Film: The Sentry
Director: Jake Wachtel
Writer: Jake Wachtel
Starring: Dara Phang, Daniel Raymont, Tharoth Sam, Tara Vy
On assignment in Cambodia, a suave super-spy has a haunting encounter with a garrulous guard and must come to terms with the damage he’s inflicted on the local community.
In a new interview on Blazing Minds ahead of the Horror-On-Sea Takeover at the Southend Film Festival, I got a chance to ask Writer-Director Jake Wachtel a few questions about his film ‘The Sentry‘
You can watch The Sentry at the Horror-On-Sea Takeover on Saturday 6th June at 13:30hrs.
Q. Your film The Sentry has been selected to play at the Southend Film Festival. Can you tell us what we can expect from the film?
A genre-bending short set in Cambodia that starts as a hard-hitting spy action film and shifts into something much stranger and more emotional — a ghost story. Expect tonal swings, dark humour, and a film that plays with what you think you’re watching.
Q. What were your inspirations when writing the script?
A few things collided. I love spy and action movies, but I’ve always been uncomfortable with the casual violence in them — something about witnessing so much anonymous death feels corrosive to the soul. That instinct ran into the fact that I’ve been living in Cambodia on and off for over a decade, and I’ve become aware of how the wheels of global capitalism similarly rely on the anonymous labor of people in places like Cambodia. I wanted to tell a story that sat with that.
The most direct inspiration was George Saunders‘ novelLincoln in the Bardo— the way it holds ribald humour, deep pathos, and a real spiritual dimension all at once. On the film side, the Roger Moore-era James Bond movies were a big touchstone. That’s the tradition I was drawing from and playing against.
Q. Did you have any of the cast in mind for the characters when writing the script?
Yes — I wrote the film with Pong in mind for the Sentry. He’s hilarious, he can fight, and he brings real soul to his parts. I felt lucky to work with someone who has all three of those talents.
Q. What were some of your influences for the look and style of the film?
Roger Moore-era Bond was a big one for the overall style. For colour specifically, we were looking a lot at old Bruce Lee films. We didn’t shoot on film, but we wanted it to feel like a 1970s movie, and that shaped our choices in costume, hair and makeup, and the way we coloured it.
Q. Did you make any changes from the original script during filming?
We didn’t cut any scenes, but the fight scene evolved quite a bit. The bigger change was the villain’s lair. Originally it was meant to be in dense jungle, but we found this incredible location — an epic, iconic water tower overlooking the former King’s 1950s vacation residence on Bokor Mountain — and knew that was where we had to shoot it. The catch was we didn’t get permission until the last minute, so we were simultaneously scouting caves and preparing to shoot the lair there as a backup.
Q. What were some of your favourite moments during filming?
The very first thing we filmed was the toilet scene, out in the salt fields in Kampot at sunrise. We got there before the sun came up — one of the most extraordinarily beautiful places I’ve ever shot. And the scene itself is completely goofy, with our lead actor’s pants around his ankles. We also got through it way faster than scheduled. Filming one of the silliest things I’ve ever shot in one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever shot — that combination was an auspicious beginning and honestly kind of magical.
Filming the fight stuff was also new for me, and a lot of fun.
Q. Did you experience any issues during filming?
The lair location uncertainty I mentioned — having to simultaneously prep for a cave and for the water tower until the last minute. And the day we shot all our outdoor stuff happened to be the hottest day on record in Cambodia in the past 30 years. Pretty intense. Having a chest of ice water dumped on me at the end of that shoot day was one of the most sublime things I’ve ever felt.
Q. What makes The Sentry stand out as something different?
It takes something very familiar — the spy action film — and turns it on its head. And it centers Cambodia, which is a place that doesn’t often get narratives built around it.
Q. What do you hope people take away after watching the film?
I hope they think twice the next time they see casual violence perpetrated in an action movie.
Q. Do you have any other projects which you are currently working on?
A few. I previously made a Buddhist sci-fi feature in Cambodia calledKarmalink, and I want to keep working in genre and playing with expectations. I’m also developing a feature-length version ofThe Sentry, a solarpunk sci-fi set in a floating village in northern Cambodia, a project about contemporary AI issues set in 16th-century France, and a jungle-set sci-fi about our alienation from nature.
Q. If someone was looking to write and direct their own film what advice would you give them?
Get out there and live life — stories will come to you. And try to find the thing onlyyoucould write, based on your unique combination of experiences.
You can watch The Sentry at the Horror-On-Sea Takeover on Saturday 6th June at 13:30hrs.
You can find out more about The Sentry on the Website and Instagram
You can find out more about the festival and purchase tickets here.
Published in various websites, Philip is a reviewer who is best known for his interviews and media coverage of independent projects including; films, books, theatre and live events. Always on the lookout for something different to cover!