News

Interview: Milly Shapiro on Her Breakout Role in ‘Hereditary’

Published

6 years ago

September 4, 2018

Milly Shapiro has been having the time of her life since she landed the role of Charlie in Hereditary.

Though she’s had a serious background in theater and stage work, the film was her first, and she sat down with iHorror recently to chat about her experiences making the film and the doors that are opening in the wake of its success.

**Author’s Note: The following interview contains spoilers for Hereditary. You have been warned!

“I didn’t think I would actually make the transition from stage to film until much later,” the actress explained. “because it’s very hard for theater actors to transition to film. When it happened I was so excited. It’s always been my dream to be in a horror film.”

The actress, who recalled telling her mother she’d do whatever it took to be in the film including cutting her head off for real if she needed to, was overjoyed when she got the call to let her know she’d been cast.

Her character, Charlie, was different than anyone she’d ever played before, but the young actress had other worries as well, as she approached the film. Those worries were named Toni Collette, Gabriel Byrne, and Alex Wolff.

“I was really excited because I was getting to work with all of these amazing actors but I was also really nervous because I was a noob so I didn’t really know what to expect or think,” Shapiro laughed. “They were all really nice and welcoming, though, and that took the nerves away.”

And then there was the character of Charlie, herself, to consider. Of all the characters in the film, Charlie was perhaps the most enigmatic, and Shapiro was eager to discuss her method of building Charlie in her mind and how she came to understand her throughout filming.

“I use the Stella Adler method of acting which means that I create the character outside of myself and when the director calls action, I could step into character and when he says ‘cut’ I can flip the switch and step right back out,” Shapiro explained. “[Charlie] doesn’t think the same way everyone else does. She works a lot on natural instinct so really, creating the character was much harder than letting her go.”

Director Ari Aster pulled off a bit of a coup in the advertising campaign for Hereditary using misdirection so that people watching the trailers thought Charlie was the central focus of the film when in fact, she dies barely halfway into its run time. It was a move worthy of Hitchcock, himself, and Shapiro says watching audience reactions to her untimely death has been some of the most fun she’s had in the process.

“My best screening experience was the second screening at Sundance,” she said. “We were all in these sort of bleachers watching the film and I could hear people dropping things and jumping in their seats and it was so much fun! That was part of Ari’s brilliance, though, because you think that Charlie is the focus and then when she dies you’re not sure where to look.”

Still, experiencing the audience reactions hasn’t quite gotten the actress over her reluctance to watch herself on the big screen.

“I hate watching myself,” she laughed. “I love the acting part, but when it comes to the watching part I’m like, ‘No, thank you!'”

People have begun recognizing her when she’s out and about with family, now, and that’s added a whole new layer of excitement and admitted awkwardness on the actress’ part when fans approach her. She says it’s a bit of a shock, but mostly because the film wasn’t, in the beginning, meant to be a big release.

“When I first signed on it was a small indie film, and no one knew if many people would see it at all or how big it would end up being,” Shapiro said. “So it’s always a bit funny now that people approach me about it and some will say ‘Aren’t you the girl in that horror movie’ but others are like ‘You look like that girl in that horror movie’ and I just sort of laugh and reply, ‘Yeah I do look like her!'”

She loves the experience, though, and she wants everyone to know that it’s perfectly safe to approach!

“I promise they won’t have a pigeon head thrown at them or anything like that,” she said, once again sharing her exuberant and infectious laugh with me.

Hereditary releases on Blu Ray and DVD today, and is also available on digital and Video on Demand! Check out the trailer below and keep your eyes peeled for Shapiro in the future. The actress says she has other offers rolling in and she’s ready for the next big move.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

1 Comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

You must be logged in to post a comment.

News

Brad Dourif Says He’s Retiring Except For One Important Role

Published

17 hours ago

April 19, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Brad Dourif has been doing movies for nearly 50 years. Now it seems he is walking away from the industry at 74 to enjoy his golden years. Except, there is a caveat.

Recently, digital entertainment publication JoBlo’s Tyler Nichols talked to some of the Chucky television series cast members. During the interview, Dourif made an announcement.

“Dourif said that he’s retired from acting,” says Nichols. “The only reason he came back for the show was because of his daughter Fiona and he considers Chucky creator Don Mancini to be family. But for non-Chucky stuff, he considers himself retired.”

Dourif has voiced the possessed doll since 1988 (minus the 2019 reboot). The original movie “Child’s Play” has become such a cult classic it’s at the top of some people’s best chillers of all time. Chucky himself is ingrained in pop culture history much like Frankenstein or Jason Voorhees.

While Dourif may be known for his famous voiceover, he is also an Oscar-nominated actor for his part in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Another famous horror role is The Gemini Killer in William Peter Blatty’s Exorcist III. And who can forget Betazoid Lon Suder in Star Trek: Voyager?

The good news is that Don Mancini is already pitching a concept for season four of Chucky which might also include a feature-length movie with a series tie-in. So, Although Dourif says he is retiring from the industry, ironically he is Chucky’s friend till the end.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Editorial

7 Great ‘Scream’ Fan Films & Shorts Worth a Watch

Published

20 hours ago

April 19, 2024

Timothy Rawles

The Scream franchise is such an iconic series, that many budding filmmakers take inspiration from it and make their own sequels or, at least, build upon the original universe created by screenwriter Kevin Williamson. YouTube is the perfect medium to showcase these talents (and budgets) with fan-made homages with their own personal twists.

The great thing about Ghostface is that he can appear anywhere, in any town, he just needs the signature mask, knife, and unhinged motive. Thanks to Fair Use laws it’s possible to expand upon Wes Craven’s creation by simply getting a group of young adults together and killing them off one by one. Oh, and don’t forget the twist. You’ll notice that Roger Jackson’s famous Ghostface voice is uncanny valley, but you get the gist.

We have gathered five fan films/shorts related to Scream that we thought were pretty good. Although they can’t possibly match the beats of a $33 million blockbuster, they get by on what they have. But who needs money? If you’re talented and motivated anything is possible as proven by these filmmakers who are well on their way to the big leagues.

Take a look at the below films and let us know what you think. And while you’re at it, leave these young filmmakers a thumbs up, or leave them a comment to encourage them to create more films. Besides, where else are you going to see Ghostface vs. a Katana all set to a hip-hop soundtrack?

Scream Live (2023)

Scream Live

Ghostface (2021)

Ghostface

Ghost Face (2023)

Ghost Face

Don’t Scream (2022)

Don’t Scream

Scream: A Fan Film (2023)

Scream: A Fan Film

The Scream (2023)

The Scream

A Scream Fan Film (2023)

A Scream Fan Film

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Movies

Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

Published

2 days ago

April 18, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

^Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'