By His Hand is a film made in Utah by local filmmakers who also are brothers that incorporated their own experiences about living in Utah. Set in rural portions of the Beehive State, the film follows a young woman who escapes a fundamentalist sect, only to realize that her story is more than just survival. She also realizes the personal and psychological stakes involved in her emancipation.
More importantly, it’s not just a Utah film, the creative outcome of Taylor and Ethan Paur, who also established their own company Scryer Productions with their brother Conor, one of the film’s producers. By His Hand succeeds as a case example of the broader potential reach for local filmmakers who recognize how their stories can relate to viewers who may have never spent a day in Utah.
Now in release via Buffalo 8, the film expands way beyond its thriller genre classification. It is a provocative narrative which reverberates in the consciousness of viewers who want to contextualize a generally gloomy, pessimistic zeitgeist not just in contemporary politics and culture but also how they relate to each other, as friends and as peers in a community where the bond may have rested upon closely held beliefs and specific worldviews. The three principal characters are Fowler, the cult leader, and Sam, who arranges the escape for Emma.
By His Hand effectively handles a crucial challenge for local filmmakers telling stories steeped in Utah ‘s distinguishing features of many stripes that will resonate and connect to viewers in themes and epiphanies that rise well above just being curious about Utah’s idiosyncrasies. Like Emma, many individuals confront and realize that allegiances, loyalties, obediences and obligations once seemingly secure, familiar and comforting have turned out to be illusions and betrayals laid bare by blunt realities that compel us to rethink the worldviews of our existence and psychological well-being.
“When we made this film, we wanted to make something for Utah, but we always wanted it to feel universal, and I think that we accomplished that in this film. It’s very near and dear to my heart,” Taylor explained. “It’s about growing up in Utah. It’s about thinking that you have an answer and you have a way out. But you also find out that you’re not as well equipped as you might think. And this comes through in the character of Sam, who is trying to figure it out as he goes. And, there is a message of hope for Emma. Both are at different stages trying to figure it out.”
For Emma, the film’s narrative arc leaves her at the beginning of her actual healing journey. “And that healing comes from the very simple, non-judgmental kindness from strangers,” Ethan added. “We live right now in a world where there’s a lot of suspicion. There’s a lot of separation. There’s a lot of indoctrination. And, you kind of see what it does to Fowler. You see what it does to Sam. And you see the lack of that is enough to open the door of healing for Emma.”
While one might be tempted to see the film as anti-religious in tone, By His Hand shows how all three principal characters arrive at their respective clarifying, potentially transformative moments of skepticism. Whatever their foundations were, the time came for each of them to step away from their closely held beliefs and the emotional and psychological quagmires which made it difficult to find the confidence to be able to resolve them.
Having been raised in a Mormon household, the team of Paur brothers was interested in the realms of cults that are offshoots not necessarily just of Mormonism but of any other Christian faith or denomination or even sociopolitical movement. In building out the narrative architecture and the characters who exist in that framework, the brothers drew upon their personal experiences and observations of living in a broader environment where patriarchal institutions manifest themselves in omnipresent ways in society, culture and networks of relationships.
The film’s artistic statement elucidates this nicely. What began as a story of escaping “from the control, fear, and weaponization of dogma,” the usual thrilling expectations of escape gave way to considerations, to quote the team’s words, “about what we carry with us as we run. It’s easier to hate the external monster than it is to recognize the potential monster in ourselves. Emma sees Sam as a good man, next to Fowler’s evil. And in most ways, Sam is not Fowler. But Sam is also not free of Fowler. In fact, he’s only a few degrees away from becoming Fowler himself.”
Logically, the ultimate epiphanies are universal in their nature. “The answers can be kindness and community and just some self-love and self-empowerment and that’s really where we left it off,” Taylor said. “And I think if you can tap into those things, then I think that it is possible to muster that courage to reassess and change for the better.” He amplified this point in part of the film’s creative brief. “I spent most of my adult life carrying a lot of resentment and running from my past,” he explained. “I blamed my less desirable traits on how I was raised. I felt unprepared for life, unprepared for relationships, and carried a lot of internal discord. I’ve always considered myself a bit of a late bloomer, and it took me some time to get around to the idea that inner peace comes from kindness and community.”
