Actress Saoirse Ronan
Neil Jordan sees an element of "dirty realism" in 'Byzantium'.
The Irish director's new film sees actresses Saoirse Ronan and Gemma Arterton play a supernatural mother and daughter, Eleanor and Clara, on the run in a coastal town and he admits to finding the storyline "terribly attractive".
When asked by website Den of Geek what attracted him to the film, Jordan replied: "The script. Also, the fact that it was two female vampires who were a mother and daughter.
"That it had this kind of... dirty realism to it. You could see them wandering around the South West Coast of England with their sleeping bags wondering 'where do we hide out next'. It was that kind of thing. It was just a terribly attractive package in a way."
Jordan enjoyed returning to the chilling theme after having directed Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise in 1994's 'Interview with the Vampire' and describes the new film as a "scary fairy tale".
He added: "Well, there were a lot of things in the script that were common to other movies I've made. There was the fact it was about two women, that there was someone trying to tell their story through different points of view and time frames, the setting of a little seaside town and the fact it was about vampires!
"I think this movie is like a scary fairy tale and that's what good vampire movies are always like. It's similar to stories of meeting some evil f**king witch on the road or a strange monster that lives in shadows!"
Tagged in Saoirse Ronan