Interview: Nicholas McCarthy (The Pact)

We sat down with director Nicholas McCarthy after the world premiere of his feature film debut, The Pact, at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. Based on his hit 2011 short film of the same name, McCarthy’s tale follows a young woman returning to her home town to deal with the death of her mother. With her sister mysteriously disappearing before she gets into town, she discovers a strange presence in her childhood home, a possibly demonic power that not only threatens her physical safety but forces her to face her abusive past.

In our interview, McCarthy divulges his love of horror films with us and reveals his inspiration from certain horror masters, such as several titles from giallo stalwart Dario Argento, as well as the underrated 1982 horror classic, The Entity. Additionally, McCarthy deliberates the process of expanding his original short to a feature length film, casting, and what he describes as the completely rewarding process of filmmaking in one of his favorite genres.