Horror filmmaker and Texas native Mitch McLeod got chills as he read a series of emails a stalker sent his mentor, the late writer and funeral industry professional James Foster, whose pen name was “Distal Marrow.”
But turning that unsettling correspondence into a horror movie proved tricky.
“They terrified me when I first read them,” McLeod told the Current during a recent interview. “But I could not figure out how to turn them into an interesting film.”
When his wife, actress Jessica Dawn Willis, suggested centering a script on a true-crime podcast, the idea for his next horror film fell into place.
In Marrow, Willis stars as Jamie Foster, a podcaster who invites her own stalker onto her show — even though she suspects he may be the serial killer behind the murders of other social media influencers. McLeod said most of the stalker’s dialogue was taken straight from the emails.
During our interview, McLeod, who was born in Garland, discussed society’s fascination with serial killers and whether a podcast like the one featured in the film would attract listeners or cross an ethical line.
Marrow makes its debut on VOD platforms on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
I’m being facetious, but doesn’t it worry you that your wife loves true crime so much?
Oh, of course! [Women] are the craziest [fans]. She’s a very intelligent woman and a terrific writer, and her fascination with the macabre sometimes matches my own. There’s a very specific audience among women who enjoy true crime. We have a moment in the film where we break down those statistics.
Do you recognize your Texas upbringing at all in your work as a filmmaker?
I’ve traveled, but I haven’t really experienced growing up elsewhere. So, it’s difficult for me to say whether or not my Texas upbringing has influenced anything. There are parts of Texas I’ve been to that influenced some of the locations in Marrow. If you look at some of my past work, they all do take place in small, secluded areas. So, maybe I do have a propensity for that. While that is a factor, I think seclusion lends itself to horror.
What is your earliest horror movie memory as a kid?
I remember my mom showed me Wes Craven’s Scream, and I just loved it. I could not get enough of it to the point where she took me to the theater to see Scream 2 on the night it was released. She’d hate me telling you this because she’d call herself a bad parent or whatever. I remember in the first Scream, they’re watching Halloween. So then [my mom] showed me Halloween, and I went insane. I wore out the VHSs when I was a kid.
What were the challenges in balancing your mentor’s experience and the demands of what a horror movie required?
My biggest concern was keeping true to what happened, but also taking a supernatural approach to it. Obviously, I took liberties, but I wanted to make sure that we captured the spirit of the story. Some of the supernatural elements were things [James] talked about.
Did making the film change the way you think about society’s fascination with serial killers?
I’ve never been a big true crime fan … but I’ve always had a fascination with serial killers, and I’ve read a lot of books about them. It’s a fascinating and terrifying psychology … even if I didn’t necessarily watch true crime before diving into this film. So, I’m not sure it’s changed anything about the way I feel about it, but it certainly has opened up new horizons to explore.
Since Jamie gives her stalker a platform on her podcast, do you view her as a cautionary figure or someone who’s complicit in the media culture she’s caught up in?
I think that opening up her platform to bring somebody like that onto the show is a commentary on society. I think that we’re living in an age where people are more fascinated by clicks than anything else. In the social media age, I can understand why, but it’s still terrifying. We’re living in a world right now where people are more concerned with audience engagement than anything else. I think it becomes irresponsible because they’re not really caring about what else happens as long as someone is engaging.
If Jamie were a real podcaster today, do you think her listeners would recognize the danger she’s in, or would they reward her for getting closer to it?
I think both. People these days are so hungry for content. I think if this were to happen in real life, there would be a morbid fascination by audiences. I think a lot of the audiences would call it fake. They’re always looking for the smoke and mirrors. I think it would also raise a really interesting discussion online between the people who believe it’s real and tune in, the people who think it’s a hoax and the people who recognize what is happening and think it’s wrong.
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