When a down-on-her luck video editor takes a mysterious, well-paying job cutting snuff films, she finds herself seemingly haunted by the people in her videos.
Such is the logline for Freelance, an atmospheric psychological thriller from director John Balazs, headlined by Nicole Pastor, and described by our Peter Gray as “a shining example of homegrown genre work”; you can read the rest of his review here.
As the Australian chiller terrifies audiences across the globe on VOD, we caught up with both Balazs and Pastor, talking about the inspiration behind the story, the collaborative process, and rejecting the “perfect, likeable” protagonist archetype.
It’s so great that as a small, independent Australian film that Freelance is releasing internationally. How did that come about? So many films can have staggered release, but here you’re going all out!
John Balazs: It’s a shame that people are going to look me up now and think this is my first film. It’s not my first film. I released a film called Rage in 2021. That was my debut feature, and we did the same thing. We got released internationally straight away. The thing with that is it was backwards. We never got an Australian distributor to release Rage. It’s not available anywhere in Australia. We thought there’d be some interest in it from a domestic distributor, but we were wrong.
With this one, because we already had a prior relationship with Gravitas Ventures, and Rage did well in the States, they asked me what I had coming up next, and it was just such a seamless process. They knew how we worked. We knew how they worked. What was tricky was to find an Australian distributor who was able to release at the same time. But you’re right, it’s normally staggered. It’s Australian first, then international, but we spun the wheels on it a bit to make sure it gets out at the same time.
But Radioactive Pictures in Australia have been fantastic. Jess (Butland) and Madison (Tickner), they have been fantastic with us. I wouldn’t say they are the new kids on the block, but they’re the ones that are up and coming. It’s really good to get into the first steps with them, and then we can continue a much stronger and prosperous relationship for other films.
I went into Freelance knowing absolutely nothing. The snuff film aspect definitely gave it this unnerving feel, and then there was this ambiguous nature to it all. Did the story alter as you worked on it, or did it all kind of stay as true to what writer Mike Gerbino intended?
John Balazs: I’ve never been one who’s into gore and stuff like that. And to be perfectly frank with you, I’ve never been into horror. So I didn’t set out to make a horror film. In my mind it’s always been a psychological thriller with horror elements peppered through it. I’m actually surprised it’s being marketed as a horror. But it’s a good thing, because there’s a lot of fans out there. In terms of the content, it was all just in the script. I feel like I found lightning in a bottle with Mike’s script. There really wasn’t much to add.
What we needed to do was strip back a bit of the “US”. To make it more Australian. (The character of) Katie was a bit too American. A few lines of dialogue had to be altered, but in terms of the story, it was all right there. We had a really good blueprint to work with. Obviously, Mike made (the original) short film, so that was one of the deals that I struck. I asked him if he could make the short film, but I wanted the rights to the feature film, because I was ready to make my next one (at the time).
I loved the script. I can relate to it being an editor myself. I can relate to it as someone who struggled as a freelancer. My day job is editing corporate videos, or whatever comes my way, so I understand chasing invoices. I understand the whole life of a freelancer. I really related to the character of Katie and her plight. There were very little changes to Mike’s script. It was ready to shoot. The whole process, from script to shooting, it didn’t take long at all.
Nicole Pastor: Oh, it was totally something that hit home for me. I think it hits home for a lot of the audience (too). I think it’s very relatable. That’s what connected me to (Katie) so much. I’m always drawn to darker material, so I kind of just bring my own experiences and thoughts and feelings, and kind of just layer upon that. But I got her as soon as I read it. It was a page turner. I would’ve been stupid to not do it. It was such a great script.
Were there any particular scenes that you found the hardest to shoot? Whether that be from a technical or emotional aspect? For starters, were you actually watching those snuff scenes, Nicole?
Nicole Pastor: I was. I was watching those. They were first takes. Fresh and authentic. I was watching it as it was being played, which was great. John and I spoke a lot about, before and after and during the film, that it was something I wanted. They had shot a lot of the snuff footage prior to filming (Freelance).
John Balazs: Yeah, I think we shot it about two months prior to shooting the actual film. We had a day to shoot it. What we shot was pretty disturbing stuff. And Nicole kept asking me, “Can I see? Can I see?” And I told her that I didn’t want to send it to her, because I wanted her reaction to it. I knew that I didn’t want to make it an exploitative film, so during the editing I knew I didn’t want to show it all. We alluded to it. And then because Nicole did such a good job with her reactions, it’s enough for an audience to know how gruesome it is. I think Nicole sold the intensity of the snuff film. No human wants to watch that kind of shit.
It’s always scarier when something is more suggestive anyway.
John Balazs: Oh, it would be too much. I didn’t want to go down the exploitive tape route. I think it would have cheapened the film, to be honest with you. But, you know, Nicole’s got beautiful eyes and the reflections on the glasses…it really sold it. You did a good job, Nic. Proud of you.
