Movie Interview: Randal Plunkett

From one of the oldest and most prominent families in Ireland, Randal Plunkett may be known as the 21st Lord Dunsany, the descendant of Saint Oliver Plunkett and the famous early 20th century weird fiction author Edward Plunkett – an inspiration to HP Lovecraft and others. But he’s also carving out a reputation in his own right.

The CEO of Dunsany Productions, his latest short Out There has been receiving raves worldwide, and has just been accepted to play at the Cannes Film Festival. A tense post-apocalyptic zombie tale, Out There stars Conor Marren and Emma Eliza Regan, and was beautifully shot on the grounds of Plunkett’s Meath estate. He tells me that both his esteemed lineage, and the surroundings he grew up in, inspired his childhood love of all things horror.
“My great-grandfather was one of the fathers of fantasy, so it was already in the blood. My father was an artist, and I live out in this wonderful castle in the middle of Meath, in the woods. It’s gloriously creepy. I always loved fantasy, anything with ghouls and goblins and imagination. I get a little bored in Ireland. We can get stuck making films about really depressing stuff all the time – a lot of grim social realism. I prefer the escapism of imagination.”
Most children and teens long to escape their families. For Plunkett, the urge to break free was possibly more intense than most. The 29-year-old admits that he felt hugely burdened by the weight of the Dunsany name.
“For years I was groomed to take over my estate. I dreaded it. I didn’t want to inherit this title. I had to act in a certain way in front of people; to be ‘an example’. I felt like Prince William in a way because I went to school with those guys and saw them as normal kids, smuggling sweets and teddy bears. Suddenly you have to put on an appearance for everyone else. I did rebel against it, with crazy hairstyles and baggy trousers – the usual!”
As Plunkett got older, he began to understand and respect his background. He’s now happily made peace with it. However, he admits that this internal struggle inspired his film.
“On the surface it’s just a zombie movie. However, it’s very personal to me. I wrote this when my father was dying in hospital. I was facing a reality of huge responsibility. I was going to take over the estate, take on this vast history, become head of the family. And in a way I used the characters as a metaphor for my own worries, the zombies being this looming responsibility and the lead character being myself – with the choice to either buckle and run or stand my ground.”
Plunkett’s film avoids the schlocky tropes of budget horror. He says that the creative nature of his family and their unwavering support allowed him to develop his artistic side.
“Horror isn’t hugely respected as a genre. I was lucky in that my parents were supportive of anything creative. They saw my work was always interested in people, and its motivations – not just blood and CGI.”
Speaking about the film, Plunkett touches on a range of themes: loneliness, divorce, nature documentary makers like David Attenborough and a range of inspirations, from Caravaggio to Monet to The Shining.
“There’s a lot in it that most people won’t pick up on. If you were to deconstruct it, you’d learn a lot about me, and what has inspired me.”
Plunkett is Cannes-bound this month for the screening. He’s already started working on some new projects. However, despite his international success, he’s determined to stay in Ireland, for personal as well as professional reasons.
“My background creates a lot of interest. It also creates a lot of bad feeling. People accuse me of being British, though I’ve no English blood in me. Even my grandfather – he got no attention because the Irish considered him an English writer, while the English considered him an Irish writer. He was in limbo. We’ve always had problems being accepted. Hopefully that’s changed now. I don’t want to leave. I want to continue to make Irish films here. It’s my home.”

Watch the trailer at youtube.com/user/RandalPlunkett