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| DON'T stare at these eyes for too long, you have been warned! |
Lauren Ashley Carter, actress, producer and lover of Bagels and star of DARLING, an American Psychological horror, you know one of those that really messes with your head and gets you all kind of jumpy. When we got asked if we wanted to speak to her, we were that excited that we drew straws to see who got to ask the questions and the one with the shortest lost, (to Andy in the office "LOSER"), first we asked her to write her own mini bio, we did not expect what happened next....
"I’ve been pregnant with both my father and my brother’s babies (The Woman, Jug Face), been bear clawed by Sean Young and burned on the thigh with her cigarette while she checked to see if my hymen was intact (Jug Face). I’ve been strung up and whipped and shot in the head by Larry Fessenden (Jug Face, Pod), had my throat slit (Jug Face), my knee blown out and ran up hills in pussy-deep snow with nothing on but a turtleneck and a pair of stretchy jeans (The Mind’s Eye). I have dragged a 200 lb man across hard wood floors and into a porcelain bathtub where I squatted over him for hours as the fake blood fused our bodies together and tore our skin as we slowly separated after we wrapped (Darling). Talking to Haunted Magazine would be a piece of cake, yes?"
Hi Lauren, thanks so much for talking to Haunted Magazine. Thank you for having me!
Firstly, we’d like to say Darling by name but certainly not
Darling by nature, what first drew you to Darling? To us it’s very
Polanskiesque, WOW I think I have just
created a new word. Mickey
and I both had the post-moviemaking blues after we wrapped Pod. While
he was editing, we were texting and emailing about how we wished we could
be making back-to-back films, lamenting and all that. I said how badly I wanted
to play a villain. I wanted to be the one that people were afraid of, but I
didn't feel like anyone would give me the chance, at least not for several
years. We went back and forth about Polanski's apartment films, and I was
begging him to come out to NYC to make a film, and through this banter, he
began writing Darling. Polanski is obviously a huge influence,
as were the films Ms. 45 and That Cold Day in the
Park.
Apparently, you’re a massive fan or horror movies, would I be
correct in saying that? Yes, sir.
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| Choose my TOP 3, aarghh! What are you doing to me? |
If that’s the case, can you tell me your Top 3 horror movies
of all time and tell me why they are so? I really
dislike listing favourites of anything. I couldn't even tell you my 3 favourite
things to eat, because moments later I would scream aloud to an empty room,
"NOOO!!! I FORGOT TO TELL HIM ABOUT THE STRING CHEESE!!!" I hate to
leave anyone or any project out, and they are all so special to me in very
different ways. It's like Sophie's Choice, you see?
There
are films that left such a mark on me that I can actually never watch again, or
at least not now, like Martyrs. I loved it, but it really
fucked me up for a week or so. Then, there are others that I can watch
over and over. As a child, my favourites were Hellraiser, Sleepaway Camp
(the trilogy, 2 being my favourite), Puppetmaster (I was 7, so,
obviously), Halloween, The Shining, Death Becomes Her, Serial
Mom (I've heard a lot of arguments about what genre these fit into), and Frankenhooker.
I don't
have a list because if I did, it is endless and constantly evolving. Staring at
my movie collection right now, I see My Boyfriend's Back (so
underrated, I fucking love Bob Balaban), the Evil Dead series
which I didn't see until I was in middle school, and then I was obsessed,
forcing my poor choir buddies to watch a woman be assaulted by a tree. C.H.U.D,
Society, Basket Case, Old Boy, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Lady
Vengeance, Drag Me to Hell (I've seen this almost as much as I've
seen Death Becomes Her), Alien, Aliens, Fright Night,
Teeth, Elvira (that was huge for me. I always thought when you got your
period you'd just look like that) The Host, Don't Look Now, High
Tension, Thriller, Big Bad Wolves .....and there are so many more
that I already feel guilty for not listing them. So, you see, this is a game
that no one will win. Just like Sophie's Choice.
The Woman, Jug Face and Darling are deliciously dark and
deadly, is that something that appeals to you big time? They are terribly dark, yes. Good writing and new characters
appeal to me more than anything. All three of these scripts had very concrete
worlds. The characters are separated from the rest of the world and society
because of unorthodox circumstances, and that appeals to me. I enjoy being able
to read a script and feel the atmosphere immediately: immediate tension, high
stakes, complicated relationships. I either say, "Hell yes!" or
"Fuck no." And that also has to do with whether or not I know I can
bring something to the project. If I'm not confident, I know my work will
suffer and so will the film.
