“Bulk” and “Meg 2” director Ben Wheatley thinks “it’s a great time to be a young filmmaker,” pointing to break-out, box-office phenomena like “Backrooms” and “Obsession” as proof that emerging directors are trailblazing new pathways to success — and finding ways to reach new audiences.
Appearing at the Transilvania Intl. Film Festival, where the U.K. filmmaker is on hand to promote his 2025 psychological thriller “Bulk,” Wheatley looked back at his comparatively late start as a director — he was 37 when he released his feature debut, “Down Terrace” — and joked that he’s “a really bad advert” for making it in the film industry.
“‘Backrooms’ and ‘Obsession’ and all these movies are proving my route through the industry was not great,” Wheatley said, recalling how he’d promised himself he’d direct his first feature before the age of 40. “It took me that long to get my shit together. But I couldn’t have done it any other way. It just took me a long time to have the confidence to make something.”
A director best known for moving fast and making the most of micro budgets — he shot “Down Terrace” in eight days for just £6,000 — Wheatley praised the “democratization” of the moviemaking process, thanks to the advent of 21st-century technologies like YouTube that have allowed young directors like 21-year-old Kane Parsons (“Backrooms”) and 26-year-old Curry Barker (“Obsession”) to go from viral online phenomena to bona fide box-office sensations.
