Moon Knight directors play paranormal investigators in teaser for Something in the Dirt
In Something in the Dirt (out November 4) indie actor-filmmakers Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead play a pair of Angelenos who investigate a paranormal phenomenon in their apartment.
"It's about two new neighbors who are encountering something possibly otherworldly [and] embark on an endeavor which tests them as humans," says Benson, whose previous directing collaborations with Moorhead include 2017's The Endless (in which the pair also starred), 2019's Synchronic, and episodes of Marvel's recent Moon Knight show.
"We wanted to make a film about what it would be like if two relatively intelligent and curious individuals encountered the supernatural, and instead of running away screaming decided to study it," adds Benson.
Aaron Moorhead Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson in 'Something in the Dirt'
The pair had been working on the script for around a decade and finally decided to make the movie during the pandemic.
"It actually takes place in our apartments, which makes for the easiest commute to set ever," says Moorhead. "Production-wise, we had a remote art team that was masked-up and dropping all off our stuff. Physically on-set was me, Justin and Dave Lawson, our producer."
"It's funny, a lot of times Aaron and I are not really in the scene together, because the other person is operating camera," says Benson. "Yeah, it was a really interesting experience, often times performing to wallpaper."
Despite the intimate nature of the shoot, the pair were determined that their film exude a sense of cosmic horror.
"That's something that's consistent in all of our movies," says Benson. "It's the small target we're always trying to hit — getting the audience the thrill of the feeling of unease and dread. This one probably has a much bigger dark-comedy component than the other four features. [But] they all deal to some extent with cosmic dread."
The two directors are speaking to EW from the UK where they're currently working on the super-secret season 2 of Loki. So how's that going?
"I don't think we can say," deadpans Moorhead. "No, I'm kidding, it's going great!"
Something in the Dirt hits theaters November 4.
Exclusively watch the teaser trailer for Something in the Dirt and see the film's new poster below.
XYZ Films Poster for Something in the Dirt
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