Country music is three chords and the truth. The same could be said about filmmaking. With her latest feature Torn Hearts, the first country-focused horror movie, director Brea Grant carried that saying with her everyday on set as a way to inspire and fuel her creativity.
"I kept reminding myself of that through shooting, because I think in filmmaking, we tend to overcomplicate everything," Grant tells Wide Open Country. "I kept thinking that as long as we had the thing, the basic elements that we needed — and these actresses who were really pouring their hearts out, they were holding the truth. As long as we had that, we would have a movie. That was a guiding light for me, and hopefully, I'll take that to my future projects."
On a script written by Rachel Koller Croft, the film follows an up-and-coming pop/country duo called Torn Hearts, composed of Jordan (Abby Quinn) and Leigh (Alexxis Lemire). When their label opts to arrange an all-male tour for their labelmate Caleb Crawford (Shiloh Fernandez), the pair decide to ditch a recording session and track down country veteran and idol Harper Dutch, now a recluse, to her secluded mansion. There, they hope to convince the legend to record a song with them. Amidst the chaos of the third act, the filmmakers knit together themes about the industry's pulverizing treatment of women and how women are frequently pitted against one another — all the while treating the audience to some wonderfully spooky frights.
When watching Torn Hearts, it's as though one is peering through the sands of time. There's fringe and rhinestones galore and country tunes in the vein of The Judds and Reba — with flecks of Bonnie Raitt for good measure. Harper Dutch, played by the commanding presence of Katey Sagal, fuses all three music giants into a character all her own. "The stories all start with character. So, it was more about using these icons, especially for some of the imagery in the house and some of the costume choices, and [focusing on] Harper and her specific journey, and what it looks like for her to become who she is now."
To accentuate the character, costume designer Eulyn Colette Hufkie designed and handmade a Nudie suit specifically for Harper. "While they were prepping costumes, I would go down and see them hand sewing. They handsewed the bustier that Jordan wears," she says. "At some point I was like, 'There's never too much fringe. You can just keep going with the fringe and the rhinestones. Make it glitzy.' If we're gonna do a country music horror movie, we may as well lean into the aesthetic."
With the film's soundtrack, Croft had lyrics already written, and the creative team brought in producer/composer Alan Ett to sculpt the classic sounds. From bringing a Loretta Lynn bite on a few Dutch Sisters' songs to fashioning Caleb's catalog in bro-country style, the music came alive in a way no one expected. As far Torn Hearts is concerned, the duo needed to have "mainstream crossover potential" and appeal to country radio. Think: early Taylor Swift. "We wanted Harper's music to sound a little bit more like '90s and early 2000s country," adds Grant. "Katey has an amazing singing voice, and we were able to record that last song live. I wanted it to feel much more gospel and haunting."
Admittedly, Grant is "not a songwriter," she laughs. "I'm married to a songwriter, but I don't have that talent." She did learn quite a few lessons about the songwriting process, though. "As a director, jumping into these worlds is really fun. I got to learn a lot about the country world, and it really opened my eyes to what country music is out there," she offers. "I spent so much time going through new bands and thinking about current artists, and there was a lot of stuff that I didn't even know existed."
Thematically, Grant's work is a slice of real life. In her direction, she drew from both first-hand experiences and overall observations she gathered about the entertainment industry. "Having seen so many of the greatest actresses of our time reach an age where there was no work for them anymore, that just feels so depressing. We're obviously missing out, as a culture, in not being able to experience or still experience these actresses as they get older," says Grant. "They still have so much to offer in new perspectives. That was one thing when I read the script, I was really drawn to the character of Harper. I just kept thinking about what an interesting take, to be living this life and to know that's where things are headed. I just never viewed her as a horror villain. I thought it was more tragic."
Originally from Marshall, Texas, Grant grew up listening to country music. She was born with a record player and an armful of vinyl. "It's hard to remember my life without it. My dad always loved music," she says, noting artists like Johnny Cash, Townes Van Zandt and Garth Brooks among those she remembers listening to most.
By the time she was a pre-teen, her love for country faded, and she took up punk music out of rebellion more than anything. "I do think that was part of it — a rebellion, anger, and trying to do something that didn't totally fit into the Texas model I'd seen," she confesses. "But also punk was such an interesting subculture at that time. And it was a place I felt like you didn't have to be great at playing an instrument. And I wasn't."
So, she started a band with her friends and played the drums. "Punk is a very accessible form of expression," she adds, "and so I think that's what drew me in is that it felt like something that I could do as a teenager and find other teenagers who are interested in this sort of rebellious, approachable space."
As with everything, Grant's interests changed once again, and she drifted back to her country roots. Living out in Los Angeles, she began feeling a yearning for home. "There is a part of it that is nostalgic for me. It's kind of looking for something that reminds me of where I'm from. Even the newer country stuff that I've listened to still kind of reminds me of being back home. And part of it is that your music tastes change. I listen to pretty eclectic music. I listen to a lot of stuff with guitars, whether or not that's rock or country."
Right now, she's spinning the music of Rhiannon Giddens and some of Typhoon's countrier output. "I was doing this movie — and I also directed an episode of a show that hasn't aired yet, and it all takes place in Texas — when I was trying to find some newer, cool country and Americana artists to inspire me." Grant also stumbled upon Amethyst Kiah and uses one of her songs, titled "Hangover Blues," in the film.
When it comes to classic country, there's something about how the genre, especially when used in horror (read our deep dive here), that sends chills racing down the spine. Perhaps, an eeriness oozes from "the melodies and the guitars," suggests Grant. "They're not bright chords. A lot of times it's darker, and they're talking about dying. That really lends itself definitely to horror and obviously to filmmaking. When someone's at their darkest, it's why listening to a country song makes the most sense."
"A lot of country can be really haunting, especially older artists like Loretta Lynn and Nancy Sinatra. There was a song I wanted to use by Kentucky Thunder called "Are You Afraid to Die?" I kept thinking, 'How could this not be in a horror movie?" It didn't quite fit in this one, but I feel like I'll put it in something in the future if I'm able to get it."
Rock and pop music have become the focal point for plenty of horror movies over the years (most recently Dave Grohl's Studio 666, also co-starring Jenna Ortega and Whitney Cummings). While there is the 1967 film Hillbillys in a Haunted House — which feels much more like a variety special than a straight-up horror flick — there's never been a full-on country-centered horror movie before. Torn Hearts is truly one of a kind.
Why has it taken so long? Grant has an idea. "I don't know if it's because a lot of horror people are definitely more likely to be listening to rock music," she says, "and you have a lot of people who are metalheads or punk kids or something. A lot of people who are drawn to those kinds of subcultures get into horror. When I got into punk music, I was hanging out with a bunch of punk kids and we watched horror movies all the time, and it felt kind of like it went hand in hand. Having a horror movie in the country music scene doesn't seem to me like a stretch at all."
Torn Hearts is now streaming on Paramount+ and available on VOD.
