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Editor David Michael Maurer has Audiences Shrieking with Splinter
A talented actor and an imaginative director are only part of what makes a horror movie so terrifying. Where would scary flicks be without the clever cuts and camera angles that make us jump in our seats?
Recent festival hit Splinter, a movie about a parasite that turns its victims into blood-lusting hosts, is a perfect example of how editing affects audiences’ reactions. Editor David Michael Maurer, an Emmy-nominated master of his craft, took an inventive approach when collaborating with director Toby Wilkins. Experimenting with camera angles, anticipating viewers’ expectations and getting into the characters’ heads has resulted in a truly spine-tingling experience.
Just days before Splinter took home six awards (Best Editing and Best Picture among them) at Screamfest, MovieMaker spoke with Maurer about his process and what inspires him to do what he does so well.
Kristin Forte (MM): Editing plays a key role in making a horror movie both suspenseful and frightening. What was your approach to Splinter to create a truly horrifying experience?
David Michael Maurer (DMM): We utilized a variety of editing techniques that involved significant collaboration with the production team. Shot with the ARRIFLEX D-20 digital camera, I had an incredible amount of footage to choose from within the Avid timeline. The film’s scares are a combination of great camera work, direction and clever editing/pacing in scenes.
Director Toby Wilkins and I talked a lot about playing with audience expectations, making certain creative decisions around the film’s editing structure in order to manipulate viewers’ reactions. Using the toolset within Avid’s Media Composer software, we relied on speed effects and frame selection to create a fishbowl experience where the audience watches the characters as if they’re trapped inside this claustrophobic environment.
Splinter takes the audience on a roller coaster, exploiting a variety of situations that evoke fear. Wilkins and I tried to get inside the heads of the characters in order to determine what kind of scare would be best. If we did a traditional jump scare, we might intentionally preempt the next one with a shot containing negative space; you expect something bad to happen and when it doesn’t, your heart beats a little faster and the scare is bigger when it finally arrives. Once a style of a particular scare was established in the film, breaking our rules became a fun device to keep the audience on their toes.
As another approach, we used different point-of-view shots to make the audience a part of the event. For example, in the roadside kidnapping scene, the character Dennis [Shea Whigham] approaches the car and knocks on the window. We had several options for how the audience would see this: A wide shot with Dennis lingering in the brush; an interior shot from the front seat so he walks up as a surprise; or a handheld wide shot from the tail of the vehicle. However, more than just the surprise of his arrival, I wanted the audience to feel part of the scene. Ultimately, Wilkins and I found this strange angle from the right rear passenger seat that was really obscured and tightly framed. We used a few seconds of the shot and it‘s scary because the audience feels trapped in the car with the other characters. If we were sitting in the backseat and saw this man walking up, there would be nothing we could do. We’d want to warn the other characters, or run, but it all happens too fast. It makes the audience feel powerless and it’s far more terrifying than just a jump scare.
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