Puzzle Box – A Found Footage Horror

Sponsored Feature: Welcome Villain Films, Repeater Productions

Puzzle Box is a found footage horror film written and directed by Jack Dignan.

Watch the trailer here!

Puzzle Box follows recovering drug addict Kait, who flees to a house in the woods to self-rehabilitate. Joined by her sister Olivia, who decides to document the process, strange things begin to happen as the house’s layout mysteriously begins to change, and the two find themselves trapped inside an inescapable, nightmarish puzzle box of a house.

A Q&A with Writer/Director Jack Dignan

Hi Jack, Welcome to Rabbit in Red! We’re excited to have you here to discuss your new found footage horror film, Puzzle Box. First, how did you develop the concept for the film?

Puzzle Box, in a strange way, came out of necessity. The reception to my first film After She Died was pretty mixed, and I was already gearing up for my next film Pardon My Flesh, which we aim to film next year. But before I leaped into a bigger budget, I wanted to strip back on all resources and make something with nothing to further understand the form and the genre and to make something truly scary. I wanted to prove to myself and to audiences that I was capable of making a freaky ass movie, and I started playing around with a concept I’d had for quite a while, mixed in some of my own personal fears and evolved it into the terrifying found footage nightmare that you’ll be able to watch very soon. I set out to make a legitimately scary movie and I think I’ve done it.

Were there any notable found footage films that influenced your approach to Puzzle Box?

The Blair Witch Project is the big one. That original film is an absolute classic that I watched at such a young, impressionable age – around the same time that the Paranormal Activity films were kicking off, which I also really enjoyed. We have a deleted sequence from this film where characters set up cameras while they sleep as a homage to Paranormal Activity, but it never made it past the first cut. Another inspiration was [REC] and also the found footage styled video game Outlast which is one of my all time favourite games. I think the style of that game translates so well to the big screen.

I set out to make a legitimately scary movie and I think I’ve done it.

What inspired you to explore themes of addiction and self-discovery?

I found those themes as I developed the script. I knew I wanted to tell a story about these two estranged sisters stuck in an inescapable situation, and I spent a lot of time exploring who they were, what their dynamic is, what tore them apart and whether there was any hope for redemption. As I fleshed this out, I began to explore ideas of addiction and recovery, and was able to use that as a driving force both literally and allegorically within the script, which really helped to shape the story into what it ultimately becomes.

Can you tell us a bit about Kait and Olivia’s relationship and how it drives the narrative?

They are two sisters who grew up in a tumultuous household, which ultimately led to their fractured relationship and eventual falling out. But, like most siblings, you can go through hell together, yell and scream all you want, and yet deep down you still love them and you’ll still be there for them when needed. Kait finds herself in a sticky situation, and the only person she can turn to to help her get through it and recover from her addiction is Olivia. But as they work together on rebuilding Kait’s life, they discover that the true horrors are yet to come.

How did you approach the house setting and its role in the film?

We had a lot of pressure to find the right house. We had so many options to choose from, yet none of them felt right… until we stumbled upon the wonderful three storey house we ultimately ended up filming in. I had mapped out in the script the basic beats of the “puzzle box” sequences, where Kait and Olivia find themselves traversing through the ever-changing layout of the house, but it was really the weekend before shooting, where I got to live in the house and walk around it alone, that I finally had a chance to map it out in a more specific way. It took a lot of planning, and I was really influenced by the layout of the house and being able to walk from room and room with a camera testing out what will look cool, what can help set up scares, and what will mess with audience’s minds the most.

Are there any specific themes you hope viewers will take away from Puzzle Box?

I hope viewers take away two things from Puzzle Box. I hope they need to sleep with the light on for the rest of the week, terrified of the evils that lurk inside their own home, but I also hope they find comfort in the horrors and an understanding that, no matter how bad things get and no matter what terrifying things life throws at you, you’ll figure your path out eventually.

Visit welcomevillain.com to learn more about Puzzle Box.