'Lord of Misrule' Interview: Director William Brent Bell

Moviefone speaks with director William Brent Bell about 'Lord of Misrule.' "I knew I wanted to make the movie because there was a lot to be excited about."

Opening in theaters and on VOD beginning December 8th is the new horror movie ‘Lord of Misrule,’ which stars Tuppence Middleton (‘Mank’) and Ralph Ineson (‘The Creator’) and was directed by William Brent Bell (‘Orphan: First Kill’).

Director William Brent Bell on the set of 'Lord of Misrule.'

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with director William Brent Bell about his work on ‘Lord of Misrule,’ his first reaction to Tom de Ville’s screenplay, the themes he wanted to explore, building the mythology, Rebecca’s journey to find her daughter, and working with actors Tuppence Middleton and Ralph Ineson.

'Lord of Misrule' director William Brent Bell.

You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interview.

Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about your first reaction to Tom de Ville's screenplay, and as a director, what were some of the themes you were excited to explore with this movie?

William Brent Bell: My first reaction was I knew I wanted to make the movie. I knew quickly, just the mythology, I was like, "Oh, wow, this is really fresh, but it also feels familiar," which I love that concept. Just the imagery of the festival, the mass, these people, what they celebrate and how they celebrate was just interesting to me. My background is from that part of the world, so they have such a rich history of these types of festivals. It was fascinating. Then I got hooked immediately by the little girl nearly killing her pet rabbit. I mean, it hooked me immediately. There are big themes of extremist religious ideologies, which I really loved exploring. Then the very relatable story of a parent trying to find their missing child, which I think sometimes is scarier for someone then losing somebody completely. So anyway, it was a lot to be excited about.

Evie Templeton as Grace Holland in ‘Lord of Misrule.'

MF: Speaking of the mythology, was it all there in the script, or was there some world-building that you needed to do as well as a filmmaker?

WBB: I mean, it was in the script for sure. He created the Gallogog mythology, Tobias Braun, all this great stuff. It really became about fine-tuning it, streamlining it and making it fit for the movie. It probably would've been another hour longer if we had really dug in fully. That was just one thing about him. He's just great with that kind of mythology. Then bringing it to life visually, the symbology, the music, the hymns and everything that was also involved in it, that was created with the talented crew in the UK. It was such a wild experience in the best way.

(L to R) Tuppence Middleton as Rebecca Holland and Evie Templeton as Grace Holland in ‘Lord of Misrule.'

MF: Can you talk about the trauma Rebecca suffers at the loss of her child, and the decent into madness that she goes through on her journey to find Grace?

WBB: Here's this woman who is the vicar, the reverend for this town. She's new, so she seems to hold a lot of responsibility for the townsfolk, and maybe she pays attention more to them than she did her own family. Then when her child goes missing at this festival that's very foreign to her, it seemed very cute at first, and then very sinister and awful. What would you do if you were a parent? You wouldn't sleep, you wouldn't eat, you wouldn't change your clothes, and you'd just be wanting everybody to help. A strange part about this town, this village, is everybody seemed to be moving on, and they were okay with it a little too much. So, for her, the madness wasn't just in trying to find her daughter, but it was also trying to get the people around her to cooperate. I find that that is so creepy and scary to me, the kind of blind optimism, it seemed, of these people when she needed them to be freaking out with her. Tuppence Middleton, she just from day one owned all of that, and she's in almost every shot in the movie. It was incredible to watch her.

Related Article: Julia Stiles and Isabelle Fuhrman Talk Prequel ‘Orphan: First Kill'

(L to R) Tuppence Middleton as Rebecca Holland in ‘Lord of Misrule.'

MF: Did Tuppence Middleton have a clear idea of who Rebecca was when she arrived on set, or did you have to work with her through production to find the character?

