Most well-known for films including High-Rise, A Field In England and Happy New Year, Colin Burstead, Wheatley’s new film sees him simultaneously at his most stripped-back and ambitious. Shot with a small cast and crew over two weeks, it’s a strange journey that is best left unspoiled.
The evening started with a brief introduction by Wheatley before the audience got to experience the film itself. 90 minutes later, after the audience had had their heads well and truly spun by what they just saw, and the director had helped himself to a drink, came a very fun and revealing Q&A where Wheatley talked about his inspirations, intentions and future ambitions.
As the film’s credits humorously note, Wheatley was inspired by a multitude of things when making Bulk. He’s recently been busy on a graphic novel project called Kosmik Musik, which combines comics with a musical accompaniment, and also remembering his love for practical filmmaking techniques, and those two interests, among many others, served as the creative impetus for the project.
Bulk is a film full of miniature sets, handmade props, and filmed almost entirely in a house in Brighton. However, its self-imposed creative limitations and DIY aesthetics are juxtaposed by its ambitious metafictional plot that takes the viewer down many weird and wonderful pathways. Without spoiling anything, take it as a hint that the film’s title is a reference to cosmology and the dimensions of space.
It’s a melting pot of influences, from science-fiction B-movies to the boundless imagination of comic books, from old-school effects work to grandiose science-fiction and metafictional concepts. It’s certainly an acquired taste, but the audience at Tyneside Cinema was prepared to go along for the ride Wheatley was taking them on.
It was really interesting to hear how the project came together in his head...
The director regaled the audience with stories from the film's making, his upbringing consuming film, TV and comics, and even gave away free merchandise for those in the audience brave enough to ask him a question. It was really interesting to hear how the project came together in his head, and how much he wanted to make something large-scale in a very small way. He certainly fulfilled the brief he set himself, that's for sure.
Ben Wheatley is a director with much more than just standard filmmaking on his mind. He’s writing his own comics, composing his own music and, as Bulk proves, not willing to just coast by on the same old filmmaking tricks. He already has another film ready to go, with Normal starring Bob Odenkirk expected to come out in April, and who knows what will come after? Either way, it won’t be normal, and it won’t be something he doesn’t believe in wholeheartedly.
Thanks to Tyneside Cinema and Ben Wheatley for an odd but brilliant evening at the cinema!
Bulk is touring cinemas across the UK over the coming weeks, with a Blu-Ray release coming in March.