Bedeviled – Exclusive Interview With Saxon Sharbino
Playing as part of Screamfest L.A. is The Vang Brothers’ new film, Bedeviled (review), and we have a battery of interviews to bring you up-to-speed on the spooky! Next up: Saxon Sharbino!
Bedeviled premieres Saturday, October 22, 2016 – 10:00pm. Get your tickets here!
Dread Central: Tell me a little bit about how this role came to you. Are you kind of the ‘Horror Girl’ now after Poltergeist?
Saxon: I don’t know if I’m the ‘Horror Girl’. I have acted in a couple horror movies but this is really different because it is more character base and I like the story about it but I really like it better and it definitely has a new aspect to horror films with the evil bad guy coming from a app and coming from something just recently became a part of every one’s life in a huge way, technology and violence and stuff.
DC: Would you say it is similar to movies like Unfriended?
SS: I think it’s different because the evilness does hurt through technology, the bad guy does use the app to connect with the people but it’s not a person, like Unfriended; didn’t watch the movie but this is a different kind of evil and it brings back The Boogieman from the 80s supernaturally using technology.
DC: Is your grandma a ghost in the movie?
SS: My character’s biggest fear is her grandmother so of course Mr Bedevil who uses the app to connect to the kids, he takes the form of my grandmother so I don’t think it’s her ghost because I don’t think my grandmother’s ghost would attack me but he does definitely take the form of everything and anything that you’re afraid of.
DC: Tell me a little more about who you play in Bedeviled.
SS: My character is Alice and she comes from a home with a single mother. She’s really smart, she has good grades and she’s just doing everything right living her life peacefully and normally and then her friend Nicky dies who’s her best friend and that’s the first shock to her and the first abnormal thing that’s happened to her in her life and then as that happens, we don’t know this, but she let in the badness into her life and then that’s how the movie kind of goes.
DC: What kind of weapons are at her disposal to fight the evil creatures?
SS: Alice uses her mind to fight against Mr Bedevil. It’s not really a physical thing and she also uses staying close with her friends, really like staying a part of the group and not letting anyone be by themselves and fight on their own and that’s how she overcomes it, with the help of her friends.
DC: Did the directors tell you to watch certain movies so you can get into the mood of what you need to be doing when you shot this film?
SS: They didn’t, we’re just kind of creating something new. We didn’t want to copy anyone else’s.
DC: What were your thoughts when you first read the script?
SS: I thought it was really scary and the cool thing about this is it’s not really jump scares, it’s anticipation and the intensity builds as the movie goes, that I really like about it.
DC: What’s one of the most interesting days that you’ve had on set so far?
SS: The most fun for me is definitely character moments and I think that you can really see that every aspect of my character when she’s scared and who she really is. I think, through this adventure or this journey with Mr Bedevil, she will become who she is and who she was almost afraid of becoming before Mr Bedevil so, in a way he helps her to be who she really is but I think the most interesting day I had on set be formed in a warehouse where my grandmother was chasing me and the girl who play my grandmother, she is a contortionist which was super creepy for me because she’s just as an old lady and she can torture my body in these really weird ways so, I was actually frightened. She yelled at me unexpectedly one time, I had to run away!
DC: Does this story make you think a little bit differently about technology?
SS: I do. I do believe that you can let in bad things through technology. I think this movie teaches you that you have to be aware of what you’re letting into your life and it’s on your phone, you don’t think anything bad can come from it but I do think this spreads awareness that bad things can come from your phone even though it might seem like a game or seem like it’s not harmful to anyone just because it’s on your phone and it can be, you need to be aware.
DC: It’s just a different medium but throughout time, there’s portal where evil could get in. How does Mr Bedvil use his portal?
SS: Mr Bedevil seems really innocent and helpful after you down the app. Mr Bedevil helps you with your homework, he helps almost like your personal assistant and as it goes on and on you realise that he isn’t just an app, he does have connections to our world and that we allowed him into our lives by accepting the invitation to our phone and he uses our phone to find out stuff about us and what we’re afraid of and find root spots to attack us.
DC: Do you watch horror movies? Do you like them?
SS: I personally am so scared of horror movies. I really put myself in the character’s mind set when I watch movies; if it’s a sad movie I’ll probably cry, if it’s a scary movie I’ll really get scared so, I don’t like watching horror movies because I get too invested. I started taking acting classes when I was nine just as a hobby and my emotions were always easily available for me. They would say cry and I would just cry. I could put myself in the mind set or the situation how I would react if that situation is happening to me even as a child.
DC: They’re going for an R rating but it’s not gory; there’s no stabbing or slashing or anything, right?
SS: Yeah, there’s no stabbing or any gore really. All the deaths, even on camera, just leads you to your imagination. The makeup is insane, Mr Bedevil’s make-up, the grandmother, the clown’s, they’re all just really creepy. I find all aspects of film making interesting and so even to not be afraid for me, I went and saw the grandmother, undergoing six hours of make-up. So even to help prepare me as a person I like to go see it, but I also find it interesting as an actor. I find everything in film really cool.
DC: What’s one of the most gruelling thing that they put you through?
SS: Gruelling things they put me through. Hm… There was a basement scene where I was running and almost attacked and I had to fall on the dirt, I just didn’t inhale in the dust. But the Vangs are doing a great job, they are creative and passionate about every part of this movie so I’m sure it’s going to turn out amazing because two people’s hearts are really in it.
Directed by The Vang Brothers (Burlee and Abel Vang), Bedeviled stars Saxon Sharbino, Mitchell Edwards, Brandon Soo Hoo, Victory Van Tuyl, Carson Boatman, Alexis G. Zall, and Jordan Essoe
Synopsis:
Five teenagers receive an invite to download a Siri-like app. Once they accept this app which calls itself Mister Bedevil, it begins to torment each of them by tapping into their worst fears. To stop this malevolent force, the teens must learn to trust and depend on each other’s wits and courage.
Categorized:News