Avoiding spoilers, it is significant to say that some viewers likely will be surprised at where the story leaves each of these characters at the end. While the film is classified in the thriller genre, the Paur brothers astutely avoided the pressures and temptations to give into gratuitous sentiments concerning whether or not the characters received their just desserts.
No question: this has been a marathon project but also the longevity of this filmmaking process has ensured just how well the brothers allowed the characters and the epiphanies that emerge from them to ripen in their final form. The Paur brothers’ feature project emerged from a short film by the same title which saw its premiere at the 2021 Fear No Film program at the Utah Arts Festival. As The Utah Review noted at the time, “By His Hand … is a worthy thriller pitting a religious cult’s leader against a young man who realizes just how much his elder has abused his power through coercion. Featuring all-Utah talent and production crew, the film is indicative of the core strengths that have made the state an appealing destination for industry professionals.” Taylor and Ethan shared screenwriting duties. Taylor directed the film and the three brothers (including Conor), along with Jordan Oldroyd were producers.
The short was completed just right before the COVID-19 pandemic halted many activities, beginning in March 2020. The feature film qualified for the Utah Film Commission’s Community Film Incentive Program (CFIP), which is a 20% post-performance cash rebate for Utah-based filmmakers with production budgets between $100,000 and $500,000. The Paur Brothers had just 11 days for shooting, which occurred during the Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists strikes in 2023. But they were fortunate enough to gain the interim dispensation to go forward, an agreement that came just two days before their scheduled start for shooting.
They completed casting in just one weekend, which includes Ryann Bailey (Seeking Persephone), Chase Ramsey (Yellowstone, Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1), Steve Luna (1923) and Forrie J. Smith (Yellowstone). Coincident with the production of By His Hand, the brothers founded Scryer Productions. There’s also a unique production throughline — Taylor’s experience working on Yellowstone and Ethan on Hereditary (a Sundance premiere that became a box office hit) carried over in the form of collaborators and cast he had built relationships with, helping form a tight-knit crew, which brought numerous collaborators from the Yellowstone production team and enhanced both trust and efficiency in the shoot.
They revisited the original locations in the short, which was filmed on Antelope Island and the Fielding Garr Ranch there, which conveyed the sense of isolation and desolation in the midst of civilization. For the feature, they expanded the options including the shallow solar evaporation ponds on the Great Salt Lake along with the industrial settings along Beck Street in North Salt Lake. The fact that these contrasting settings are located within an hour’s drive made for efficient, affordable filmmaking on a modest production budget. “In conceptualizIng and writing the film’s characters and storylines, we realized how Utah as a silent character is baked into the story and is an inextricable part of how the narrative takes shape,” Ethan said in a 2024 interview with The Utah Review.
It is evident from their interview remarks that in order to make this as wholly an independent project as possible, the three brothers were dedicated to working together harmoniously in every turn. Ethan noted that any outside investors who might have come into the project like would have pushed for different character outcomes, based on their perceptions about the consumer market for genre films. The bond of brotherhood engendered a unique level of trust. “I trust these guys implicitly across the board,” Conor said. “Our goals are aligned. Our values are aligned. It can be hard working with family and sometimes going into business with family can be an awful idea.”
Conor added, “I think 10 years ago it may have turned out differently. We’ve all been through a lot in our personal and professional lives that has allowed us to find that balance of working with each other as professionals and then also, loving each other as brothers. He continued, “That can be tough, but I think that we’ve all managed to kind of straddle that line and achieve empathy and objectivity in the process. It’s hard, but it was a great experience which definitely brought the three of us together.”
Taylor added that each of them is different, which is why the process worked. “Ethan’s a very thoughtful and empathetic person. Conor is an analytical, savvy businessman. And I don’t know what I am, but I’m happy to be here with these two guys. It’s been fun and pretty painless.”