This past weekend at Toronto ComiCON horror fans were treated to an absolutely amazing array of guests and frankly, some of my personal influences. For example: the first thing I did when I met Darren Lynn Bousman was trip over my tongue while fanboying.

Bousman is either most known for his work on the SAW series – he wrote and directed SAW II, and helmed SAW III and IV – or as the co-creator and director of REPO! The Genetic Opera. He began his career in writing, as he himself told me (see below) that he’s always written screenplays, and actually began his career directing theatre.

Born and raised in Overland Park, Kansas, Bousman attended Kansas University as a theatre major for about a year and a half. He moved on to a film school in Florida where the script-writing bug bit him. A short time later he moved to Los Angeles, continuing to write scripts while directing music videos to support himself. It was during this time that he wrote a script called “The Desperate”, which would become something completely different after being introduced to producers Gregg Hoffman, Mark Burg and Oren Koules. Those men produced a little movie called SAW, and hired Bousman to direct SAW II, and used his “The Desperate” as the basis for that film.

Filmography

• SAW II is widely regarded as the most different of the SAW series, as it takes the concept from the first and multiplies it. A house full of strangers being poisoned, all while their captor is held in custody by the police, they must fight time and each other to find the antidotes. Many critics felt that this film didn’t “flow” with the first, however I found it to be one of the best in the series.
• SAW III sees Jigsaw die, a fact that Bousman initially tried to implement in II, but was able to convince producers that the timing was right.
• SAW IV has a timeline that runs parallel to III, so the viewer is treated to Jigsaw being both dead and alive through the use of cut scenes. IV doesn’t quite live up to its predecessors, but given that Bousman himself believed the series done after III, IV does a good job of advancing the plot into the focus of new characters.
• REPO! The Genetic Opera focuses on two dysfunctional families, one who control the futuristic plastic surgery industry through a unique financing system, and the other family torn apart due to disease and deception. Bousman himself regards this film as his masterpiece (as of this writing, at least) and while I am a die-hard SAW fan, I must say that to date, REPO! is by far my favourite Darren Lynn Bousman film.
• New Year’s Day was an episode of the Fear Itself TV series. Unfortunately I’ve not seen the episode, but knowing that Bousman collaborated with Steve Niles has me very interested.
• Mother’s Day is a remake of the 1980 Troma classic…that you will very likely never see. Listen to the audio below for the reason. I’ve obviously not seen it, however the remake was given the blessing of both Charles and Lloyd Kaufman, so it’s gotta be damn good.
• 11-11-11 Follows an author trying to escape the pain of the death of his wife and child. He learns that 11/11/11 is a day of bad omen for him.
• The Devil’s Carnival will be out in April/May depending on where you live. I had the opportunity to see a trailer for this, and I can’t fucking wait. All I can say is that it’s another goth-opera, but we’re all going to hell.

One little tidbit that I’d like to spoil for anyone other than those superfans out there: REPO! was a stage play long before it became a film. In fact, it was also a short film directed by Bousman (and starring a very different cast outside of co-creator Terrence Zdunich). Sadly, we won’t see it as there’s legal flotsam to run around, and when you hear the audio, you’ll understand that Bousman isn’t a fan of lawyers.

Bousman also has his hand in the literary world, identifying himself as a writer (screenwriter) and is the creator of the comic Abattoir. So far there’s only one issue, but Bousman does plan on getting more out there. In terms of literary influences, I’ll let the man speak for himself:

I’ve said “audio” a few times, haven’t I? Not only was Bousman incredibly accessible all weekend (hence the above snippet), he also participated in two separate panels. Below, you’ll find an hour-long audio clip of Darren speaking frankly with fans about filmmaking in general, as well as brief commentary on some of his favourite (and least favourite) movies, where the hell Mother’s Day is, a little bit about REPO! and his upcoming film project, The Devil’s Carnival.

For more information on Darren Lynn Bousman, visit his website. You can find a brief synopsis of Abattoir here, and I implore you to buy your tickets to The Devil’s Carnival.