‘There’s hope in horror’: director Evan Spiliotopoulos on his recent supernatural film, ‘The Unholy’

The pandemic has forced audiences to look at the genre as pure escapism, says the director, listing Tumbbad as one of his favourites

Director Evan Spiliotopoulos has been walking around with James Herbert’s 1983 horror novel, Shrine, in his head for the last 38 years. “I read the book when I was 10-years-old,” he says on a video call from Encino, Los Angeles, of the book that he adapted for The Unholy that released earlier this year. “I was already a film buff, and saw a film in it. I liked it because it was a combination of genres — the classic horror story and a thriller,” adds Spiliotopoulos whose film is all set to have its Indian television premiere in October.