THE VIEWING GUIDE
Something In The Dirt
A deep dive into the must-see moments from the month’s big release
JUSTIN BENSON AND AARON MOORHEAD have been melting melons and baking brains since their debut, Resolution, in 2012. Their latest effort, Something In The Dirt, is no exception. Here, the actors/directors/producers offer us insight.
MEET -CUTE
The film opens with Benson’s Levi, a shambling LA barman, bumming a cigarette from neighbour John (Moorhead), sparking a fractious friendship that goes to unexpected places as they investigate supernatural phenomena in their apartment block. “Asking someone for a cigarette — Iwould believe that,” says Benson. “And the cigarette brand, it turned out, was the one they used in The X-Files [Morley]. We didn’t know that when we shot it.”
THEY ALL FLOAT
Soon after, John and Levi witness a quartz ashtray (which actually may or may not be a quartz ashtray) levitating in John’s apartment, accompanied by pulsating waves of colour. Have they stumbled upon proof of the otherworldly? “That ashtray is a triumph of our art department,” laughs Benson. “It needed to look like they might think it’s an ashtray, but it also might be providing a gateway to some other place. It had to do about ten things, even contradictory things, at once.”