Even if you don’t know Flying Lotus (real name Steven Ellison), you’ve probably heard him. The 33-year-old producer from Los Angeles has made a name for himself over the past decade crafting daringly abstract soundscapes, and working with the likes of Thom Yorke, Herbie Hancock, Kendrick Lamar, and George Clinton. You may have even taken a joyride or two to his radio station on Grand Theft Auto V. But did you know he’s making a horror movie that could be the most grotesque film released all year? In our exclusive Flying Lotus interview, we ask him all about the insanity that is Kuso, the first film he’s written and directed.
“I don’t give a f*ck if no one buys my movie because I can tour it like I would tour a DJ set.”
Kuso is set in Los Angeles after an earthquake, and that is where the familiarity ends. Instead of a linear storyline, Kuso ties together absurdist tales of CGI abortions and Strangers Things-esque tree creatures. Lotus’s wanted the horror of Kuso to hit closer to home than other scary flicks.
“Kuso wasn’t meant to be the grossest, most shocking thing of all time. It’s supposed to show everyone their ugly ass in full HD,” Lotus told Digital Trends. “I was tired of everything being so clean, glossy, and everyone trying to beautify it and make it all pretty, and I thought ‘yo ass ugly.’ That was going to be the name of the movie, Yo Ass Ugly.”
Before Kuso streams into your nightmares on horror streaming service Shudder on July 21, Lotus sat down with us to explain how he got the the godfather of funk George Clinton to play a sordid doctor, what virtual reality game scares him more than horror films, and how Robocop inspired his latest creative effort.
Editor’s note: The following includes explicit subjects and language.
Digital Trends: I just have to say, Kuso is one of the most beautifully grotesque films I have ever seen. I do not think I will ever look at boils the same again. Did you go into the film trying to one up other horror films?
Flying Lotus: I wouldn’t say it like that. I think that I was just tired of people cutting away from the good moments. We’ve been bombarded with PG-13 horror stuff for so long, CGI horror. I was just so tired of it. I wanted to do something that reminded me of my childhood. Those things that get burned in your brain as a kid that you’ll never forget.
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Source: Digital Trends