Blood splatters — seemingly everywhere — in Destroy All Neighbors, the new Shudder release that indulges in campy grotesque horror. Comedy horror fans will adore it and ‘beta’ males out there may finally feel as if they are being seen and heard. Directed by Josh Forbes and penned by Charles Pieper and Jared Logan, the offbeat film stars Jonah Ray Rodrigues (Mystery Science Theater 3000), Alex Winter (Bill & Ted Face the Music), and Kiran Deol (Sunnyside).

The story will immediately raise eyebrows. William Brown (Jonah Ray) is a mess. Neurotic and self-absorbed, the musician can’t rest until he finishes his prog-rock masterpiece. A bullish, downright sickly and noisy neighbor named Vlad (Winter) is dampening William’s creative mojo. When William gathers the courage to confront Vlad, somehow he decapitates him. It, uh… happens?

Time to cover up the freaky murder. But dark clouds follow William, sending him into a quirky if not accidental reign of terror where victims keep piling up. Did we mention the undead factor yet? This film is loaded with the comically nasty undead disrupting poor William and his prog-rock future. Fans of out-there splatter-comedies with practical effects, plenty of blood and gore, and cameos by well-known actors in on the joke, will love Destroy All Neighbors. Stars Jonah Ray Rodrigues and Alex Winter, and director Josh Forbes, break it all down for MovieWeb in this exclusive interview.

The Genesis of Destruction
Shudder

Destroy All Neighbors came into being as an act of catharsis. Josh Forbes and writer Charlie Pieper were both experiencing neighbor issues, so the two thought, “why not?” The exaggerated result found its way to the screen.

“I was talking with my buddy Charlie, and I was complaining about a neighbor who would just bang on the wall all the time,” Forbes explained. “He would just make weird noises and scream in the middle of the night. I’d look in the hallway, and he would be drunk just like trying to stab his key into his doorknob. I became so terrified about confronting him. Then Charlie started explaining that his neighbor was even crazier.” He continued:

We just started going back and forth, and I thought, ‘This feels like a movie.’ It took off from there. As each person came on board, the story changed and grew and became the glorious romp it is today.

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Forbes goes on to say he hopes audiences also see beyond the gore. “I think a big part of the movie is about the creative struggle and how we allow ourselves to get in the way of us getting stuff done,” he said. “At least for me, the striving for perfection means I just won’t finish things. Hopefully, this film will encourage people to finish something and get it out there. People are going to like it or they’re not going to like it, and they’ll make another thing and put it out there. I think that’s one of the biggest lessons I’ve ever learned as a filmmaker.”

Go for Gross

As the unforgettable Vlad, Alex Winter was on the receiving end of a great deal of practical effects. From Vlad’s contorted and bumpy face to oddly figured body, Winter had to maneuver through a great deal.

“I always do character work, but to get to do prosthetic work in a gonzo comedy with friends and people who I have artistic simpatico with is extremely rare,” Winter shared. “I’ve known Jonah for a little bit, and he got me the script. It was like, ‘Oh, this is written by people who have the same sensibility I have.’ And I knew Jonah did.”

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As the project grew, he learned more about the prosthetics involved. he explained:

“I’m a big fan of Gabriel Bartalos and Bill Corso, who did the painting applications of Gabe’s designs and makeup. We put an incredible team together on all sides of this movie. When you’re doing practical effects like this — effects in prosthetics — and you have support, I feel free to go nuts. Within reason, but I do feel kind of unshackled. That’s also uncommon. That’s why I don’t do it that often.”

“There’s nothing that would seem more unpleasant to me than to be doing that in some kind of project where I don’t have that kind of support, or I don’t really see eye to eye with the tone,” he went on. “But I knew the tone allowed me to really go for it.”

Why Jonah Ray Rodrigues Had to Be Cast

There’s nothing better than watching a seasoned actor do “crazy” with fervor. In Destroy All Neighbors, Rodrigues captures the absurdity of William’s situation with dizzy pep. He perfectly captures several shocking looks. Meanwhile, the director doesn’t hold back on splattering blood, flying body parts, and internal organs becoming major scene-stealers.

“The scene that grossed me out the most was the one where I get puked on,” Rodrigues admitted. “I’ve had blood splattered on my face before [in films]. I’ve done stuff where I get sprayed, but the viscous nature of that other stuff… I was like, ‘It’s fine,’ but then it goes over and in my ears, and it’s thick and heavy and it’s gross.” He added:

I was not prepared to how gross that would feel. That’s the scene that shocked me, where I was like, ‘this would be great — going to get puked on in a horror comedy, can’t wait!’

He went on to share that he was immediately drawn to the idea of headlining Destroy All Neighbors for several reasons. “Josh kind of soft-pitched it to me just as a concept — a movie starring me where it would be Delicatessen meets Evil Dead 2. And I love those movies. I love that style. And of course, I asked Josh if I could punch it up because I’ve been doing comedy, performing, and writing for years, and I wanted to give him some of my services. I was just excited to just collaborate with Josh. It was really exciting to do a kind of movie I loved as a kid. I wanted to try and make the thing that the 12-year-old version of me would just be obsessed with.”

Feed your horror comedy addiction by streaming Destroy All Neighbors on Shudder beginning January 12. Find its incredible, epic rock soundtrack on Apple Music and other digital platforms.

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