Directed by Brandon Slagle, The Flood will be available in theaters, On Demand, and on Digital beginning Friday, July 14th. Saban Films' latest creature feature follows a group of in-transit prisoners who fall prey to a horde of alligators after a hurricane floods the police station. If they hope to survive the attack, the police and convicts must set aside their differences and work together to fend off the hungry beasts.
Daemon Hillin serves as The Flood's producer and has worked on several other films within the horror genre. Some of his most recent works include Maneater, The Long Night, and Hellblazers. Casper Van Dien, Nicky Whelan, Louis Mandylor, Randy Wayne, Ryan Francis, Devanny Pinn, Kim DeLonghi, and Mike Ferguson make up the main cast.
Daemon Hillin chats exclusively with Screen Rant about teaming back up with Nicky Whelan and shares how The Flood compares to his work on Maneater.
Daemon Hillin Talks The Flood
Screen Rant: You also produced Maneater, so what do you enjoy most about working on creature features?
Daemon Hillin: The most important factor to me in making these creature features is that they really translate to any demographic or any culture. They understand teeth, they understand monsters, and they understand that fear. It really translates across the world. I'm not limiting myself to some sort of comedy or some sort of action that maybe doesn't fit well with certain demographics.
But creature features—everybody understands a scary shark and what's lurking beyond. Or alligators, for this instance. They're big apex creatures that will destroy you. But at the same time, they can also be sweet creatures, right? So I don't want to say all alligators or sharks are bad. You can't say that. But what I can say is that people understand that scariness of the apex predator.
Was there anything particular about this creature feature that made you want to get involved?
Daemon Hillin: Yes. I really love the fact that The Flood was blending a natural disaster and a prison break, as well as the coming together of prisoners in order to defend themselves from alligators. So it was a multi-concept approach that Josh and Chad took that I really fell in love with. I felt like we had something special from the start, and I just knew we had to make it.
Producers often wear a lot of different hats, so what did your role on the film look like?
Daemon Hillin: It's my baby. I take it from the very start from the script, to the packaging, to the director, to the packaging of the talent, to putting my team together for budgeting. All the little bitty line items that go into making a film—I oversee it. I'm like the CEO of a company, but I'm also the person that is physically responsible for making the movie. I jump through a lot of fiery hoops all day long.
How involved were you in the creative aspect?
Daemon Hillin: I was very involved with this world. We shot this in Thailand. We were shooting Louisiana, but in Thailand. Thailand is my specialty. So when we are talking about flooding any kind of movie set, it takes a lot of art direction, it takes a lot of safety, it takes a lot of research on just how we're going to be able to build a set and then flood the set. The water-bearing on even the cement is very heavy.
You can't build a pool of water inside a building that goes up to your shoulders. You have to look at all these requirements and how we're going to actually make this legitimate. Because when we're flooding, we're literally flooding a set. It's a big bathtub that the actors have to walk down. So there are steps that they walk down into a set.
We have two water trucks filling the set, so the water is actually coming in while they're acting, and then we have to drain it. I'm very involved with the creation of that, to make sure that we can do it, that we can create that, and then all stay within the budget, too. It's a very creative process. So bouncing it off the director, bouncing it off our team, and then overseeing it to make sure that everybody's safe.
Maneater had a mechanical shark, but The Flood uses VFX for the alligators. Do you prefer one method over the other?
Daemon Hillin: On independent films, I would love to have the budget to just try and do everything practical. We thought about creating practical alligators—at least the head. After Maneater, and the difficulties that we experienced with a big shark head in the Pacific Ocean, we thought it was better to put all of our money into one thing, versus splitting our money up. So I could have a mediocre puppet and average VFX, or I could just put all of my money into VFX so that it resonates better in the movie.
We're not a studio film. I don't have an endless budget. We really had to choose, because doing both is very difficult. If you don't have a 3D model of it, it's very hard to match. So you can only do certain effects to the practical creature, but you're not going to have the same thing. And, once again, you're back to 3D modeling. You're back to VFX. You just weigh it. Every director wants to go practical, though. I'll tell you that. And then every producer is like, "It's so hard."
I love the opening credits of this film. What made you decide to put it together the way that you did?
Daemon Hillin: I'm really blessed to work with creative people that are really good at their job. Between Brandon Slagle and Austin Nordell, they were able to develop a world. As you're going through the credits, you're getting a feeling of what's going on. There's water, there are storms, there are guns. We're telling a small story within the opening credits. And that was, I feel, really cool from the creatives that they were able to do that in such a small amount of time. I thank you for that, but that's all their creativity.
Sheriff Newman was at the helm of the movie. What was important for Nicky [Whelan] to bring out in this character?
Daemon Hillin: After Maneater, and seeing Nicky perform in the elements of the Pacific Ocean, and seeing her on set and her demeanor and how she is with people, you want to work with her again. When this project came to fruition, and we knew that we had a very complicated shoot where we needed a strong female lead that can fight and that will be comfortable in the water all day, Nicky Whelan was just my go-to. I knew it was her right away.
So I called her and I said, "Hey, I have this script, and it's a little crazy. There are a lot of elements, and you're going to get wet again and be in water." She jumped at it though. She loved the opportunity to show her skills. She's really amazing at what she does. In Thailand, she was training with Muay Thai champions. She's a rock star.
How was collaborating with Casper [Van Dien]? He's been involved in so many incredible indie films this year.
Daemon Hillin: Casper is another individual who is a pure joy to be around. He gives you everything. He gives you all that he is. When he's on set, he pours everything into it. He doesn't miss a beat. He's there for you. He's kind. He's a great actor. His history with Starship Troopers and creatures made us think, "That's going to be fun. Let's have him running from alligators. That's going to be really cool." I love working with him. I've worked with him multiple times, and I will continue to work with him.
Do you have any other upcoming projects to look out for?
Daemon Hillin: We have 3 Days in Malay coming out which is a World War II film. Louis Mandylor directed that. Cowboy Cerrone is in it and so is Rampage Jackson. It's a World War II film taking place in the Pacific. It's like a Last Stand kind of film. That will be out in August. Following that, we have Operation Blood Hunt. I kind of went on a World War II kick. Operation Blood Hunt is blending World War II and Supernatural.
Basically, there are a lot of really bizarre deaths taking place in the South Pacific of both the Japanese and US soldiers, so the US will send in a special team to go investigate all these deaths, which is led by a reverend who understands the supernatural. It's a really fun one. On that, we did have mechanical. We created the werewolf suits, we had mechanical faces—we went all out on that. So that one I can't wait for you to see because it's all legit. It's not VFX.
About The Flood
After a massive hurricane floods Louisiana, it unleashes a threat even deadlier than the rising water level: a relentless horde of giant hungry alligators. When a group of in-transit prisoners and their security guards seek shelter in a local prison, they become prey for the flesh-eating attackers. To survive, the prisoners and guards must fight together, in this action-thriller packed with slithery scales and jaw-clenching suspense.
The Flood will be released in select theaters, On Demand, and on Digital platforms on July 14.