Actress Lauren-Marie Taylor talks to The Inside Reel about approach, imagination, mirror universes and perspectives of the parallels to her time within the "Friday The 13th" mythology in regards to her role in the new horror film: "In A Violent Nature" from IFC Films & Shudder.
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00:00Something's not right, man. Get it through your head!
00:15You don't know what you just did. It's the only thing holding his soul at rest.
00:19Give it back!
00:20You can't! He's awake now!
00:25What are you waiting for?
00:27We're right here!
00:30No, no, no. He was like, I remember he's like, I have to put her in.
00:39I have to have her playing that character because the story you were telling was sort of reflective in certain ways of Vicky and looking back.
00:48It was really meta and existential, he said, which I'm not sure if he ever discussed that with you.
00:54But that's that's what I heard at the Q&A.
00:58No, I had no idea. Oh, my gosh. I feel honored that he said that. Wow.
01:03Well, because if you look at that monologue, you look at what the whole spot your character has in the film.
01:11I want to give too much away, but it it really it's that whole monologue says so much.
01:18And it sort of encapsulates the dread that sometimes horror films can really do.
01:24Can you talk about jumping into something like this, obviously, with your your experience before and seeing?
01:31Because, you know, there's such a love of the genre, but it's all always about, you know, what what is coming for me?
01:38What is the possibility? Could you talk about it? I didn't mean to talk so much right there.
01:43No, it's great to hear someone else's take on it.
01:47I mean, it was it was I really didn't know what to expect.
01:51I was sent the script and of course, you know, I read throughout the entire script and I went, oh, OK.
01:57You know, but I read it as a Friday the 13th actress.
02:01I was reading it like music and, you know, all that type of stuff.
02:08And Chris doesn't do that. It's very deliberate, very quiet.
02:14And you're just moving through the woods with this character, not knowing what's going to happen next,
02:21because there's no music to foreshadow his actions and his steps, except his steps.
02:28That's what really, you know, I'll tell you, that creeps me out because I do trail running in the woods.
02:33I live near a huge state park system, thousands and thousands of miles of trails.
02:38And I was telling someone, I said, you know, I've never thought anything of it.
02:43But now if I hear crunching of leaves, I look around, it's a chipmunk this big, you know, a little two inch chipmunk.
02:49I think that's two inches. I don't know. But anyway, so it's a different experience.
02:54But the monologue that Chris wrote, I was just so absorbed when I first read it.
03:03I thought, oh, first of all, I was like, oh, my God, how am I going to memorize all these lines?
03:08It's that shot. It's that shot just doing that, too.
03:12Oh, well, that's the other thing is because I was actually driving the truck with the cameras here, here, here and here.
03:23I was focused on the driving. So it helped with the interpretation that Chris wanted for the character.
03:32You know, it helped make it sound like, oh, you know what? I've seen this.
03:36This happened to this person. This is what it feels like.
03:40It's just every day for her. I don't want to give anything away either.
03:45But it was it was an interesting choice to say, hey, Lauren, the flatbed truck makes too much noise.
03:51Can you actually drive and deliver the words? And I just went, oh, yeah, sure.
03:56Got it.
04:26What the. Story, I remember sitting on because you're all you're waiting for the shoe to drop.
04:53You're waiting for Chris to have something. And yet the whole point of it is to create that notion of what if, you know, with with you.
05:01I mean, did you have to did you try to look at anything? What the story meant?
05:05Was it just sort of how did you have any conception of that or did he explain it?
05:12I have a wonderful imagination. OK.
05:16I have a I have a very active inner life in my brain. I'm all maybe from being from New York.
05:23I don't know what. But every situation that I'm in, there's a different scenario, an alternate universe, if you will.
05:31There's an old Star Trek episode where Captain Kirk and Mr.
05:34Spock and Dr. McCoy, they go into an alternate universe where there are evil twins.
05:39Mirror, mirror. Yeah. Yes. Yes. You know it.
05:43So that's how I view life. I see everything as an alternative universe.
05:48And when I was reading that, I just imagined, you know, what did that feel like?
05:55What did that sound like? How did she feel when she learned about this happening?
06:02So when I sat down with Chris and he gave me his interpretation of what he wanted for the woman,
06:10I had to scale back my overactive imagination, you know, and just peel away at it and just become very.
06:20I'm not monotone and not one note, but just very calm about what the information I am imparting to my passenger.
06:31I don't know. You know, but it's interesting because she could be you in another life, another universe, you know,
06:40and that's what's sort of really great about it, because Vicki as a character in part two, she was very empathetic.
06:47I mean, the way she interacted with her best friend and all that.
06:51And yet this woman could could be Vicki all the way, which when she's much older and she's been hardened by life.
06:59There's so many different interpretations.
07:01And I tell you, I actually said to Chris and we were done filming.
07:06I said, you know, there are some conspiracy theories out there because at the end of part two, when you see Jason's lair,
07:13you don't see Vicki's body lined up with the other ones.
07:17So I said, wouldn't it be funny if, you know, the the community, our beautiful horror community,
07:23wouldn't it be funny if they thought, wait a minute, that could be Vicki.
07:26That could be her. She doesn't have a name.
07:31So she's probably a Vicki type. But yeah, I mean, she's empathetic.
07:35Also, the woman is very empathetic. But she's also telling this really graphic story and describing some pretty graphic stuff.
07:44I don't want to give anything away, though. No, it's good.
07:48People need to see it. It's it's something to be experienced. So, Lauren, thank you so much.
07:52I mean, it was an experience watching it, but the reaction is so visceral, you know,
07:57which you're seeing visceral because you're like, well, it's going to happen.
08:00So, awesome. Thank you very much. Wonderful talking to you.
08:03Thank you for having me.
08:15Animals don't get too hung up on reason.
08:18They just keep killing.