Writer-Director Neill Blomkamp On 'Demonic,' Volumetric Capture, Videogames and His Next Projects

South African-born writer-director Neill Blomkamp has been using tech in smart ways to create thoughtful, groundbreaking movies ever since his first feature, District 9, a smart sci-fi take on apartheid, arrived in 2009, and grabbed an Oscar nomination for its visual effects. Since then, he's directed two more science-fiction features, with far bigger budgets: Elysium, with Matt Damon and Jodie Foster, and Chappie. Blomkamp's newest project, Demonic, arrives this week in theaters this week from IFC Films. It's a smart, small horror/sci-fi film about possible demonic possession, and uses the relatively new production technique of volumetric capture to create a purposely glitchy digital dream world within the movie. Blomkamp talks about what he was trying to achieve with the technology, what prompted him to make a low-budget horror film during the pandemic, and what his next projects will be. Along the way, Blomkamp has continued to make short films, often in a science-fiction realm, including for video games Anthem and Halo, as well as his own projects such as Rakka, which featured Sigourney Weaver. Blomkamp also is working with Gunzilla Games to design a multiplayer shooter, an outgrowth of his sporadic involvements as a gamer. We covered a lot of ground. Give a listen.  --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/davidlbloom/support