Posted in: Exclusive, Interview, Movies | Tagged: Adam MacDonald, Be Mine: A VR Valentine's Slasher, eli roth, exclusive, interview, Peyton List

Be Mine: A VR Valentine's Slasher: Eli Roth Talks Embracing VR Horror

Eli Roth (Thanksgiving) talks to Bleeding Cool about his latest VR horror project for Crypt TV in Be Mine: A VR Valentine's Slasher.

Eli Roth is one of the biggest pioneers in horror with his vast accomplishments as a director, writer, and even occasionally acts. One subgenre he's recently tackled is holiday-themed ones. While Thanksgiving was initially conceived as a parody trailer for the Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez double-feature in 2007's Grindhouse, the film is finally becoming a reality. For Halloween and Valentine's Day, he's teamed with Crypt TV and Meta for an unforgettable virtual reality experience. Roth spoke to Bleeding Cool about his latest in writing, Be Mine: A VR Valentine's Slasher, the Adam MacDonald-directed short that stars Peyton List (Cobra Kai), Inanna Sarkis (Trish & Scott), and Alanna Ubach (Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur).

Be Mine: Synopsis

Be Mine follows Becca (List), a college senior who's going to throw the best Valentine's Day party ever. There's just one caveat: everyone invited is secretly there to help Becca catch her Valentine's Day stalker — an anonymous maniac in a Cupid mask who kills any man that gets close to her with a bow and arrow. But this Valentine's Day will be slightly different as everyone is ready to turn the tables on the killer that walks among them. With the help of the police, her sorority sisters, and the fraternity next door, Becca and the party fight back to stop the carnage and uncover the mysterious secret behind a bloody Valentine's Day massacre.

Bleeding Cool: What advantages did VR provide within the horror genre?
Roth: I've never felt inside a movie as it's taking place, and the story's unfolding quite as I did with "Haunted House: Trick-VR-Treat." There are moments when you're the passive observer watching the dialogue; moments you feel like you're a fly on the wall in the room with the characters, moments that feel like you're partying with them, and moments you're running from a killer stalking you. It's really wild.

How does making holiday-themed horror make for a unique experience for the audience?
I love holiday horror because the tropes are already built in. You can take a social code of conduct we all follow voluntarily and really skewer it, no pun intended. I like to think of the worst, most horrible thing that could happen on the holiday—which is always a time for celebration. There's something so perverse and wrong about it that it really appeals to my sense of humor and mischief.

How do you compare the immersive nature of a VR film compared to the prospect of doing a "choose your own adventure path" to affect the outcome like Netflix's Black Mirror: Bandersnatch?
In immersive VR, you're controlling your field of view, but you're not controlling the narrative. I think people love to sit back and watch a great story unfold and get immersed in it. With great VR storytelling, you can forget the headset's on, you're just in it, and it can capture you in a way unlike you've ever experienced. There's really nothing like it. It's a wild new medium, and I'm having so much fun playing with it and pushing the boundaries of what can be done.

Be Mine: A VR Valentine's Slasher is available on Meta Horizon Worlds and Meta Quest TV through February 28th.

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