Film Name: Darner
Director: James Edward Newton
Writers: Lauren Jane Barnett
Starring: Lauren Jane Barnett, Tony Mardon
Darner is a brutal and intimate portrait of a couple consumed by a woman’s dire need to preserve her terminally ill husband.
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-Actress Lauren Jane Barnett a few questions about her film ‘Darner‘
You can watch Darner at the Horror-On-Sea Takeover on Saturday 6th June at 11:00hrs.
Q. Your film Darner has been selected to play at the Horror-on-Sea Take Over Day at the Southend Film Festival. Can you tell us what we can expect from the film?
A. It will be claustrophobic, and uncomfortable, but not a traditional narrative. What we did was put give the audience the experience of being with this couple and their incredibly unhealthy and tragic dynamic, with all the, literally gory details. And it’s not for the squeamish.
Q. What were some of your influences when writing the script?
A. The script came from an experience in my own life. I was married to someone for seven years whose mental health dominated my entire life. Everything we did, and that I did, was about keeping him ‘okay’, and it took over everything in my life. I completely lost my identity, my work, even little things like what I enjoyed eating, because everything was about keeping things in balance for him. It turned me into someone obsessed, where I could not think or function beyond keeping him level, and that his mental health became my only barometer. It led to all sorts of health problems for myself, but I remember most that caring for him was my entire identity.
What that does to you is incredibly strange. It makes you a person you don’t even recognise, bitter and lost but also weirdly in control of someone’s life. When I finally managed to get out of that relationship, I still had all this frustration, pain, obsession and confusion, and I wasn’t sure what to do with it. My friend at the time, and now fiancée, Tony Mardon, suggested that since I’m a writer, I should write a script about it. It was my first ever film script.
The idea of darning also came from my own life, but from the more positive love of embroidery, darning and sewing. I darn my own socks, repair clothes, and I also love to embroider, and the diligence and attention of that, as well as the idea of constantly meaning what is already falling apart, was a natural base for me to explore that co-dependent carer relationship.
Q. What were some of your influences regarding the look and style of the film? Did the director James Edward Newton make any changes from how you originally envisioned the film?
A. Readers should definitely check out James’ interview, because this was very much his style and look. I knew James because Tony and he did a couple of films for Mycho’s Horrorscopes anthologies together (“Libra” and “Rabbit”). They both have a similar surreal and very aesthetic approach, but I also really like James’ latest film, When The Sun Stands Still. It felt like the right mood for “Darner”, and I knew James would understand what to do with this unusual, less narrative, script. He read it and when he talked about wanting the shots to be in only extreme wide and close up, edited together like a patchwork quilt, I knew he got it. It was a perfect fit.
Q. Were there any changes from the original script during filming?
A. In terms of changes in addition to his visual lens, James made one. He removed a small moment where the outside world tries to creep in; and that was a really good call. It was only 30 seconds to a minute of screentime, but it would have broken the claustrophobia of it all. That is what I love about film, you have a film in your mind as the writer, but then the director, and later the editing, comes along and makes the story that much better.
And everyone who works on it does the same – Tony brought in his own read of Man that works so
well. The DOP, Andy Boothby, suggested a special micro-lens to be used. It wasn’t specifically in the script, but it gave us some amazing shots, and some really intense and unpleasant details on the special effects. And Jay’s appliances! Oh… I don’t want to give too much away, but everyone added their skills to just enhance the story so much. This film really is the best of all of us.
Q. In addition to writing the script you also appear in the film as the nameless character of ‘Woman’. Did you always envision yourself playing the role when writing the script?
A. It’s a funny story. So, because of my obvious personal connection to the story, I did envision it as Tony and I when I wrote it. At that point we had acted a bit together in The Witches of the Sands and I knew we would make the chemistry and the dynamic work. Then we worked with another team on a film for them, and they liked “Darner” and asked to produce it, but casting Adrienne King as ‘Woman’ because she read the script and really related to, and loved, the role. Of course, we said yes, but in the end it didn’t work out on the production side, so we got the opportunity to do it as originally planned. I am so happy it worked out the way it did, because I am really proud of the film we have. It’s better than I imagined, and people have responded to it.
I will admit I was nervous about doing justice to ‘Woman’. It was such a personal role and a weird emotional place. I knew I could get there, but as I don’t usually write for myself, I wanted to do my best, and I worked hard with Tony as we prepared for the roles and ran lines, and James helped me a lot with one particular moment. Still, I don’t think I relaxed until the first audience saw it. Some lovely stranger from Germany said something like “you were so disturbing I wasn’t sure if I should come up meet you”. What a relief!
Q. What do you hope people take away after watching the film?
A. I hope they are unsettled, I hope they feel like they shared in something really unpleasant but honest. The dream is also that someone who sees it has also been through a similar experience of being a carer or in a severe co-dependant relationship and thinks “yeah, I get that”.
Q. What makes Darner stand out as something different in the horror genre?
A. It’s look and feel I think stands out because it is such an intense and specific mood, but as I writer I hope it also stands out because we are focused in on one emotional experience; we drown you in it.
Q. Do you have any other projects which you are currently working on?
A. Yes! So, “Darner” is ultimately going to end up in an anthology film that Tony, James and I are making called Cosis. I won’t say too much about it, but if you see “Darner” you will get a really good sense of the larger film. James and/or Tony have a hand in directing all of the shorts and it’s much of the same crew, so it has a similar feel and tone. We are filming the next segment in July.
Of course, I’m also helping in any way I can with the finalising of The Witches of the Sands, Tony’s feature film. It’s in editing at the moment, but I get to help with the occasional pick-up and I’m excited to have a few bits of my writing in there as well – look out for Preacher Powell.
And I’m very excited to say that I got the chance to write with the crazy-talented Tom Lee Rutter for
his next Carnie Films Production – Trial of the Undines. By the start of the Southend-On-Sea Film Festival, you might have seen a little snip he’s filmed to whet the appetite. Writing with Tom was so much fun, and really invigorating because he has so much knowledge and such a great love of film and lore. It’s very dream-like, emotional, beautiful and touching. I loved working on it, and can’t wait to see what he does with it.
And on the other side of writing, Tony and I co-wrote a book on plant-based horror films that just came out at the end of April called Natural Thorn Killers: A Creeping Guide to Plant Horror! We have been doing a lot of events around that and take it to some of the conventions throughout the rest of the year. You may see some copies at the Southend-On-Sea Film Festival.
Q. If someone was looking to write their own script what advice would you give them?
A. First: go for it, and don’t worry about the first draft. It’s so easy to get hung up on small things like formatting, or big things like worrying if the dialogue sounds right, or pacing and then you stop yourself from finishing that first draft. Get the draft out. Maybe it’s great, maybe it’s terrible, but either way it’s the bones you can build on. I spend far more time editing than anything else, but it’s so much easier once the story is there, because you can picture how it needs to be.
Second: Write what you know, are excited about, or interested in. Anything that is personal or you are passionate about, you will have the energy to write, and re-write, and get feedback, and put in the time to make it great. Writing is a hard discipline, more than people give it credit for, if you are writing about something that you don’t care about, you make it that much harder on yourself.
You can find out more about Darner on IMDB and and the films Instagram page
You can follow Writer-Actress Lauren Jane Barnett on Instagram
You can watch Darner at the Horror-On-Sea Takeover on Saturday 6th June at 11:00hrs.
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!