Director Zach Clark Finds Romance in ‘Gooey, Icky’ Sci-Fi Sex Scenes in ‘The Becomers’

Ask any independent filmmaker how they funded their latest project, and you’ll get a unique story each time. For indie filmmakers, getting a passion project off the ground often involves a mix of timing, hustle, and a good amount of luck. Zach Clark, known for films like “White Reindeer” and “Little Sister,” experienced some pandemic-era serendipity when creating his latest sci-fi romance, “The Becomers.”

Clark recounted a pivotal moment from February 2021 in a conversation with IndieWire. “I was sitting in my apartment doing truly nothing, and Joe Swanberg called me and asked if I had any ideas for $100,000 genre movies that we could shoot in 12 days in Chicago. They were trying to put together four to six of these things to shoot in 2021.”

“The Becomers” was conceived under these circumstances, even though it didn’t strictly adhere to Swanberg’s budget and timeline. While Clark admits he ended up utilizing more resources than initially planned, the film still embraced the low-budget spirit that is so influential in genre cinema. Clark’s prior work leaned towards American Realism, but the opportunity to dive into genre filmmaking excited him. Influenced by binge-watching the original “Star Trek” series during the pandemic, he developed an idea for a love story between two shapeshifting aliens, inspired in part by his sense of pandemic alienation and films like “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.”

Clark laughed as he shared that, “They ended up not shooting any more of them after this movie, possibly because we spent over $100,000 and shot for more than 12 days. This idea came up not two months after the Capitol had been stormed and less than a year into the COVID pandemic. I wanted to make a movie that felt like what that preceding year had felt like for me. ‘The Becomers’ is a sincere attempt to capture what 2020 felt like if not for everyone, certainly for me.”

Capturing something as singular as the COVID-19 pandemic in a film without explicitly mentioning the disease posed a unique challenge. Clark incorporated mask-wearing as a natural part of the film’s world. In a story about two aliens blending into human society, their need to wear masks conveniently fit the narrative. “Everyone behind the camera was wearing a mask when we shot it, so it felt like lying a little bit to not depict that in front of the camera,” Clark explained. “The pandemic isn’t explicitly discussed. People just put masks on naturally, mirroring real-world behavior.”

The love story, classic sci-fi references, and low-budget production are all commendable, but “The Becomers” has one standout element: an alien sex scene. In one surprisingly sincere sequence, the two nameless protagonists engage in a unique form of intercourse with their unrecognizable alien genitalia, tenderly moaning, “I want your orifices.” The slimy practical effects evoke early Cronenberg films, but the emotional sincerity makes it feel more akin to Clark’s non-genre work.

Clark elaborated, “In thinking about making a genre movie and a science fiction movie, I wanted to take these tropes and deploy them for the emotional core of the movie. Normally, a gooey, icky sequence would be seen as horrific, but in this film, it’s a beautiful love scene. The characters are aliens attempting to navigate this experience together.”

Clark embraces the fact that many fans will likely remember the sex scene most vividly. Jokingly, he noted that every film of his has “that scene” which takes on a life of its own in the audience’s minds. If alien orifices help bridge the gap between sci-fi audiences and his usual fanbase, so be it.

“I’ve always been drawn to the idea that within a movie, there is a set piece that is very representative but also becomes a pivotal moment,” he said. “For this movie, it’s the sex scene.”

“The Becomers” is now playing in select theaters and will be released on VOD on Tuesday, September 24.