The typical dystopian action thriller may seem like an out-of-this-world genre for many movie fans, but the new feature ‘Boy Kills World’ is a surprisingly unique one that‘s driven by its genuine sense of relatability. The film features a classic revenge tale about a young man who’s determined to destroy the people who murdered his family.
German filmmaker Moritz Mohr and fight choreographer Dawid Szatarski were first inspired five years ago to make an emotionally accessible but equally visually captivating genre feature. The resulting movie, ‘Boy Kills World,’ intriguingly blends engaging character and story developments with stunning visual elements inspired by state-of-the-art video games, Korean action films, Japanese anime and classic horror-fantasy.
Mohr made his feature film directorial debut on ‘Boy Meets World,’ which was written by Arend Remmers and Tyler Burton Smith. The drama was produced by Sam Raimi, Roy Lee of Vertigo Entertainment, Simon Swart and Wayne Fitzjohn through Nthibah Pictures, and Alex Lebovici of Hammerstone Studios. Zainab Azizi of Raimi Productions also serves as producer, and Capstone Global Chairman and CEO Christian Mercuri as executive producer.
‘Boy Kills World’ follows the titular character (Bill Skarsgård) as he vows revenge after his family is murdered by Hilda Van Der Koy (Famke Janssen), the deranged matriarch of a corrupt post-apocalyptic dynasty that left Boy orphaned, deaf and voiceless. Driven by his inner voice, one which he co-opted from his favorite childhood video game, Boy trains with his Mentor, who’s a mysterious shaman (martial arts master Yayan Ruhian), to become an instrument of death.
Boy is set loose on the eve of the annual culling of dissidents to carry out his revenge. But disorder ensues as he commits bloody martial arts mayhem, inciting a wrath of bloody carnage. As he tries to get his bearings in this delirious realm, Boy soon falls in with a desperate resistance group, all the while bickering with the apparent ghost of his rebellious little sister.
‘Boy Kills World’ had its World Premiere on September 9, 2023 at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in the Midnight Madness section of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions will distribute the thriller in theaters this Friday, April 26. In honor of the movie’s premiere at the Canadian-based festival last fall, Mohr and Swart generously took the time the day after the screening to talk about helming and producing the project during an exclusive interview over Zoom.
Film Factual (FF): Moritz, you made your feature film directorial debut on the new action thriller, ‘Boy Kills World,’ which was written by Arend Remmers and Tyler Burton Smith. What was it about the script that convinced you to helm the movie? How did you approach directing the drama?
Moritz Mohr (MM): Well, it actually went the other way around, as I sort of brought the project to the producers. We developed it and shot a proof-of-concept trailer around six years ago. It was me, the producer, the writer and the action designer, and we just wanted to make something that we liked.
So we started in Berlin in around 2016, and shot the proof-of-concept trailer. It was only about two-and-a-half minutes long, but we worked hard on it. A year later, I took it to L.A. on a whim and said, “Let’s see what happens.”
Within a week or so, I was sitting in a room with (producers) Roy Lee and Sam Raimi, who I’m a massive fan of as a filmmaker. I felt very lucky to be able to work with them. But it was also overwhelming, as he basically told me that he would produce my movie. That’s how it all started.
FF: Simon, speaking of the film’s producers, you served as one of the producers on the project. Why did you decide to produce the thriller?
Simon Swart (SS): When we first saw the proof-of-concept that Moritz referenced and read the script, it brought us by (fellow producer) Alex Lebovici. Sam and Roy were already attached. We then had a call and we were like, “We love the script and proof-of-concept, so we’d like to have a call with Moritz immediately.” That’s how it really started for us.
We really liked the wild and crazy project that it was. We knew that it was going to be audacious and not like anything else that was being made. That really excited us, so we really wanted to get behind that.
FF: ‘Boy Kills World’ stars Bill Skarsgård in the titular role. What was the casting process like for the movie?
MM: Well, Bill was the first person we cast. We thought, before we cast anyone else, we need to find the Boy. Bill wasn’t the obvious choice because at first, we talked about action guys who have made at least five action movies.
But we realized the Boy character needs a boyish charm, as the movie’s called ‘Boy Kills World,’ not ‘Man Kills World.’ So we couldn’t cast this big, strong man who didn’t have a little boy’s charm. So we needed someone who still had a piece of innocence intact – or, at least could act like they do.
Bill hasn’t done a lot of action, so the idea of casting him really excited me. But we obviously needed him to commit to actually do the work. Bill was super up for that, as he’s a big MMA fan and an action fan.
So he really wanted to get into shape and basically learn how to fight. Without that commitment, it would have gone all wrong. But he delivered on his promise and started training for a really long time. He also did all the rehearsals.
