Fitch/Baker conjure up another scare

Directing team Fitch/Baker [aka Matt Fitch and Chris Baker] are no strangers to a frightening concept. 

The directors behind last year's Backmask, which swept festivals around the country, have returned with an even shorter but no less scary film which sees a strange but enigmatic magician beguile a young women, with unusual consequences. 

Recently off the festival circuit, where it premiered at the Glasgow Film Festival, screened at the famous Chinese Theatre in Hollywood as part of Screamfest LA, and was part of the official selection at Brighton Rocks, New York City Horror Film Festival, Celluloid Screams, Nightmares Festival and the Toronto Horror Film Festival, among others, The Trick is now available online just in time to unsettle people for Halloween. 

Below, Fitch and Baker discuss their love of magic, a mild obsession with the occult, and why horror is enjoying a wonderful comeback.

Above: Fitch/Baker's The Trick.

What prompted you to write and direct The Trick?

CB: Matt and I had just finished our festival run on Backmask and we were deep into developing the feature film version. We truly understand the term 'development hell' now and wanted to get back to what we loved. 

MF: It was intended to be a bit of a palette cleanser really, just a short, sharp scare with a fun character at the centre. When Chris pitched me the idea for the story it just felt right that it should be our next film.

Backmask dealt with the supernatural and occult; what is it about that area that inspires or interests you?

CB: Our goal is always to bake in as many of these ideas as we can into our work. I, like many weirdos, had a mild obsession with Aleister Crowley. The idea that words (a spell) can be more than just what you hear. Read it upside down or backwards and see what sounds come out. I'm still waiting for someone to watch Backmask as intended... backwards!

I, like many weirdos, had a mild obsession with Aleister Crowley.

MF: I’ve always been interested in the darker side of reality, and Chris is my soul brother in that respect. Over the years, we’ve embedded our own twisted philosophy into our scripts, comics and, later, Backmask. The Trick was no different. 

Above: Directors Matt Fitch [left], and Chris Baker. 

The film is genuinely unsettling, especially the end; how hard was it to get what was in your head and on the page, onto the screen?

CB: I can't take too much credit for the execution. Matt and our very talented DP, Sy Turnbull, planned and executed the mirror ending. It did not disappoint. 

Our very talented DP, Sy Turnbull, planned and executed the mirror ending. It did not disappoint.

MF: The ending was definitely the hardest thing to work out, both technically and creatively. I won’t give any spoilers here, but in the script it was written very simply, and then we had to figure out, well what does that actually look like? I’m still not completely happy with it, if I’m honest.

The actor playing the magician is creepily good; can you tell us about the casting and what you were looking for?

CB: Rowan [Polonski] was a recommendation from Jenny [Eggleton], our leading lady. She had read with him at acting classes and told us we needed to meet him. Rowan is one of the most friendly and warm people I've had the pleasure of working with. We spoke at length about everything from Abbey Road to Singer Sewing machines and probably warped his fragile mind! 

MF: When he arrived at our first rehearsal, Rowan had a deep dark look in his eyes and sat waiting in his chair. Then, when we called action, he spoke in that voice. His wide eyes never blinked. It really made us smile ear to ear.

Above: Actors Rowan Polonski, who won Best Actor at the British Horror Film Festival, and Jenny Eggleton.

And the props too - the deck of cards - how and where did you source that?

CB: After many false starts, we decided to buy a retro deck of classic Bicycle cards, and asked our old comic book mate Krent Able to draw faces that would give a child nightmares. They weren’t ready in time for the shoot so the faces were added to the cards in post by the incredibly talented folks at ETC, and frankly look flawless! 

MF: Getting the cards right was a challenge. They needed to look familiar, yet still somehow wrong. We went through a number of iterations before finally landing where we did at the literal eleventh hour.

As a directing duo, on a fairly short run-time project, how do you approach it as a partnership?

CB: Matt and I talk endlessly about the details, but there is an element of divide and conquer. Sometimes we barely remember who was responsible for what on a project.

We asked our old comic book mate Krent Able to draw faces that would give a child nightmares. 

MF: In a nutshell, it’s lots of meticulous planning and discussion in advance; going down rabbit holes, finding our way our again, then being a united front on the day.

What was the hardest part about making The Trick?

CB: Originally, we had planned for a two day shoot. Sadly, we had to condense it into one, and that was tough. I will say that the pressure made us honest and kept us working very hard. 

MF: There was a bit of tension on the day but we all enjoyed ourselves.