WBB: Mostly in pre-production. So, we met and had a great meeting, and then the second meeting she had notes. I knew I would be working on the draft as we were in pre-production, and her notes were like my notes, which was great. It's so exciting when your lead actor is that entrenched in the character, and even to the point to where she has this great messy perm in the movie. She called me and she was like, "I don't want to freak you out, but I'm going to get a perm, because I think, for me, I want to bury myself into this character." I was like, "Go for it." Because it's a pretty unique character, this female vicar. So, from that point forward, though, we played around with stuff, but we really addressed it in the script.

(L to R) Evie Templeton as Grace Holland and Tuppence Middleton as Rebecca Holland in ‘Lord of Misrule.'

MF: As a filmmaker, do you prefer to work with actors that come to set with lots of ideas, or do want the actors to just be prepared and stick to the script?

WBB: I mean, to me, people will say directing is 80% casting sometimes, and there's a lot of truth to that. But for me, If I believe in an actor for the role, I want to cast them in the most natural version of themself playing that role. I don't want them to be trying to do something that's not natural for them. That usually means that they're invested, and they care about what the character wears. They care about the hair. They care about every little detail. I've worked in situations where an actor has been like, "Whatever you think." I'm like, "No." Because I hand the character over to them. I remember once a television actor was like, "I don't know about this line of dialogue." I was like, "Well, how would you say it?" He was like, "Well, I'm on TV. I don't usually get the opportunity to change lines." I was like, "Well, it's your character now, so you're the character, so whatever you think is going to be what's going to be most natural for the character." I love that. I love handing over that to them, because they bear such a responsibility. It's their face on the screen. They can't hide behind the camera like I do. So, the more invested and the more excited they are about bringing a character to life, the more excited I am.

Ralph Ineson as Jocelyn Abney in ‘Lord of Misrule.'

MF: Finally, can you talk about Jocelyn's role in the community, his interactions with Rebecca, and working with actor Ralph Ineson?

WBB: Well, I'll start by saying the character was written as a woman. It was written as a 70-year-old witchy woman but the same character. In casting, we were in London, and I knew I wanted to work with Ralph, because I'd worked with him before. We were friends and I sent him the script, but there wasn't necessarily a perfect role for him, and I knew that. But then the night before I went to go see him, I was like, "What if he were to play Jocelyn?" So, we sat down. We talked about it. He said that he wasn't sure if there was a great character for him, and he was going to play this cameo. Then I said, "Okay, well, what do you think about playing Jocelyn?" He sat back and then it got interesting. So, the character transformed a month before we shot. He's a man who obviously lost his son years earlier, we don't know what happened to his wife, and he seems like a very lonely guy. Ralph came in. He said, "He's like an old schoolteacher, but he doesn't wash his suits. He doesn't clean under his fingernails." Even Tom, who's such a great writer, was like, "I love Ralph, but now I have to rewrite the whole character." I was like, "No, don't change a thing. Let's let Ralph's interpretation of that character come through in this odd way," which is really, great for Ralph. I love working with him. He's one of those actors that just immediately makes anything better. Like I said, we've worked together before. He's the kind of person that I just always want to go to for a great role in every movie I do. But Jocelyn, he's the mayor. He's the secret leader of the town, but he's pushed things too far. He's such an extremist just like 300 years earlier in our mythology with Tobias Braun, where the church came in and burned the town down. Well, it's going to happen again unless they shift how they're led in that town, which is ultimately what happens in the movie is they choose a new leader.

Lord of Misrule

"Beware the Harvest."

NR1 hr 44 minDec 8th, 2023

Showtimes & Tickets

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What is the plot of ‘Lord of Misrule’?

‘Lord of Misrule’ follows Rebecca Holland (Tuppence Middleton), who has recently taken over as priest of a small town. When her young daughter Grace (Evie Templeton) goes missing at the local harvest festival, a desperate search begins. The closer they edge towards finding Grace, the more secrets emerge from the town’s dark past. Soon, Rebecca must decide just how much she is willing to sacrifice to rescue her daughter from the grip of evil.