"Wolf Man" Director on Monetizing Terror

How Success Happens

I spoke with Leigh Whannell, the director and co-writer of the new movie “Wolf Man.” The movie stars ​​Christopher Abbott ("Poor Things") and Julia Garner ("Ozark" and "Inventing Anna.") I won’t give anything away, but I’ll just say that they take a trip to a house in the middle of the woods and not-great things happen. Film/slasher fans know Leigh as the co-creator of "Saw" and fun party guy Jigsaw, and was the writer of the recent "Invisible Man" remake starring Elizabeth Moss. He’s done a bunch of other stuff, and to use a polite term, they’re all pretty effed up. This film was produced by Blumhouse Productions, the wildly successful indie production house that is the force behind “The Purge,” “Insidious,” “Paranormal Activity,” and tons of more flicks designed to scare that crap out of us. I spoke with Leigh a few days ago to find out how he’s gotten so damn good at monetizing terror and also to ask him point blank, what the hell is wrong with you?