We were lucky enough to have a video chat with Australian director Samuel Van Grinsven about his second feature, Went Up the Hill — a psychological drama with a supernatural touch starring Dacre Montgomery (Stranger Things) and Vicky Krieps (Phantom Thread). The critically acclaimed film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival to strong reviews, drew sold-out screenings at this year’s Sydney Film Festival, screened at the Melbourne International Film Festival in August, and will open in Australian cinemas on September 11.
Van Grinsven, whose indie debut Sequin in a Blue Room drew awards attention, returns with an intimate ghost story set in remote New Zealand. The film follows Jack (Montgomery), who travels to bury his estranged mother, Elizabeth, and meets her widow, Jill (Krieps). Over a series of nocturnal encounters, Elizabeth’s presence refuses to rest — possessing Jack and Jill in turn and forcing each to confront old wounds. The location — an isolated house carved into an eerie, open landscape — does more than frame the action; it deepens the grief, doubt, and slow unravelling at the story’s centre.
In our conversation, we dig into how Van Grinsven and co-writer Jory Anast shaped this particular take on a haunting: the initial spark, the themes they wanted to wrestle with, and striking a tonal balance between psychological drama and the uncanny. We talk film influences, the process of casting Montgomery and Krieps, and how the elusive figure of Elizabeth was defined on the page versus what emerged in performance. Van Grinsven also reflects on directing two very different actors, discovering that striking location, and stepping up to a larger canvas for his second feature.
More on Screen Realm:
Watch the interview below.
And take a look at the film’s trailer right here:
