The Movie Waffler Interview - THE LAST FIVE DAYS Director Clay Moffatt | The Movie Waffler

Interview - THE LAST FIVE DAYS Director Clay Moffatt

the last five days
Director Moffatt discusses his new found footage thriller.


New from Wild Eye Releasing, The Last Five Days is available now on US Digital and DVD.

Two college students find evidence connecting a story they are investigating for film class to a series of deaths. Things begin to spiral out of control when an unknown force watching them becomes more violent and bloodthirsty.

Directed by Clay Moffatt, and co-written by Moffatt and Joe Pacini, The Last Five Days stars Kayla Andrews, Adam Berardi and Melaney Cook.


the last five days poster



You’ve been in the game for a while now. When did this all start for you?

I’ve dreamed of being a director ever since I saw The Sixth Sense. That was the moment I said to myself that I want to do that. I want to make people feel the things I felt after watching that movie. I was probably 10 or 11 when that came out.



And would you say The Last Five Days is your biggest, most ambitious project to date?

Actually no. Not by a long shot! The Last Five Days was filmed mostly in 2011. I was fresh out of film school and it was my first feature. I just didn’t really know what I was doing at the time and never released it. It wasn’t until I released several other films that I went back and wondered if maybe this was worth trying to get out there.



What did you do differently on this one that you haven’t done on previous projects?

Found footage was something new to me. To keep my answer short and simple, I thought found footage would be the easiest way to make something long without spending very much money. Before this I was mainly making short comedies with a few friends.



How hard is it to ground a horror/sci-fi film?

It’s hard. It’s really hard for low budget filmmakers. The way we pulled it off was by making the characters likeable and as believable as possible. Joe Pacini and I have been good friends since childhood so it was easy to share that bond on screen. I’ve seen a lot of horror films where I simply don’t care about the characters because they are either not interesting or not fun to watch.



Was there anyone in the cast that truly surprised you?

I think everyone was outstanding. Without sounding like I have a big ego, I would like to say myself! After almost a decade I went back and touched up some of the edit before we submitted to distribution companies. Seeing myself turn into this horrific demon version of me and act the way I did was crazy. Some of the things I was able to pull off seemed truly scary even to family and close friends.



Tell us about working with Adam Berardi, whom I believe you’ve worked with a couple of times now?

Adam is a superstar! That’s why I keep him around. Just kidding. Adam brings out the best in me. I’ve been doing this film thing for almost 20 years and never met someone who is just as dedicated as me. It’s usually me having to force things out of people and that’s not the case with Adam. He has had such a strong impact on my life that now it would feel weird to not have him helping out on a project.



Being as there has been so many, what’s the secret to keeping a found-footage film fresh?

That’s a tough question because it was the furthest thing from my mind while we were working on The Last Five Days. I will say that trying the unexpected is probably the thing audiences expect the most! Keeping it realistic and simple keeps it fresh. If you have a solid idea and enough drive then I believe you will stand out.







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