Written and directed by the aptly named Butcher Brothers, The Hamiltons is a twisted coming-of-age horror about a parentless family with a hideous, deadly secret. It’s also one of the starkest, most imaginative and compelling fright flicks in years. We took the duo to task about their evident desire to play with both the genre’s rules and viewers’ heads.

One of the key elements as to why The Hamiltons works so well is that you’ve applied such a strong emphasis is on the story and filled it with well-fleshed-out characters.

We wanted to make a film where the number-one thing was that if you took the horror element out of the film, you still have a great story.