Hulu’s annual Huluween celebration continues tonight with an original horror comedy, Carved. The film is set on Halloween 1993, when the staff of a historic pioneer village attraction must work together to survive a relentless assault by a monstrous killer pumpkin set on revenge. Genre fans won’t want to miss this brisk (94 minutes!), well-made film, which will make you think twice about visitng the pumpkin patch this weekend.

In his first feature, writer/director Justin Harding deftly balances horror and humor, mixing the gore with just enough jokes to keep the film light, but not silly. Harding has also assembled a great ensemble, which includes Peyton Elizabeth Lee (Andi Mack, Doogie Kameāloha, M.D.), Corey Fogelmanis (Ma), Wyatt Lindner (Afraid), and DJ Qualls (Z Nation, The Man in the High Castle.) But the real star of this show is the murderous gourd hell-bent on picking off the humans one by one.

In a quick interview, Harding and Lee spoke with SciFi Vision about adapting Harding’s original idea, working with the large cast, and bringing the freaky fruit to life using a number of practical and computer assisted techniques.  The movie premieres today (October 21) on Hulu, so turn down the lights and stream Carved tonight!

Watch the interview and read the transcript below.




Note: this conversation was lightly edited for length and clarity.

SCIFI VISION:   I want to start with Peyton. This movie is something else, huh?

PEYTON ELIZABETH LEE: That it is. That it is.

SCIFI VISION: And I think that the description Hulu has provided doesn't give it justice. Could you take a couple minutes to tell all of your many fans why they have got to watch this movie this year?

PEYTON ELIZABETH LEE:   Yeah. I think, like you said, that the movie is something else. I've never seen anything like it before; I've never made anything like it before. And I think what's so fun about it is exactly that – it’s very unique and it's very different, and I think, especially for people of my generation. I didn't grow up watching movies like this, you know? Most of the horror movies that I grew up watching were very serious, very scary, very real feeling, and this takes a whole different approach that I've never done before. So, I think for people who might want to watch it, I think there really is something for everyone. There're a lot of funny moments, there's good comedy, but then there's also some really serious moments, some scary moments, and some gory moments. So, there's a little bit of – there’s a lot a bit of everything, and I think it's just a fun ride.

SCIFI VISION:   You didn't think it felt realistic working with a homicidal pumpkin?

PEYTON ELIZABETH LEE:   Well, it's a little bit different from my personal life experiences. But you know, I can't speak for others.

SCIFI VISION:   Justin, I have seen your short film. This Carved is based on I think a five-minute original Carved, which, I mean, it's great, and it has a little more of an ominous tone to it. This is your first feature. Can you talk a bit about taking the film with Hulu from a short to a to a full-length film?

JUSTIN HARDING:  Yeah, the short was five minutes and the mandate in 2018, when we made it, was to do a PG-13 Halloween short, and as we developed the film it evolved into something I think quite different. To expand this into a feature film, you really need to tell a story that's driven by characters and relationships. The pumpkin is an element to this story, but to flesh it out we really wanted to give the pumpkin a proper motivation, a proper design. As you can see, it's not a jack-o'-lantern. There's an instinct to do these types of movies with like a scary jack-o'-lantern, but I really wanted to make something that wasn't actually carved. This pumpkin carves humans, and the original design was fun for a PG-13 version, but I wanted this to be something that felt more grounded, more toxic, more sinister. Also emotional; it has real motivation, it has real intention and And just wanted to bring it to life in a way that's inventive the way Evil Dead or Nightmare on Elm Street [are]. You know, these movies I grew up watching. I almost love watching the behind-the-scenes special features even more than the movie, just the making of these inventive horror films. I just wanted to bring this to life in a way where we – unlike the short, where you just see one glimpse of it. I wanted to see it attack people, decapitate people, rip people apart, carve, all these elements. So, [it's a] completely different type of movie than the short. Quite the evolution, I think.

SCIFI VISION:   Oh yeah, you definitely can see those influences, particularly The Evil Dead. It made me think of some of those older films.

Peyton, you're working with a great cast. You're not just co-starring with the pumpkin, you've got some incredible folks with you including some, you know, special guests. DJ Qualls has a great role. Can you talk a little bit about working with the ensemble and the team?

PEYTON ELIZABETH LEE:   Yeah, we had so much fun working together. We were all living together and working together, so it was a very, like, intense bonding experience, but we just had so much fun together. Everyone is so talented, and it always makes your job an actor so much easier if you have a lot to work with. I think the only issue I had with everyone was, sometimes you just want to start laughing on their coverage, because [there are] so many, so many funny moments. So, it was just a great time to get to collaborate with each other and bounce off ideas and kind of build those relationships that I think really create the foundation for the film. Because in order to care, you have to care about the people and understand their relationships and dynamics. So, getting to build those out with the cast was so much fun, and I was just lucky to be a part of it.

SCIFI VISION:   Sure. Justin, I think I've got one minute left. I think pumpkin is not named. The pumpkin, what is that, animatronic? Are there some CGI going on? What was your vision?

JUSTIN HARDING:   I pitched it as a seamless blend where it's mostly practical puppetry that's done in a variety of ways. Sometimes it's practical in-camera; sometimes it's practical on a blue screen composited in. Sometimes It's full CGI, but only about four or five shots are full CGI; the rest the rest is a blend of practical with CGI elements. You can puppeteer the head of the pumpkin and two vines at one time, and then there's always an augmentation to it, so it depends on the shot. Then, there [were] four versions made; one did have animatronics built into the eyebrows to give It a little bit of expression. So, when you see it expressing and moving, that's actually in-camera as well.

SCIFI VISION: Well, I really enjoyed watching it and I really appreciate the time you spent with us. Thanks so much for making this film and for spending time with us today.

JUSTIN HARDING: Thank you very much.

PEYTON ELIZABETH LEE: Thank you so much. Bye.