Gary Pierrot Jr. Is Rewriting the Slasher

Gary Pierrot Jr. has a way of talking about horror that makes you want to rewatch your favorites with fresh eyes. He lights up when he mentions Scream 4, chuckles when talking about Final Destination 4’s racetrack scene, and admits he has a limit when it comes to gore. “I have a threshold,” he said. “I can’t do too much of it.” I Spit on Your Grave was the film that bought him to that realization. But his own film, Sunset Boulevard 14, isn’t about cheap scares. It’s about bringing back something that’s been missing. Fun, style, and characters who look like the audience watching.

“I’d be watching slashers today and thinking, where are the Black people? Where are the queer people? Where are the people who look and sound like me?” he said. “I wanted to create something that felt fun and nostalgic, but also allowed us as Black people to see ourselves as people who have those types of conversations about film and pop culture.” For Gary, it wasn’t enough to simply cast diversely. He wanted to build a world where Black and brown characters exist in full color. Whether that is as rich kids, film nerds, or troublemakers who drive nice cars, dress well, and take up space before the killings start.