We really worked him hard during the course of the production. He was basically in every scene, and a lot of them had a lot of action sequences. There were days where we just shot action sequences, and those scenes are obviously more physically demanding than classical drama days. He really delivered on that.
FF: Speaking about the stunts, how did you work with the actors and the drama’s stunt team to create the martial arts-driven action sequences throughout the production?
MM: The action designer, Dawid Szatarski, was with me from the very beginning. We shot the proof-of-concept together in 2016. In that proof-of-concept, he even played the part of Boy. So the action in the feature is based on our collaboration from back then.
So when we started production on the feature, we knew what we needed and wanted, as we had worked for so long together already. So we were like, we need this for each fight, and we want them to be very physical and violent. We also want a fight that’s more fun and lighter for certain scenes. So we always tried to find the right balance.
FF: Peter Matjasko served as ‘Boy Kills World’s cinematographer. How did you work with the film’s Director of Photography to determine how you would visually capture the feature’s visual aspects?
MM: Well, I went to film school with Peter Matjasko, which was the perfect pretense for a collaboration like this. We’ve known each other for a long time – for about 10 years – so I know what he likes, and he knows what I like. So it was very easy to work together.
The camera on the action side included drones and gimbals. To Peter’s credit, he really incorporated the action into the way he shot scenes with those cameras. It was a big collaborative process to make a cohesive picture throughout the movie, and Peter is a genius.
SS: What I think is interesting about what Moritz did for the fight sequences is that he had Dawid Szatarski create these really elaborate fight sequences. He wanted to do things that had never been seen before.
Then his partnership with Peter was so important. We had a drone pilot we found, Paul Kuhn, who actually created a drone that they put in the middle of the fight sequences. It was like a micro-drone…
MM: Actually, it wasn’t a micro-drone; he built two prototypes to get it smaller and smaller, so that we could get the camera that we needed in there and ensure that the picture quality was good.
There are small drones, but they don’t have the camera that you need for a motion picture. So you need a bigger drone, and he built his own. He’s super young; he’s in his early 20s, but he’s really smart.
SS: He built the drone, and then listened to Moritz, Peter and Dawid while they rehearsed through these scenes. They moved the drones in between the actors and figured out all the right angles. That was the first time I’ve gone through that; it’s actually the first time anyone’s done that.
MM: We don’t know exactly, but we think it’s the first time anyone’s done that.
SS: Yes, someone else may have done it before, but not that we’re aware about.
FF: Mike Berg serves as the thriller’s production designer. How did you choose the location where you would shoot the movie? How did you create the look of the drama‘s settings?
MM: We shot in Cape Town, South Africa…Cape Town’s a really great place to shoot because it doesn’t really look European or American. We wanted to create a world that is neither; we wanted to create a new world. Cape Town has a very distinctive look, which was the perfect canvas for us to create the world we wanted for the film in it.
The production designer, Mike Berg, was also a genius. He really pulled out all the stops and gave it his all.
Mike built these amazing sets in one of the event centers in Cape Town, which was also used being used by ‘The Woman King.’ They basically took up all the resources, so we had to find a place where we could have a little niche.
We had our offices in that center. When I walked out of my office, I literally stepped into the first set. (Mohr laughs.) I would then walk around the corner to walk to the next set.
SS: Yes, we created a set where the wardrobe, all the manufacturing and construction, and the armory were all…
MM: …in that one building. Having it all under one roof really made everything easier and more collaborative than it ever could have been if we were constantly shooting at different locations.
Once a day, I would start walking into the props department, the armory and the offices of the production design and costume departments and talk to the heads of departments.
SS: Then we found great locations to complement that central location.
MM: The one thing that I was confused about – because I had never been to South Africa at that point – is that there aren’t any jungles there – at least not around Cape Town. I think the jungle is about 1,000 miles north. So we had to find a piece of forest that had some jungle vibes to it. Mike Berg created this jungle with a little embellishment.
FF: ‘Boy Kills World’ had its World Premiere in the Midnight Madness section at the (2023) Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). What does it mean to you that the thriller premiered at the festival?
MM: We just had the premiere (the night before the interview) during the Midnight Madness. It started at 11:59pm and ended around 2am. I was in bed at 3am and up again at 7am, but the experience has been so exciting!
The crowd was amazing. People have told me that the Midnight Madness crowd is great. But having 1,000 people cheer and gasp when people’s heads get smashed is something that I’ll never forget. So the experience has been amazing.
SS: TIFF is such an amazing platform for this genre. I think TIFF is one of the best film festivals in the world, with the audience it draws from around the world. It brings in film aficionados who are such rabid fans of the medium. It’s been incredibly humbling, and we’re proud to be have been able to show the movie to this audience first. We’re very blessed and lucky.
MM: It really was a wild ride!
Film Factual 