When it came to collaborating with each other, was there anything you learnt from one another? Anything that Nicole brought that you hadn’t originally envisioned, John? And Nicole, any director’s note or experience that made this standout from other productions?
Nicole Pastor: It was really collaborative. We were talking about this months prior to shooting, and even during rehearsals. I can’t express how collaborative it was. If I thought of something, we tried it that way. John was very open to that kind of play. He had such strong thoughts about how a scene would work. We worked really well together. It was just shorthand by the end of it. We just kind of knew what the other person wanted in the scene. It was effortless.
John Balazs: It was just really refreshing to work with an actor that came as prepared and as dedicated as (Nicole) did. It’s an indie, so we don’t have the luxuries of a bigger studio film, so everyone is in the trenches here. So, as someone who’s responsible for getting everyone together, you have to show appreciation. I think I was most appreciative of the fact that everyone came on set, especially Nic, knowing their job.
On the mention of Nicole, and this is a testament to her performance, is that Katie is so blunt as a character. Doesn’t mince her words. But even with that, we are completely on her side. I think we feel that psychological torture she goes through.
John Balazs: Well, look, she’s a freelance for a reason. She’s working at home for a reason. I don’t think the character of Katie will do well in an open space environment, you know what I mean? The movie revolves around her. The audience has other choice but to go on this journey with her. You have no other choice but to like or hate her. We, as people, are not perfect. And we wanted to make sure she stayed that way. I can’t stand movies where the character is so likeable. Nic asked a lot of questions about Katie, and it led us to cresting some of the shots we pit in there. For example, when she goes to get the beer out of the fridge, we wanted to show her desperation with there being no food in the fridge. She’s drinking a beer, you know? Let’s show an empty fridge. It’s that idea of progressing her forward. She needs money, so she’ll do the job she’s given. Every little thing leads on to another. And I think as the film progresses, her character becomes likeable, unlikeable, likeable, unlikeable again. You feel sorry for her. You get angry at her. It’s just this wave of emotions that you feel with this character.
Nicole Pastor: I think I knew her pretty well. I just drew on so many things. Almost like a teenager. Just someone angry at the world. I mean, I swear a lot. I’m sarcastic. I think I’m a nicer person than Katie is (laughs), but I’ve told people to “Fuck off” too. I’ve got boundaries, you know? I did find (the script) relatable. I’m not an editor. I don’t cut porn or anything like that, but there are so many things just woven in where I felt like Katie and I were one person.
On the mention of porn, I’m assuming that was an element in the script. Was that a field you needed to research?
John Balazs: I did that job a long time ago. I’ve been desperate, I needed the money. I was in my mid-to-late 20s, and this opportunity came up to edit porn films. I didn’t like doing it, even though the money was great at the time, but I knew what it was, and how soul crushing it was to do that kind of stuff. When you want your life and career to be in the industry, and here you are cutting around these things, you’re like, “Okay, this is not as magical as I thought.”
So going back to why I like the script, it was because I related to it. I can see it. I knew how Katie felt. The porn side, I knew that world. I know how it’s filmed. I know how it’s edited. I’m glad I did it because I can now draw upon it to know a certain feeling and experience it. I spoke to Nicole about it as well. That this character works alone all the time. She’d get desensitized to it. That opening shot, for example, I knew I wanted her eyes to look like they’d been doing this every day. She’s sick of it. She’s not turned on by it. It’s just another video for her.
Were there any films or directors that you looked to as inspiration?
John Balazs: I’ve always looked up to the works of David Fincher. With the opening credits here, I thought if David Fincher had 6 dollars, what could he do with an opening sequence, you know? I tried to do that. I’m not saying I want to copy him, but he’s been a heavy influence on me, right down to the colour grade and the way things are shot. The films I watched to get the tone and feel of what I wanted was Black Swan, because that’s a really good exploration of someone spiraling into this world and whether or not what’s happening is in her head or not, and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, because of all the tech stuff.
Surprisingly enough, the film I took the most inspiration came from The Neon Demon. I really enjoyed that film. It wasn’t so much of your traditional storytelling kind of film. I didn’t go down that path of just using symbolism to explain a lot of things. I just loved the feeling and the texture of it. And the atmosphere for the film, that comes down to editing. I think one of the biggest criticisms for the film is that it’s slightly too long, and I’ll take that. We did cut out a lot. I think an extra 30 minutes of the film was cut out. It was difficult to cut, because every scene has something that kind of leads on to the next one. So, you know, if we cut out something from scene six, it wouldn’t make sense in scene twelve.
Nicole Pastor: Everything ended up in its place though. That’s what makes the film work so well.
Freelance is now available to rent and/or buy on major digital platforms.
