Interview: ‘Little Bone Lodge’ Writer & Star Neil Linpow

March saw the world premiere of Matthias Hoene’s latest film Little Bone Lodge at FrightFest Glasgow. The film stars Joely Richardson as a mother who goes to extreme lengths to protect her family when two brother arrives at their remote farmhouse one stormy night. Written by Neil Linpow, who also stars in the film, Little Bone Lodge is a twisty home invasion thriller that has plenty of tricks up its sleeve. The premiere of Little Bone Lodge went down a treat with the FrightFest crowd and there’s good news if you missed it there as it is now available to watch on digital platforms. To coincide with the release we sat down with Neil Linpow to discuss the journey from script to screen.

Little Bone Lodge went down a treat at FrightFest Glasgow, how did you find the experience?

Honestly, as fun as it was – it was mostly a massive, massive relief. Haha. I think when you are on the inside of a film, it’s sometimes hard to have an objective opinion on it. You’ve seen behind the curtain, so to speak. Starting from our initial conversations (with Matthias Hoene), I’d spent two years with this film in my head before that screening. Like all films, there were sturdy roadblocks in the way, and we’d been on this roller coaster journey together, where the film and our perceptions of it existed in a bit of a bubble. We felt we’d made something cool and interesting, but before before Glasgow, the reality is that we had absolutley no idea what anyone else would think about it, and that was scary for us both.

When the lights went up, and we got such a warm reception, it felt like a weight had been lifted off of my chest and I could finally breathe, as dramatic as that sounds. When you’ve been working for an opportunity in your career, and it’s taken a while to come along, I think there is always this fear. A fear that you might actually just be that one fella on the X-Factor in the white linen suit. The one that can’t hold a note, but doesn’t understand why they won’t put him through to the next round. Haha.

So, yeah… joy, and relief. And then a few stiff drinks with the brilliant FrightFest crowd.

The idea for Little Bone Lodge began during lockdown, did being stuck indoors help facilitate the energy for the story itself?

Most definitely. I’ve always gravitated to films that feel contained and limit the scope of the narrative to a single location, or a limited number of cast. Those restrictons challenge you to develop interesting character dynamics and look for ways to hold an audience captive with intimate storytelling. 

Being literally unable to leave the house gave me the focus and time to write, as well as a sense of longing to get out. The idea of being unable to leave resonated into my writing and I really enjoyed figuring out the logistics within the script. When you can’t open any locked doors, you have to make sure that you stay true to the world you’re building. The characters motivations and logic can’t suddenly change because you’ve walked a character into a place they wouldn’t now be able to get out of, or back into. The general mood of the world at the time was confusion and fear, and I think that really helped to put my mind into a place where this story came easily. 

When you were writing the character, what was it about Jack that stood out to you as a role you wanted to play?

I’ve always enjoyed those characters that walk close to the line, and I wanted to write something that I felt played to my strengths as an actor. I was interested in taking someone that initially seems like the classic antagonist and slowly peel back some of the layers to develop a three dimensional person that can justify his actions, and hopefully have the audience understanding him too.

The idea with all the characters was make them complex and nuanced and have the viewer shift their allegiances as the film progresses. Hopefully by the end of the film, the audience has a sense of sympathy for Jack, or the ultimately the film doesn’t really work. The reality is that in real life, no one thinks they are the bad guy, and even bad people can do good. And vice versa. So Jack couldn’t be too vanilla or the audience just wouldn’t be arsed with him, but he couldn’t tip the balance into being irredeemable either. That balance was a lot of fun to explore, especially in finding those more tender moments with Matty.  

You’ve previously starred in films that you have written and directed, how was it being directed as an actor when you had written the script?

Before the first words were written, Matthias and I had talked about us working on a project that he would direct, and I would act in. So the lines were drawn right from the start, and that meant that once the script was written, I could focus solely on the character work. We built a really good understanding of what we felt the film was over the year or so of development/pre production, so when we walked onto set, we knew that we were ready. He understood how to get the best out of me, and the other actors, and I felt confident that I had a collaborator I could trust to explore the scenes with. As much as I enjoy directing my own writing, I wouldn’t have wanted to make this film with anyone else, and I am grateful to him for trusting in me too.

