Minnesota natives who made Netflix thriller pick favorite horror films

When they were growing up in Woodbury, Brian Netto and Adam Schindler were obsessed with Sam Raimi’s films. So it must have been surreal when the acclaimed director became their producer, even showing up for a week in Bulgaria during the shooting of “Don’t Move,” which is now streaming on Netflix.

You can see why Raimi, best known for his “Spider-Man” trilogy, was attracted to the duo’s project. “Don’t Move” is a low-budget, high-concept thriller in which a grieving woman (”Yellowstone’s” Kelsey Asbille) tries to escape a serial killer (”American Horror Story” regular Finn Wittrock) after he’s injected her with a drug that leaves her temporarily paralyzed.

The pair talked about Raimi’s films and other influences in the upstairs lounge of St. Louis Park’s Marcus West End Cinema, a few hours before their movie screened at Twin Cities Film Fest.

Q: How did you two meet?

Netto: Fourth grade at Woodbury Elementary. My family had just moved out here from New Jersey. It was quite a culture shock. We bonded over comic books, film and hip-hop.

Q: What were the films you bonded over?

Schindler: It was the late ‘80s, so what everyone was watching those days. “The Goonies,” all those [Steven] Spielberg movies in which kids were in danger. After we got video cameras, around junior high, the first movie we made was a rip-off of “Child’s Play” called “Cabbage Patch Killer.” We had to find a cool way to show the doll walking around.

Netto: Quentin Tarantino’s “Reservoir Dogs” had a huge impact. The characters were gangsters but they talked about Madonna. Prior to that, characters in movies didn’t watch other movies or listen to music or have families. They were just there to kick butt. What we learned from him is to make your characters interesting and well rounded.

Schindler: We watched a lot of John Woo movies in the basement of Brian’s house.

Netto: They were incredibly violent, but they were so beautifully shot you didn’t know how to feel about it. When you watched Tarantino, you were repulsed. It taught us that you could either make films that are grounded and realistic or you could do things purely for entertainment purposes. There’s no right or wrong way.

Q: At one point did you know you wanted to turn your hobby into a profession?

Schindler: It started off just for fun. Our parents thought it was just a phase. But it never ended. When our high school friends were buying used cars, we were buying video cameras. When we moved to L.A. in 2002, we didn’t have any connections. My girlfriend paid the majority of my bills for a year or two.

Netto: She didn’t pay my bills. We had already taught ourselves the craft of moviemaking, but it takes a long time to learn how that town works.

Schindler: A lot of people go out there and give themselves a certain amount of time to make things happen. We never did that. There was no Plan B.

Q: What other directors have impacted you? Can we see their influences in “Don’t Move”?

Netto: [Alfred] Hitchcock and [Brian] De Palma.

Schindler: They had scenes where the bomb is under the table that no one knows about and you don’t know when it’s going to go off. That’s our whole movie. That’s the fun of it.

Q: “Don’t Move” is really a thriller, but since it’s the Halloween season, what are some of your favorite horror movies?

Schindler: “The Silence of the Lambs.” It’s my favorite movie. It was a bold choice to have the actors speak directly into the camera. I watch it quite frequently, and it’s still very disturbing to have them staring right at you.

Netto: I love “Candyman” and “Hereditary.” Toni Collette should have gotten an Oscar nomination for that. “Darkman” is one of my all-time favorites. I had the poster on my wall as a kid.

Q: And now you’re working with “Darkman” director Sam Raimi. How involved was he in production of “Don’t Move”?

Schindler: Extremely involved. Before we shot, we sat down with him and his team and pored through every single line in the script.

Netto: It was three two-hour sessions. On every page, he would stop and ask questions. I think he only stumped us one time. He’s pressure-testing you to make sure everything makes sense.

Q: When he shows up on set, is it intimidating? Do you worry that he might take over?

Netto: It’s not in his personality. It would be very easy for him to say, “Hop on my back. Let’s do this.” But instead he says, “We’re going to follow you guys. Make your movie.”

The Minnesota Interview is a feature in which we dive deep into the personal side of public figures with special ties to our region and readers.