Another startling debut at FrightFest 2024 comes from Joy Wilkinson whose superb thriller 7 Keys is playing. We chatted to Joy about this atmospheric movie.
NYX: Did you know from a young age that you wanted to be a writer?
JW: I always wrote, but I never thought writing was a job and I knew I’d have to earn a living. So I was always creating one way or another – writing stories and scripts, being in plays and making little films – but I never thought I could be a writer until I was older, and I never dared call myself one until I got paid for it. I still feel a bit of a wanker saying it, so I obviously have a lot of hang-ups!
NYX: Where did the idea for 7 Keys come from?
JW: Like Daniel, I’ve always found it hard to let go of keys to places I’ve lived. Keys have this magical, mythic quality, and on a primal level, don’t we all worry about having a roof over our heads and obsess about property and other people’s homes? So I had that idea about the keys a long time, but I needed to know who owned them. Then I had a random chat with a psychotherapist who told me that people from opposite ends of the emotional spectrum can be strangely compatible with each other, like sociopaths and empaths, and then everything started to click into place.
NYX: Was it a hard movie to cast?
JW: The film had quite a long development journey before I decided to direct it myself, so there were phases where other cast were vaunted, and I kept thinking – I really want Emma and Billy to do it. I’d worked with Emma in theatre and seen her in Macbeth with Billy and knew then that they’d be perfect as Lena and Daniel. Then I made a short with them both and this was all part of my decision to retool the script for me to make it with the cast I wanted, the way it was meant to be. As soon as they read it, they wanted to do it, which was a huge relief! And very galvanising. After that, the casting process was great, getting the likes of Amit Shah on board, and Kaylen Luke, who I’d worked with on The Pact. It was a proper dream team that came together to make this.
NYX: Emma McDonald and Billy Postlethwaite who play the leads are just superb, did they have much time to rehearse?
JW: Thank you – aren’t they just! Yes, we had several sessions working on the script together and on the physical side, mapping out how the characters develop and reveal their layers across the seven levels of the Keys. Both Lena and Daniel go through such huge transformations, it was important to get that bedded in before the shoot, because the schedule was so tight and they’d be in very different places from one day to the next, both geographically and psychologically.
NYX: You can feel the electricity between the two, what was the atmosphere like on set?
JW: That’s fantastic that you’re feeling that. When they’re in a scene together, it’s really something to be there and see all the levels they’re working on. They’re both very generous and trusting with each other, which is great for trying things out and finding new ways to play a scene. Some of my favourite moments – like Lena pushing out the chair with her leg – came from them playing. When your leads are like that, it creates the best atmosphere on set for everyone to step up.
NYX: This is your first feature as a director, were you nervous on the first day of the shoot?
JW: Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever been happier! I was nervous too of course, but in good way – a ‘rollercoaster’ way, as Lena says. I feel excited doing something new and feeling myself being stretched. I had good people around me and I was making a film that I’d wanted to make forever, so I tried to enjoy every moment – even during long days doing fight scenes in the freezing cold, it’s still an incredible experience.
NYX: Did you have issues finding the right places to film in?
JW: It was a major challenge doing so many locations across London on our budget and schedule. We managed to beg some places from friends, but with others it was a matter of pounding the streets, knocking on doors. One of our producers Dylan Rees not only let us use his flat, but also walked miles to track down the right places, getting leads through cleaning staff and persuading the owners to join us on this mad adventure. It still amazes me that we managed to pull it off.
NYX: There’s a lot of social commentary in this movie, how did you make sure it didn’t smother the ever-increasing tension?
JW: I guess it comes down to my own instincts and inclinations. I love genre films that take you out of yourself into another world and take you on a ride, but also have something to say about the here and now. That’s what I want to watch so that’s what comes through when I write and direct. The social side will inevitably be in there because that’s who I am and where I come from, but I also love and need shit to happen so I’m never going to make a slow-burn drama that bores you or that preaches to the choir. I want to be thrilled, surprised and provoked to think by a movie.
NYX: Will you be nervous when the movie has its European premiere at FrightFest 2024?
JW: I’ll be nervous but also happy as hell! I go to FrightFest a lot and screening my first feature there is genuinely a dream come true. There’s a moment in the film that I’ve always thought of as My FrightFest Moment so I’ll be interested to see how that goes down. It’s such a great crowd there, I’m sure that they’ll make me feel at home even when the nerves kick in.
NYX: So, what are you working on at the moment?
JW: 7 KEYS is the first part of my Bad Romance Trilogy – a thriller, horror and action movie that look at genre through a female lens, whatever that means! I’ll have to make them to really find out, but there’s definitely space for more genre movies by women in this country, so I’m eager to explore the territory and up the ante, along with the US projects, TV and theatre work I also do.
NYX: Joy Wilkinson, thank you very much.
JW: Thank you, NYX!
