Kevin Lewis on PIG HILL, Practical Effects, and Modern Folk Horror

Image courtesy of Cineverse

By Shannon McGrew

In PIG HILL, from director Kevin Lewis, based on the Nancy William novel, “Pig,” Carrie (Rainey Qualley), a young author, investigates the disappearance of local women in the community of Meadville, Pennsylvania, quickly becoming entwined in a strange local legend about the creatures that live on Pig Hill. 

For the release of PIG HILL, Creepy Kingdom’s Shannon McGrew spoke with director Kevin Lewis (Willy’s Wonderland). During their chat, they discussed everything from the film's folk horror roots and giallo-inspired visual style to its emphasis on practical effects and the deeper themes of fear and human darkness.

Thank you for speaking with me today, Kevin. How did this project land on your radar, and what convinced you to direct it?

Kevin Lewis: A friend of mine, Lawreen Yakkel, who worked on Willy’s Wonderland as a line producer, brought me the script. I read the script and then the book, and was like, wow; especially with the third act, I was like, I have to do this movie. I met the producers and gave a pitch. It was interesting, too, because there was a very different ending, and I pitched my ending, and that kind of landed me the gig. The very last scene of the movie I pitched. That’s what I pictured, and they were [on board]. The producing team was fantastic on this movie. Working off the book that Nancy wrote and Jarrod Burris’ screenplay, it lent to me that we were dealing with real-life subjects and dealing with very intense subject matter, but I’m also trying to make a rollercoaster ride in a way. So the challenge was how to do that when making a movie about pig people, but that was the fun of it. 

Given the film's depravity, its visuals are very vibrant, with a focus on blues and reds. Can you talk about what you were hoping to elicit with those color choices? 

Kevin Lewis: I’m a huge fan of Dario Argento, so you get the whole Italian-Giallo vibe, but I also wanted to make it an actual crime exploration, and so how do you balance that, right? So, cinematic realism, like with Carrie doing the book and then the funeral, things like that, but then you have this whole vibe of Giallo, other-worldly, David Lynch. I listened to a lot of The Cure while making this movie, the beautiful melancholy, trying to mix that up in a blender, and so what scenes work for the realism? What scenes work for this? Then how do you blend them so that one becomes the other, and you can’t tell them apart? A lot of thought went into that, and that's what was exciting about doing this movie.

Image courtesy of Cineverse

The film features a strong cast, including Shiloh Fernandez, Rainey Qualley, and Shane West. What qualities were you looking for when you were putting this ensemble together?

Kevin Lewis: The actors are so great, and the main three are fantastic. Rainey has an otherworldly, transcendent quality. Shane has this likable charm, and Shiloh is smoldering like hot lava. And then you have Jeff Monahan, who plays Reggie, who was great. What’s interesting, too, is that a lot of the producing crew and some of the actors had ties to George Romero cause [the film was filmed in] Pennsylvania. They knew about George and would tell great stories about him to me, and that was really kind of cool. Jeff and producer Marty Schiff had worked with George on many movies, which brought a classic horror vibe, and then I brought in these edgy indie actors and put them together, which was really cool. 

PIG HILL places a strong emphasis on practical effects, from the gore to the pig masks. Why was it important for you to lean into practical effects for this film? 

Kevin Lewis: Jason Baker did the mask and also the Grabber mask for The Black Phone and the effects for Terrifier 3. The whole thing about the mask was that we came up with a lot of different artistic renderings and kind of Frankensteined them together to make it something original, not something you buy at Spirit Halloween. Then I was thinking about what the mask really represented. A lot of thought went into that. Making the pig creatures feel real was important because it was something that the townspeople had been talking about since they’d been growing up. Nancy wrote the book about the legend of them in Meadville, so I am trying to respect that while also adding my own quirky spin. 

Speaking of legends, are there any that fascinate you?

Kevin Lewis: All the OG originals: Bigfoot, the Loch Ness monster, etc. That’s such a good question, because we live in a day now when nothing is sacred. After all, with digital phones, there are pictures, but back in the day, when you didn’t have that, the legends and the lore were so much deeper. 

What do you think PIG HILL is ultimately saying about fear? Whether it’s fear of isolation, community folklore, or something deeper? 

Kevin Lewis: Definitely all of that, but also, to me, fear of oneself and the darkness of man. Man is such an interesting subject. We’re always wondering, why are we here? People have religion and rely on so many things, but the idea of why we are here and what man can do by creating such brilliant, beautiful things, and how they can also tear it down and destroy it in half the time. What drives me as a filmmaker is exploring the human condition. That’s what I wanted to do with PIG HILL. 

PIG HILL is now available to watch on Digital.