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John Poliquin has the unenviable task of taking on the sequel to The Vicious Brothers‘ well-received found footage film Grave Encounters, a hit on 2011 festival circuit and cult film in the making. The Vancouver-born music video director (his work has garnered him several awards in the field) is bringing his own twist on the series,  Grave Encounters 2,  to the Toronto After Dark Film Festival for its Canadian premiere.

Toronto Film Scene had a chance to chat with  Poliquin in advance of his Toronto After Dark debut.

Describe your film in 10 words or less:
It takes you on a ride whether you’re ready or not.

How did you get involved with the film?
I’ve known the Vicious Brothers for years through the music video industry. They sent me the script early on and I loved it. I thought it was different, clever and a lot of fun.

How is  making a sequel  different from making a standalone film?
There’s a balance that you need to be aware of. Fans of the first want something familiar in style but with new ideas to keep it fresh and exciting.

John Poliquin on set.

What was the best thing about production? The most frustrating?
(The best was) working with the Vicious Brothers and doing as many practical in-camera effects as possible. The most frustrating thing was the timeline, our deadline from pre-production to final delivery was 4 months.

What’s the one thing you want people to know about your film?
It takes an extremely meta approach to found footage and is unconventional on a cinematic level. The film could be divided into three separate sections with sub-genre shifts. Go into it with an open mind and it’s a wild scary time.

Grave Encounters 2 screens on Monday, October 22, 2012 at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival.

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Kristal Cooper

Editor-in-Chief

Kristal Cooper has been a film buff since the age of two when her parents began sneaking her into the drive-in every weekend. Since then, she’s pursued that passion by working for the Toronto International Film Festival and the Canadian Film Centre as well as spending many a happy hour inside Toronto’s wonderful theatres (she still mourns the loss of The Uptown). She currently acts as Toronto Film Scene’s Editor-in-Chief, is a freelance writer specializing in pop culture and feminist issues, and continues to slog away at her day job as a small cog in the giant machinery of the Toronto film community.

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