Ultrasound Cast And Director Explain The Making Of A Cult Hit And False Information

What is reality? Can you trust your own mind? Reality is perception and for the lost souls of Ultrasound, that reality is very warped.

It’s not hyperbole to say Ultrasound will be a hit for a certain brainy crowd. Those are my words, not the actors or director. They are proud of their work but quite humble about their film. Lovers of Cronenberg and twisters like John Cusack’s Identity will watch and rewatch this as they feverishly share clues on Reddit. Ultrasound which is out in theaters and on VOD everywhere today, is the kind of film that’s popularity will grow over time. It is the kind of niche genre film that will have broad appeal. Based on the trippy graphic novel Generous Bosum by Conor Stechschulte, it is a twisty thinker that keeps you guessing clear until the end. I was lucky enough to sit down with the cast and director about making such a clever movie. Throughout several zoom interviews, I got a sense of what this cast thought about information consumption, reality, and a few clues about what is really happening at the end of Ultrasound.

The film opens with an ominous chance encounter. Glen(Vincent Karthheizer Angel, Mad Men) has car trouble late at night during a terrible storm. He knocks on a friendly but odd middle-aged man’s door and is offered a place to stay for the night. Art, a brilliantly vanilla Bob Stephenson, and his young wife Cyndi, We Are Cat’s Chelsea Lopez, are friendly enough, but something is wrong. Before the night is over, Glen finds himself embroiled in something he can’t understand. At the same time, a beautiful young woman, Katie, feels neglected and gaslit by her lover, and a doctor begins to have second thoughts about their role in a study. These three seemingly unrelated storylines come together in a mind-bending third act that must be seen to be believed.

This was director Rob Schroeder’s feature film debut, but you wouldn’t know it to watch it. His astute eye captures the characters and settings in cleverly shaded and framed shots designed to show you everything you need to puzzle together what is really happening while disguising it all in layers of minutiae. Schroeder said Manchurian Candidate influenced him, and it “had many of the same themes”. Having Conor Stechschulte on board also helped flesh out the film. He said it was very “Game of Thrones” in that the movie helped inspire the last two books of the series, which weren’t written yet. For Chelsea Lopez(Cyndi), getting a chance to play a character from a graphic novel was a selling point. The intricately plotted film may not be as outwardly bombastic as a superhero novel, but the hits are just as fun when they come.

The concept of “nested realty” appealed to Schroeder. He was interested in hypnotherapy, and the timelines and sets were easily replicated from a production standpoint. He loves mind-benders with favorites including The Man Who Fell To Earth and Performance. Although the two disparate influences appear polar opposites, both can be seen in Ultrasound. Psychological warfare makes for dynamic storytelling, and the same is true for Ultrasound. The ebbs and flows of the reality manipulations aren’t appreciated the first time through. This is a film that requires multiple views to catch everything. The devil is in the details, and it “was a lot of fun [was] working backward.” Pay close attention to every minute detail as they paint a vivid picture without you even knowing it. Production designer Alexis Rose clearly had a lot of fun doling out breadcrumbs.

Everyone felt the enormity of how our shifting realities are shaped by what we see, hear and read every day. Chelsea Lopez(Cyndi) and Rainey Qualley(Katie) had the Herculean task of keeping the multiple viewpoints separate. Qualley said “living in it, moment to moment” was the only way to keep everything straight. When asked about information consumption and what Ultrasound has to say about it, Lopez points to the name of our social media “feed”. Qualley was equally concerned that our viewpoints are shaped and strengthened by algorithms that give us information based on our geographic location and acquaintances. Both are astute points about the vulnerability of our minds. Ultrasound uses this as a jumping-off point that is expanded in fabulous and terrifying ways.

They both play extremely vulnerable women who shouldn’t trust everything they see. Concerning that defenselessness, Lopez wonders, “What do you really know?” She is sympathetic to women, and Qualley stresses the importance of listening to your gut instincts. Several characters in the film ultimately learn that lesson the hard way.

For Bob Stephenson, the hows and whys of Art were the most interesting. He thinks Art isn’t a strictly bad guy even though he does terrible things. There is a reason he is the way he is. His past has led him to this place where he uses his skills in nefarious and unexpected ways. Stephenson’s Art is a fascinating character study in experience.

Where does the truth begin and lies end? Should we all be paranoid about the messages we consume and where they come from? Everyone agrees this is the type of film best watched multiple times and discussed with those we trust. Broader conversations about what shared reality is and how it is formed are a natural extension of Ultrasound. In the immortal words of Queen: Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? By the end of Ultrasound, you probably will begin questioning both. The only thing you shouldn’t question is whether to see this film. Run, don’t walk but bring your tinfoil hat.

Ultrasound is in select theaters and streaming VOD everywhere today.