Gruesome has traveled into the Great Beyond and pulled out the exclusive trailer and a few exciting pics from The Quantum Devil, the new Lovecraftian horror flick from the creators of Girl Next. Co-writer/director Larry Wade Carrell and screenwriter Zeph (Society) Daniel also gave us the scoop on the film, in which scream superstar Robert Englund voices the lead malevolent entity.
“We wanted to do something dealing with the quantum realm, and we had a screenplay developed by Mike Muscal regarding opening portals and the consequences of evil,” says Daniel. “And we wanted to be true to the perennial H.P. Lovecraft. Also, Larry and I talked about a kind of a morality tale that says nobody gets away with anything. Every character had done something horrifying and had gotten away with it.”
“After Girl Next, we had so much fun that we decided to form Crazed House and keep making movies,” adds Carrell. “I really loved the world Zeph had created in Girl Next, and he had already written The Voice, which shared some similar themes and elements. So, I pitched him on expanding and connecting these movies and creating our Quantum Universe. Zeph came up with the Quantum Quartet concept, and we were off to the races.”
In The Quantum Devil, an international team of scientists are summoned to a remote location in Eastern Europe to conduct clandestine experiments in an effort to breach the quantum barrier and travel to another dimension. The four scientists, each harboring a dark secret, must confront the sins of their past while facing the dangerous consequences of journeying to the other side…into the realm of the Quantum Devil.
As noted, The Quantum Devil takes its cues from classic Lovecraft stories and movies like Stuart Gordon’s From Beyond. Says Daniel, “Yes, indeed, we wanted to dive in there. Definitely! And what is that realm? The other side perhaps? Death perhaps? Or is it Hell?”
Carrell concurs: “As I have said before, I am a child of the Video Nasties. I cut my teeth on the classics: Evil Dead, Re-Animator, Bride of Re-Animator, Society. So, [as far as the Lovecraft influences], ‘Yes.’”
Besides the HPL references, some of The Quantum Devil’s origins can be found in the duo’s previous woman-in-jeopardy film.
“Girl Next is just the beginning,” Daniel says. “We learn about Quantamine and breaking through to the other side, and it establishes that there truly is another side. And that the dead are not really dead. So, where do they go?”
Though the team had filmed Girl Next in Texas, The Quantum Devil planted its stakes in Eastern Europe, where producer Loris Curci (The Ghosts of Monday, Nightworld: Door of Hell) has lensed several previous productions.
“We shot in Belgrade, Serbia, and had an amazing location in an abandoned sugar factory,” says Daniel. “It looked really strange, like the beginning of the Industrial Age, now crumbling. I love it. We also had a stellar crew, and our producer there was just great. Serbia gave us a look we could not have gotten any other way.”
Regarding the location, Carrell adds, “The movie was shot entirely on location in Serbia. Amazing people and a beautiful country! Our partners, Talking Wolf Productions, found us some amazing locations. My favorite was that sugar factory built in 1899 that had been partially converted into experimental theater space.”
The Quantum Devil stars Neil Dickson, Tyler Tackett, Ariadna Cabrol, and Baskin’s Mehmet Cerrahoglu. And let’s not forget that very special guest star, currently enjoying a career resurgence on season four of Stranger Things.
“Robert Englund voices a giant Cthulhu-type creature,” Carrell (pictured with Englund) reveals. “Barada is a low-level deity who presides over the 11th dimension in the quantum realm.”
“Barada seems to be running the dark side for now,” Daniel adds. “He is a huge demonic monster that rules over this particular part of the realm.”
The Quantum Devil is finished and out with UK sales agent Jinga Films. The movie hits a lot of fan-friendly bases, producer Curci concludes.
“The Quantum Devil is sort of a nostalgic homage to the mad-doctor horror/sci-fi films of the 1980s,” he says. “From Beyond is easily the film’s major reference. But then there’s a period scene in the movie that is a direct homage to Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon. We’ve also got a few references to The Day the Earth Stood Still. And there’s some black humor that lightens up the general tone. It’s sexy, and there’s a great monster, played by Englund himself. Last but not least, we also paid homage to one of mine and Larry’s favorite horror movies, the Turkish Baskin. We cast Mehmet, who played the devil in Can Evrenol’s movie. The Quantum Devil is a fun movie.”
