The director of the gruesome indie Relaxer talks about Y2K, self-imposed horror, and more.

Welcome back to More of a Comment, Really…, a weekly interview show hosted by Clint Worthington! Every episode will feature interviews with actors, filmmakers, producers, and more, giving you the skinny on the latest films and TV.

Joel Potrykus‘ Relaxer is an odd film to pin down – it’s a slacker movie, a dark millennial comedy, a gruesome work of body horror, a harrowing interpersonal sibling drama, and a million other things. But the tale of a layabout twentysomething (a haunting Joshua Burge) stuck to a grimy leather couch, resolving to not eat, drink, sleep or get up until he reaches Level 256 of Pac-Man, on the cusp of the new millennium, is uniquely gut-wrenching in surprising ways. (You can read our review of Relaxer here.)

A movie like this requires either no explanation or heaps of it, so we got Potrykus on the line to talk about the origins of the project, working with his muse Joshua Burge, the freedom (and restrictions) of filming in a single locked-down apartment, and more.

(More of a Comment, Really… is a proud member of the Chicago Podcast Coop. Thanks to Lagunitas for sponsoring this episode!)

LISTEN:RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher