Ben Simms, Director of ‘Escape the Undertaker’

Professional wrestling is a novel hybrid of sports activities and creative endeavor, and it requires its performers to adapt to the whims of an viewers on any given night time. The wrestlers reply on the fly to the gang and vice versa, enjoying to the followers for sympathy or derision. It’s a extremely interactive medium — which makes the WWE an attention-grabbing alternative for an interactive particular on Netflix.

Their first is referred to as Escape the Undertaker, and it stars a 30-year veteran of the WWE, the Undertaker (actual identify Mark Calaway), solid as his in-ring character — a vengeful, omnipotent graveyard worker — as he protects his mystical urn (lengthy a staple of his wrestling act, supposedly the supply of his supernatural grappling prowess) from the workforce of the New Day — Massive E, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods. They need the urn for themselves, and they also arrive on the Undertaker’s home — sure, the Undertaker lives in a surprisingly posh mansion — to steal it. However there are lots of totally different rooms to discover, together with secret passages and hidden surprises. On this interactive particular, the viewer will get to determine the place the New Day goes, and the way they attempt to snatch the urn from the Deadman’s possession.

The person who directed this uncommon mix of movie and online game is Ben Simms, who’s already a veteran of a number of earlier interactive exhibits for Netflix, together with You vs. Wild, the place customers get to determine how survival skilled Bear Grylls navigates his means via some treacherous terrain. This time, Simms trades out the jungle for the squared circle; we spoke to him about what goes into making these sorts of interactive specials and the way it compares to a standard characteristic. We additionally discovered what it’s like directing the Undertaker, and why Escape the Undertaker appeared to anticipate one present WWE storyline.

What are the particular challenges of constructing one thing interactive versus making a extra conventional narrative characteristic of the identical fundamental story?

The only approach to put it's any problem you’re going to have in an everyday TV present or movie is elevated exponentially. Any little tweaks you’re going to make, it’s not simply “Oh, we have to do that twice.” It’s normally “We’re going to want to do that 4x or 8x instances.” Which can also be a part of the enjoyable of it; making an attempt to make that puzzle work. You simply have to seek out artistic methods to maximise your manufacturing worth and storytelling, very similar to you'll in anything. It’s simply kind of amped up a bit.

Is there a recognized variety of distinct variations of Escape the Undertaker you'll be able to watch? Like what number of totally different paths are there via the story?

I truthfully don’t know off-hand what number of totally different variations. I'll say that it takes a great two or three viewings to get near seeing each side of the story, and that’s in the event you’re making totally different decisions each time. That’s one factor I liked about this title is there’s lots of alternative ways to expertise it. And the concept you’re going to get a unique model of the story and totally different ranges of success, the extra you attempt to navigate it — that]s the enjoyable of interactive.

How a lot of constructing an interactive movie is placing your self into the mindset of the viewer and making an attempt to determine the best way individuals’s minds works? It's important to give them decisions which might be going to be interesting. And I think about you'll be able to’t make the alternatives too simple — you need them to sweat out what to do, I assume.

Oh yeah. That’s the principle factor going into it's it’s vital for it to be balanced. That’s what you need; you need it to be an in depth name. You don’t need it to appear so apparent.

On the identical time, you'll be able to inform there’s some viewers that simply wish to torture the characters. They’re like “How a lot can we mess with this character?” Which is enjoyable. That’s enjoyable to do as properly. Others simply wish to get the proper rating, or see how shortly or how unscathed can they get via it. At its core, it’s what’s true to the story. If there’s a alternative that simply looks like it’s out of left discipline and doesn’t make sense to the story or to the character, I believe these are the worst varieties of decisions. So long as it really works inside the world that’s created, that’s the best way to go.

The place did you shoot the movie? I used to be shocked to see the Undertaker residing in a really good mansion. I all the time envisioned him residing in, like, a cemetery or a funeral parlor or one thing. I assume he’s been a wrestler for 30 years making an excellent residing.

Yeah, we shot the entire thing in Atlanta. And, sure, that was one large factor — it is a co-production with WWE —all of us simply tried to determine what his lair appears to be like like. There are some supernatural or surreal parts that you just wouldn’t discover in a standard home. We tried to strike that steadiness of retaining it mysterious, primarily based considerably in the true world the place you'll be able to perceive … he has to stay someplace proper? However once more, there’s a morgue in the home, there’s different parts inside the home that you just wouldn’t usually see.

There’s lots of alternative ways to do horror and suspense. I’m all the time a fan of monster in the home. It’s very relatable and you will get fairly artistic with it. In order that was a part of what drove the choice as properly.

Working with the Undertaker, who’s this character with an extended and generally form of complicated historical past within the canon of WWE, is there any form of inside doc of just like the official mythology or continuity of the character?

It’s considerably unwritten, nevertheless it’s coming from [Mark Calaway, AKA the Undertaker]. He was superb to work with on the undertaking. I did as a lot homework as I may to only make sure that I actually understood the character and the lore and his ethos and stuff.

However yeah, if one thing didn’t really feel proper, he would inform me. If it was on level, he was enthusiastic about it, I may inform. I’d prefer to assume I did my job as a result of for probably the most half so far as the story goes and the function that was create feels very on model for him, and for the New Day.

I might think about working with professional wrestlers would have some benefits in this sort of world and story. They’re used to engaged on the fly, in order that they’re most likely good at improvisation. And the bodily stuff they do on a regular basis of their day jobs, in order that they most likely can do most of their very own stunts.

It was truthfully a humiliation of riches. They’re very used to doing stay performances week in and week out, in order that was very advantageous by way of being environment friendly with how we shot issues, and having the ability to adapt and get artistic. They might have enter and so they did every thing. All of them did every thing themselves. In order that was big. We weren’t making an attempt to do any sleight of hand or making an attempt to cover something, it’s simply these guys in the home doing their factor.

There’s a line at one level the place Massive E is strolling round and he sees the outdated championship belt, and he says one thing to the impact of “I must get one among these.” And between if you shot the particular and when it’s popping out on Netflix, Massive E really grew to become WWE champion. How a lot credit score do you wish to personally take for his success? It’s virtually just like the present summoned that into existence.

Yeah, I took the urn and I willed that to occur.

[laughs]

Yeah it’s humorous how that labored out. There was lots of speak about how can we make sure that this suits into the world of WWE. I can’t say there was ton of planning going into that line particularly, however we wished to verify we integrated stuff from all of their careers. All of us labored actually onerous to make it really feel prefer it’s not simply this standalone factor, nevertheless it’s inside the world all of them exist in. So it’s good that you'd decide up one thing like that as a result of it’s not an accident.

I'm fascinated by these interactive specials normally. And I’m questioning the place it could actually go from right here. Like, what's the subsequent evolution of this? To date, most of what we’ve seen are anthology exhibits or self-contained one-off tales. Watching this, I’m questioning what the subsequent step for this medium may be, whether or not it’s one thing greater or extra episodic. Do you've any sense what the subsequent evolution of interactive may be?

I believe the hole between TV, movie, and video video games is clearly closing and converging a bit. Any such interactive content material is someplace within the center. So I believe there’s an area for it, and for it to develop. I hope it will get greater, as a result of then it may be greater and higher tales. I simply assume there’ll be an increasing number of methods to broaden on storytelling that’s outdoors of TV and movie.

Escape the Undertaker is offered now on Netflix.

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