Posted in: Exclusive, Horror, Interview, Movies | Tagged: exclusive, Gia Crovatin, House of Darkness, interview, justin long, kate bosworth, Lucy Walters, neil labute, Saban Films

House of Darkness Star Lucy Walters on Vintage Horror & Education

Lucy Walters is as eager to learn about her craft as she is to perform. With over a decade of on-screen experience under her belt, she's always looking for new opportunities with each project she takes on, which includes her latest horror thriller film House of Darkness. Walters plays Nora Murry, one of three sisters who share a secluded estate along with Lucy (Gia Crovatin) and Mina (Kate Bosworth). The film follows Hap (Justin Long), who takes Mina home from the bar carrying on their conversation, but not everything is as it seems for the guest. Walters spoke with Bleeding Cool about working with writer-director Neil LaBute (American Gigolo), her love for vintage horror, and her passion for learning.

What intrigued you about 'House of Darkness?'
Walters: That vampire world is fascinating. I like the unconscious dark fears and desires; it's always explored in interesting ways. [There are] disturbing and yet, productive sort of the psychosexual aspects of the genre quite appealing. I grew up in the theater and studied so much of Neil's playwriting work seriously. The idea of getting to work with him personally was very exciting. It also helped we were in the middle of the pandemic. Anytime we got to work together, I felt like such a guest, and it was quite thrilling. There was something exciting about getting to shoot in a real-life castle in the middle of Arkansas. Who knew there were such things? [laughs]

When people think "castle," you'd think Europe, right?
That would also been very cool, but there was something perfectly postmodern about having this recently constructed fancy mansion that was supposed to look like a castle from whatever decade in Europe. It was interesting on a ton of levels. Coincidentally, I also had a lot of friends in common with the DP [Daniel Katz]. I love his work, so that was another reason to do it. It was a confluence of good things.

What are some of your favorite horror films growing up?
It's so funny because I'm such a scaredy cat for most horror [laughs]. I live in New York and feel like my whole life has been a little too white-knuckle. I take everything too intensely, which is probably why I like doing these roles, but I'm not sure about seeing them. My favorite horror is the campy and vintage kind. Growing up, I loved things like 'Sleepaway Camp,' a little bit dealing with things like gender identity, but there's campiness to them where they couldn't quite be on-the-nose scary. I love vintage vampire films like the 'Daughter of Darkness' and these elegant, disturbing slow-burn horrors. There's something nice about the slow and meditative ones that have tension but are not super scary. I enjoy watching new horror like 'Hereditary' or character-driven ones, but they are not terrible with gore [laughs].

When I saw this film, it kind of reminded me a little bit of some of the Hammer films as far as the build goes. Did it feel like that working with Neil?
It was great. For somebody who is such a revered playwright coming from that world where the text is gold, he's so chill, relaxed, and cool. It was a good dynamic on set and a neat mix of worlds because I come from the theater world. Neil brings a lot of loosenesses. I like a lot of improv and spontaneity, and you don't often see that in the playwriting world. It was a cool mix of working ways, and I got to do a lot of my parts more periphery and observing in the process. It was really fun as somebody interested in the craft of movie-making.

Addressing the 400 lb gorilla in the room, was there something more you wish could have happened more with your role in the film, or are you glad everything kind of came out the way it did?
No. It was always going to be how it turned out. It was like, "We were in the middle of a pandemic, and I was just excited to be on set." With each project, I always want to get an education, and I'm just such a believer in lifelong learning. I learned from sharing the space with these people whose work I admire and their different approaches to the work. I was happily on board, knowing that it was not a big part, but the opportunity to be on set is always fun. Being in Arkansas was certainly an intriguing thing I've ever done.

Saban Films' House of Darkness is in theaters, digital, and on-demand.

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