In the previous pass There’s a Knock on the Door, the latest film from prolific director M. Night Shyamalan, the filmmaker himself attended, who was sharing some reflections with the attendees. Beyond expressing his love for Spain, our way of life and its people, he gave some impressions about the movie we were about to see.

He commented that the first thing that caught his attention when it came into his hands was the tremendous moral conflict unfolding in the midst of a huge supernatural event. Also that, like all his works, he has faced the realization of this one as if it were the last; is a film that represents where he is in his life, his fears, emotions and hopes, as well as his thoughts on love and family. But, above all, he emphasized how important the cinematographic experience was to him, the fact of bringing people together in a movie theater to witness a story; he loves seeing how the film influences people in different ways, with some people understanding certain aspects while others being emotional about specific parts, and how that affects the experience of all viewers.

There was a particularly harsh part of his speech, in which he commented how hard it was to be an artist in an industry that is a business, and how they had always told him that he did not have to be himself in relation to the public. However, he ended on a very hopeful note in which he reflected on how he had made movies that our parents had seen, and years later he was still making movies that his children now see. Without ceasing to express fatigue, due to his work and the trips that it implies, the director with more than 30 years of experience stated the following: “I can’t wait to tell your children stories”.

On the occasion of the premiere of Knock on the Door, we were able to chat with him for a few minutes. With his previous film, Tiempo, we were able to interview him together with actor Gael García Bernal, revealing some keys to better understand the creative process behind his films. With today’s interview, in addition to answering some questions about his latest work, we have tried to better understand that wonderful mind that, from time to time, seeks with his stories to make our hearts shrink and those fears that we never thought would grip us to surface. .

The fragility of our security

IGN Spain: “My first question, of course, is about Knocking at the Door. Yesterday you commented that this film, in a certain way, connected with your feelings about family, about love and about your doubts. Could you be more specific about the ideas or feelings you wanted to put into the film?

M.Night Shyamalan: “The genre of “home invasion” is a very powerful one for people, it is almost like a subgenre within thrillers or horror movies, it occupies its own place because it is a primary fear of people. One of our fundamental fears. Our home is supposed to be sacred, the only place where you are safe, your children can sleep, you can sleep, everything is yours and no one can enter without your permission.

So when someone decides to break into your home and change your life, you realize it’s just an idea, it’s not real; It’s very scary for someone to say, “I’m going to go in there and I’m going to do something horrible to your family.” It’s so terrifying… for me it’s one of my primary fears. I’m drawn to telling these kinds of stories, and this is an unusual approach, and I was very excited about the book and this new version of it.”

IGN Spain: “Beyond the turn in the “home invasion” genre, what would you say is the element that makes this film special within your filmography?”

Shyamalan: “I would say that it is a relentless film from start to finish. It has something of a fairy tale, like other stories I’ve written, like Stuart Little or La Joven del Agua, so I’ve always been interested in this kind of stories, more adult. Perhaps the key is in the balance of all these elements that feels right to me right now. It is at the same time the most innocent film I have ever made, but also the most graphic and terrifying of all”.

Knocking at the Door is both the most innocent film I’ve ever made, but also the most graphic and terrifying of all.

IGN Spain: “Knock at the Door is based on the script written by Steve Desmond and Michael Sherman. Did you get to work with them for the final version of the script for Llaman a la Puerta?

Shyamalan: “No, that was not how it happened. They had written the script for other filmmakers, and it came to me to produce it. When they were involved in the film, it was for the other filmmakers. They told me “This is the script based on the book”, and I told them “well we can do this and that with the story”. I wished them luck and that the movie would do extremely well, but that movie never got made, and so the owners of the book, who also had the rights to the movie, told me, “We’ve heard what you wanted it to be, and we want it to be.” be so”, so I accepted; I was very happy that he finally did that script, the one you have been able to see”.

IGN Spain: “You love to create terror, but what is your biggest fear right now?”

Shyamalan: “It is this, it is the family, trying to take care of the family. It’s all in your mind, talking to your kids and telling them they’re safe; It’s all in your head, it’s not true that they’re safe, but you feel that way, and now that they’ve grown up, I care about them the same way you care about children. My parents have grown up too. It is this feeling of fragility of what I call family and life; I am totally aware of that fragility that can change everything at any moment”.

IGN Spain: “What was the last movie that scared you? It doesn’t necessarily have to be a scary movie.”

Shyamalan: “There have been some recent movies that I found interesting, like Black Phone or Smile; I haven’t seen Barbarian yet, but I want to see it. There were moments in both Smile and Black Phone that I found terrifying.”

IGN Spain: “I highly value your films for the sense that they express about destiny, fate and elections. What are your beliefs about destiny? Are they related to faith?

Shyamalan: “There is a very famous saying, although I can never say it well, but it is something like character determines your thoughts, your thoughts determine your actions, your actions determine your destiny and that determines your fate.”

“It all depends on where you come from. Suddenly, there are moments in your life when you stumble, when you think about certain things, like “why did I meet that idiot? How could this have happened?” Well it depends on you; If you look back, back and back, you will see that it has been for you. I really believe in that. And you can change direction, all the time, and you have to. You have to think about what is important to you. There was something I read, although I don’t remember the author right now, but he said that the things we believe in are the stars we navigate; you constantly have to look up and say “wait a minute” and follow the direction you intended, always looking up, so that fate and choices are those you want. In this way, you feel like you’re in control, and in many ways I think that’s true.”

They knock on the door opens on February 3 in theaters.