose this because once we get out of Amsterdam and the typical Dutch landscape, to arrive at our "windmill," I wanted the locations to be a little bit different; almost swamp-like. It had to feel "off" somehow, not entirely realistic, adding to the fact that, in the story, we are in fact in purgatory. The windmill was the hardest thing to find. There are about 1100 working windmills currently in Holland, but the country is so dense that it was hard to find one that was truly remote. The one we ended up shooting at was located beside a forest, which immediately triggered me, because it is very odd for a windmill who needs wind to stand beside a forest.

With The Windmill coming out this week from XLrator Media, what projects do you have on deck that you can tease, and where can our readers find you on social media?

Nick Jongerius: It is a science fiction thriller called The Abductee, which Chris and I developed over the last few years. It's weird, funny, and scary, and I'm really eager to make it happen.

You can find me on Twitter @jongeriusnick, Facebook, and Instagram nick.jongerius

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Synopsis: "A group of unsuspecting tourists awaken a mysterious evil whilst on a trip through the Dutch countryside. When their tour bus breaks down, the strangers are forced to seek shelter in an abandoned barn beside a sinister windmill where, legend has it, a Devil-worshipping miller once ground the bones of locals instead of grain. As members of the group start disappearing, secrets are revealed that seem to mark them all for doom."

Directed by Nick Jongerius from a screenplay co-written with Chris W. Mitchell and Suzy Quid, The Windmill stars Charlotte Beaumont, Bart Klever, Patrick Baladi, Ben Batt, Fiona Hampton, Tanroh Ishida, Adam Thomas Wright, and Noah Taylor. XLrator Media will release the film on VOD and iTunes on October 25th, followed by a theatrical release on October 28th. In case you missed it, check out our exclusive clip from The Windmill.

  • Derek Anderson
    About the Author - Derek Anderson

    Raised on a steady diet of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Derek has been fascinated with fear since he first saw ForeverWare being used on an episode of Eerie, Indiana.

    When he’s not writing about horror as the Senior News Reporter for Daily Dead, Derek can be found daydreaming about the Santa Carla Boardwalk from The Lost Boys or reading Stephen King and Brian Keene novels.