By Shannon McGrew
In Mary Beth McAndrews' directorial debut BYSTANDERS, when Abby (Brandi Botkin) attends a party held by her crush, a rich frat boy hotshot named Cody (Bob Wilcox), the bash spins out of control when Cody and the boys decide to drug, rape, and hunt several of the girls in attendance. When Abby's path intersects with Clare (Jamie Alvey) and Gray (Garrett Murphy), a couple on their way to a wedding, they form an unlikely alliance during a night of chaos and bloodshed as the trio fight for their lives against the collegiate creeps.
For the release of BYSTANDERS, Creepy Kingdom's Shannon McGrew spoke with director Mary Beth McAndrews. During their chat, they discussed everything from subverting the rape/revenge genre and the catharsis of creating such a visceral film.
Trigger Warning: The interview delves into the heavy themes of BYSTANDERS, including exploration of trauma, revenge, and sexual assault.
Thank you so much for speaking with me today, Mary Beth. How did BYSTANDERS come about, and what aspect of the story or its themes drew you to this project?
Mary Beth McAndrews: I read the script in 2018. Jamie Alvey had posted about it on Twitter, and at the time, I was in grad school studying rape/revenge films directed by women; that was what my thesis was about. When Jamie posted about it, I was like, oh, I need to read this immediately; this is so in my lane, and it sounds amazing. I read it, dug it, and wanted to help make it happen. I had no idea how because I was not in the filmmaking world then; I was more of a writer and academic.
Time passed as it does, and I got the job at Dread Central, which meant I could bother my boss about movies. By that, I mean more professionally and realistically. I got to help pitch projects and look for movies, especially low-budget ones. I brought this script [to Dread] and pitched it as a micro-budget film as part of a micro-budget slate. I was really passionate about it for a lot of reasons, but mostly because of the subversive take on the rape/revenge genre, which is so often exploitative.
After a lot of bothering, my boss said, let's try it, and he asked if I wanted to try to direct it because he knew how much I cared about the subject matter. Honestly, I had never thought about directing before, and I thought it'd be silly to say no to such an opportunity dropped in my lap because that never happens to anybody, and I know how lucky I am for that. It was a really amazing opportunity, and I'm glad I took it because now I have the filmmaking bug.
BYSTANDERS flips traditional gender roles by giving women agency to reclaim their control and confront their rapists. What was it like to witness these characters evolve into these commanding figures?
Mary Beth McAndrews: I've thought of this a lot because the three main characters, Clare, Gray, and Abby, are the three people you can identify with. I'm always so curious about who identifies with who. I think I so closely identify with Abby because I was sexually assaulted when I was a teenager. Abby's emotional journey feels so similar to what I've gone through.
Working with Brandi Botkin, who plays Abby, was such a joy because she understood what we were doing from day one. We had a call before she even took the role because she wanted to make sure that we would do this the right way. She had read the script but never met us, so she didn't know what we would do or our attitudes; she just wanted to make sure we weren't going into this with malicious intentions. We had a really good conversation about what the movie was, and she was so dedicated to crafting this character. Watching her develop that arc was so amazing, and seeing Brandi as an actor do that, especially with a character that I cared about and was invested in giving her this journey in the film, I couldn't think of a better person to have played that character.
One detail that stood out to me was Cody wearing a cross necklace—a striking contrast between Christian ideology and the horrific acts of sexual assault he commits. Could you talk about the significance of that element and what it represents in the story?
Mary Beth McAndrews:Â I'm so glad you clocked that because that was Bob Wilcox's, who plays Cody, idea. For the roles of the frat boys, we had them read one of Cody's monologues, and Bob read it, and I was like, this is the scariest person I've ever seen. He's so quiet and has that menace to him. When he showed up [to film], he was wearing a cross, and he said it felt right because his character is such an asshole, and the cross is such a contrast. I said, say no more, fam [Laughs]. You can't really see it in the movie, but when I went thrifting for a lot of the set deck, I got a thing that said either "God Bless This Kitchen" or "God Bless This House" as a contrast because of how terrible this family is. It's the idea that the worst families always have Jesus stuff in their house.
While the rape/revenge genre often centers on women's experiences, it has historically been dominated by male directors. Why do you think this has been the case?
Mary Beth McAndrews: In films like I Spit On Your Grave and The Last House on the Left, they often talked about spectacle and the male gaze. Ms. 45, from director Abel Ferrara, is like that, but I think it's a little smarter. I think for so long, it wasn't thought of as a thing that was helpful for survivors because it wasn't about processing anything. It was just about surface-level violence. There were reports of people seeing I Spit On Your Grave and cheering when [the main character] gets raped.
In our world, especially after the eruption of the #MeToo movement, these movies have shifted from spectacle to introspection. A lot of people, and by people I mean survivors, a lot of them are women, but some are men, are taking these stories and making them about the complicated nature of revenge rather than just violence for violence's sake. They've become more meditative. They're still violent but are more thought out in their narratives. It's less about showing off these elongated rape sequences and more about these really gnarly kill sequences that are also really hard to watch. It's still very violent but in a really visceral way.
I think this boom of directors who are survivors, who are mostly women, is showing off how we're realizing how talking about sexual assault in media may be a little bit better. We'll never be perfect, but we're not afraid to discuss it, which is good. I understand not wanting to watch these movies especially if you're a survivor. Like, I get it. I would never force anyone to watch them because they won't be helpful to everyone. But, I think in talking about and portraying these kinds of narratives, we're portraying the honesty behind it rather than trying to hide from the reality many people face and deal with.
Has working on BYSTANDERS been a cathartic experience for you? What do you hope people take away from the film after watching it?
Mary Beth McAndrews: My whole goal going into this was if one person can see this and feel seen or can feel some catharsis or feel something from it and feel the way I did after I watched Coralie Fargeat's Revenge for the first time, then I will have achieved my goal. BYSTANDERS is another piece of media that could help another young woman better understand her experience or feel understood. I hope that happens.
BYSTANDERS was the hardest thing I've ever done. I didn't truly take into account how hard it was going to be. I knew it would be hard filming, but I didn't consider the fact that I would be in post-production for a year, working with my editor, doing the music, etc., for a year and a half. And let me tell you, it's really hard on the brain. Thankfully, I am lucky enough to have a therapist to help me with it, but it was hard.
I think there is catharsis, but not in the way I expected, which isn't bad. Keeping that wound open for so long is a lot, especially when you're one of the only women in post-production. That's not to disparage anyone I worked with; they were all amazing, but it's hard when you have an experience that no one else has had. You understand wanting to not be so personal but still wanting people to understand your perspective. It was an interesting balance. But, I have found so much catharsis through people finally watching it and understanding what we were going for and feeling like, okay, people get it, and it's not just something that's lived in my head for two years.
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault and needs help, you can contact RAINN (www.rainn.org), the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (www.nsvrc.org), or contact a Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.
BYSTANDERS is now available to rent or purchase on video-on-demand (VOD).