Colin Minihan and Stuart Ortiz are The Vicious Brothers. Although fairly new to the horror movie-making game, they are well on their way to becoming the genre’s most anticipated movie-makers. With the success of their films “Grave Encounters” and “Extraterrestrial”, the duo are indie superstars.

Both men grew up on the west coast; Colin in Tustin Ca., and Stu in the tree farming town of Port McNeill, Canada. It was on this Canadian island that the two collaborated and wrote “Grave Encounters”. With a love of horror and a penchant for wit, the film makers infuse scares with visual asides, giving alms to the casual horror fan and tribute to the most devoted.

The Viscous Brothers took some time out of their busy schedule to talk to me and iHorror about what motivates them, their attitudes on working together and what fans can expect from them in the future.

 

iH: Where did you guys grow up?  

 Colin: A little logging town in British Columbia, Canada called Port McNeill. We wrote Grave Encounters there. 

Stuart: A shitty suburb in Orange County called Tustin.

 

iH: What was the first movie you saw that made you say, “Yes, I want to be a director”?

 Colin: Jurassic Park was a big one. Probably the James Earl Jones narrated Behind The Scenes of Jurassic Park helped as well. 

Stuart: Terminator 2 and Back to the Future.

 

iH: Who is your favorite director?

 Colin: impossible to answer but off the top of my head  80’s/90s Spielberg. Late 90’s Fincher. Early 2000’s Aranofsky… Danny Boyle… 80’s Carpenter… Tarantino… 

Stuart: Same as above, + Zemeckis + Cameron.

 

iH: “Grave Encounters” was one of those films that turned a popular technique and made it fresh again. It appears that you guys know your stuff. And you repeated that success in part two. You are clearly fans of horror and sci-fi. It is very clever that you incorporate things that fans will get and appreciate, but also appeal to the non-aficionado who might not get the homage; almost like a Pixar film; they are for kids, but adults will get jokes that fly over the kids’ heads. Is this an idea that you incorporate into every script, or do these ideas come together while filming?

Colin:  Pixar! Vicious Pixar. I’m down.  I think we just try and have fun doing what we’re doing…we like to have some humour in our films…adult humour mixed with the occasional fart joke. We like to have some good laughs on set and throughout the writing process. 

 Stuart: It’s important to us that our scripts will satisfy the complete non-genre/doesn’t-care-about-genre dude who just wants a fun movie to watch on a Friday night, but also have that added level of subtext that will satisfy the fan-boy/cinephile.

 

iH: Do you guys ever have disagreements while filming? 

 Colin: Rarely. 

Stuart: All the time!

 

 

iH: Who would be your dream actor/actress to work with?

 Colin:  there are too many to list… I’ll go with   Christian Bale & Sigourney Weaver.

Stuart: Matt Damon and Julianne Moore.

 

iH: What was the last great horror movie you saw?

 Colin: The Descent I re-watched like a week ago and dug still. 

Stuart: I really liked Occulus. 

 

iH: Any plans for a “Grave Encounters 3” (fans, me included, love the series so far)?

 Colin: We’re still trying to make that happen!

Stuart: We have a genuinely cool idea for it that will bring back Sean Rogerson as the star, but it’s just a matter of things coming together.

 

iH: What are you guys working on next? I understand if you can’t tell me details, but perhaps a small tease would suffice. 

 Colin: We’ve been writing like crazy. One is a survival horror movie set in the desert. Another is a paranormal investigative thriller, and we’re attached to a few things that could click this year!

Stuart: We’ve also got an idea for a television series, but that’s very hush hush right now!

 The Vicious Brothers will be pitching more than a schooner in a squall this year. Their love of the genre will continue to be expressed onscreen, and Hollywood and fans are taking notice. When you watch a Vicious Brothers film you will understand that their style contains a certain Gestalt; a captivating assembly of the genres most interesting pieces.

“Grave Encounters” is available from Amazon.com here.

“Grave Encounters 2” is also available from Amazon.com here.

Look for “Extraterrestrial” on DVD and streaming soon!