Lars von Trier is Writing a Horror Movie Set in Detroit

How do you get Lars von Trier to write a horror movie for you? According to Kristian Levring, who will premiere his out of competition title ‘The Salvation’ at the Cannes Film Festival, the secret is to keep talking until von Trier gets sick of hearing about it.

“I’ve always thought that Lars would be able to do a fantastic horror movie,’ Levring told Lise Ulrich at Danish magazine Soundvenue. “And I’ve told him so many times throughout the years, and in the end he said: ‘I want you to stop talking about it, so I’ll write it for you instead.'”

According to Levring, the film is set in Detroit and has the working title of, well, “Detroit.” However, that title could be a keeper: Said Levring, “It takes place in Detroit, and then there is the wordplay between Detroit and ‘destroyed.'”

Levring said that von Trier began writing the film about a month ago. “It’s about a man fighting his inner demons,” he said. “That doesn’t tell that much, but that’s because we haven’t gotten any further so far.”

However, he added that “it’s real horror. Of course, there is a psychological aspect, but it’s a real horror movie. That’s what we’re aiming for, at least.”

It’s not von Trier’s first entry into the horror genre, with both “Antichrist” and his miniseries “The Kingdom” playing with elements of the genre. However, the Danish Levring cites his fondness for American horror films. “I’m from a generation that grew up with ‘Psycho’ and ’The Exorcist,'” he said. “It’s an extremely visual genre, if you do it properly.”

Levring produced “The Salvation” through von Trier’s Zentropa. The film, which stars Mads Mikkelsen, premieres Saturday at midnight.

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