Without giving any spoilers, Little Bone Lodge is far more complex than it initially seems, how difficult was it during the writing process to balance those moments of revelation? 

It’s tough, but probably the most fun part of the process to be honest. Before I wrote the script, I had a pretty detailed treatment of the story, beat for beat. It was really useful in seeing how the narrative broke down and whether the arcs in the story were working. 

I don’t think the film lives or dies by its story twists, but I wanted to make a film with a healthy dose of misdirection. One that kept shifting the audience even after they thought they had it all figured out. Judging what the audience needs to follow the breadcrumb trail, or what they’ll easily pick up on is the hard part. If you play it too subtle, then that rug pull loses it’s power and becomes more of a confused head scratcher moment than a rewarding ‘wtf’ moment.

Ideally you want the audience to figure the turns out about 60 seconds before you reveal them, so they’ve connected the dots, but not so early that they’re waiting for the film to catch up with them. Then once it’s on the page and shot, it’s also up to the director and the editor to lay those moments out in a way that they feel works for them. 

You’re playing against Joely Richardson in a project that is very different to her other work, how was she as a scene partner? And did she share what it was about the character / story that hooked her in?

Joely is great and she’s exactly what this film needed too. An actor with real presence who commands respect, and gives it back in spades. She cared deeply about making this the very best thing it could be, and she always put the project first. Some of the work she did with Harry [Cadby] for instance was a great example of that. Realising that Harry’s face was getting lost in her shoulder, she’d reposition her body mid take to turn her single shots into a two shot so that you could see this great chemistry between them. It sounds silly, but having that generosity and understanding of coverage meant that we got some beautiful moments between them. She’s also a warrior. All that physical stuff she does in the film. All those hits and falls, are her. A true professional and we were so incredibly lucky to have her, because making a film like this is a gamble for her. 

I’m certain that a small British film shooting for 4 weeks in February, set mostly in the rain probably wasn’t the most enticing offer she was considering when she got the script for Little Bone Lodge. The story is dark, and the character has to go to some nasty places, so I am sure she won’t mind me telling you that she took some convincing. We both knew how brilliant she would be though and Matthias, to his credit went after her doggedly.

I think ultimately it was the potential in the script and the character that convinced her to take the risk. I think Joely was intrigued by the characters reasoning, and felt that there was enough light in her to make the character interesting and playable. And enough darkness to have some fun with it too.

There are several fight / action sequences in the movie, much of them occurring within tight spaces, how much preparation went into those scenes and how was it channelling your inner Tom Cruise?

I love all of the physical stuff. It’s one of the best things about being an actor. Getting to (literally) chuck yourself into the character.

Being a small British independent film, we didn’t have much time or money, but we did have a fantastic crew of talent from the production assistants, right up to our producer Mark. Our brilliant fight choreographer, Dan Styles worked with his team to develop the more complex fights (Jack and Adams) and had myself and Clifford Samuel in for a day to learn the moves about two weeks before we shot. We then shot that sequence over most of one day. It was pretty gruelling, but credit to Cliff, he was a trooper and did a fantastic job. It helps that he is a close friend, so whenever the choke holds got a bit tight, I could give him a cheeky slap. Haha. We wanted the fights to feel dirty. Nothing too polished or ‘trained.’ Our DOP, Job Reineke did a fantastic job of accentuating that by shooting it all tight and handheld, to add an authentic sense of nastiness to them. 

You’ve got a few projects in the pipeline, including Bagman working with William Hope AKA Gorman in Aliens. Is there anything you can share about it?

I think Bagman is set for a fall release this year, and I am excited to see it too. I don’t think I can say anything other than that it’s the most terrifying script I have ever read. I think it’s going to be great. What I can say is that when my mate Colm McCarthy [Bagman‘s director] told me that I was playing my scenes with Bill Hope, I needed to have a little sit down. I grew up on Ridley Scott and James Cameron and count Aliens as one of my favourite ever films. My brother and I can recite it line for line. We shot Bagman out in Bulgaria, and on my first day Bill and I went through costume and then had the rest of the day off. Hanging out over a couple of beers and picking his brain on Aliens was one of those genuine high point moments.

Signature Entertainment presents Little Bone Lodge on Digital Platforms 22nd May.