What’s it like to be the main character in a movie like
Darling but not have that much dialogue, is it completely different to the
other way around, having shit loads of words but not playing a pivotal role? Well, I've never had loads of dialogue in film, to be honest.
In Pod I had much more, but Lyla is such an asshole, ha
ha ha. I absolutely love not speaking! I would have been a fantastic silent
actress. It's a ton of fun to be able to really use my face as a mask. When I
audition for television or naturalistic indie dramas, I am constantly being
told to make sure I don't widen my eyes too much, "You're eyes are big.
Like, they're, like, really
big." No shit. And I'm being told to tone everything
down so much that I feel like I'm on Nyquil. I love genre films because I'm not
too big or too much. I know this language, and these giant eyeballs can help
tell the story.
You’re becoming a bit of a horror icon, is that something that
you like or are you ever worried that you’ll be typecast? The only thing I worry about is people not wanting to see me in films anymore. I'm in love
with the genre, and having worked on such wonderful films has been an absolute
dream come true. As long as there are great scripts and I can portray new types
of characters, I don't care what the genre is. But let's be
honest, horror fans and horror films are simply the best.
Where is your bagel right now? You know this is a very sensitive topic for me. Luckily, we
just had break fast a week ago for Yom Kippur, and some very kind friends of
mine gave me so many bagels. But Yom Kippur has passed, and the hunt is on.
(note: for those thinking why have you just talked about a bread based product in the middle of a really cool interview, well FYI Lauren has a blog page and you can click on it here http://www.wheresmybagel.com/ (check out the title, now HOW cool is that?)
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| A Tale of Two Sisters (2003) |
I read somewhere that you like South Korean Horror, now I’ll
be honest I didn’t realise there was a top notch South Korean Horror thing
going down, what is it about it that you like? What's
not to like? It's beautifully shot, the acting is some of the best I've ever
seen, the stories are fantastic and new, and there is always comedy. No matter
what the subject matter is, something hilarious always pops
up. I love that because that's how real life is. Even during the worst of
times, people will try to find a glimmer of hope, or light, in all of the
darkness. It's a completely human thing to do to search for joy. In all of the
roles I've played, I try to find one thing that gives my character joy, even if
I never get a chance to show the audience. It's that tiny spark that gives you
the energy to wake up each morning during the worst circumstances. And South
Korean horror does this so well. Train to Busan came out this
year, highly recommend it. That's a zombie flick. The
Wailing also came out this year by Hong-jin Na, he also
wrote/directed The Yellow Sea which I finally saw and is
terrific. I think that South Korean horror is also a great way to introduce
people to the genre that think all horror movies are big knives, big titties,
and guts on the floor (not that there's anything wrong with
that! Frankenhooker is a favourite for a reason, as well
as Sleepaway Camp 2).
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| Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002) |
Here's a
list for any of you new to Korean horror. Like I said earlier, don't
crucify me if I don't list something! It's because there's too much
fantastic content.
The
Host, A Tale of Two Sisters, Old Boy, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Lady
Vengeance (these 3
are called the Vengeance Trilogy), Thirst, The Wailing, The Yellow Sea, I
Saw the Devil.
You’ve starred with some iconic female actors, Sean Young
(twice) and Pollyanna McIntosh, is there anything that they taught you or you
learnt from them? Both women were so lovely. Sean was very protective of me
during Jug
Face. She taught me that asking for comfort (a bathrobe
during a nude scene, space and time before a dramatic take) is necessary and no
one will think you're a diva for asking for it. Starting out, especially as a
woman, I was and still am very conscious about what I ask for and how. But I
know now that taking care of myself is okay and makes my work better. Pollyanna
was game for everything. She had incredible endurance. She would work out every
day even though she was shooting 12 hours straight and being brutalized. I was
motivated to get fit after that and really take care of myself, not from a
vanity stand point, but as a physical artist (which is what we are), our bodies
is so important, and if you're out of shape, those long days can take a toll on
you physically and mentally. They were both inclusive and got to know everyone
on set. That kind of thoughtfulness is contagious, and humbling. Sean Bridgers
also literally taught me during the filming of Jug
Face. He would take time with me to look over the
script, even for a scene he wasn't in, and work on scenes with me. He was
basically my acting coach during filming, and I really owe so much to him for
how Jug
Face came out.  |
| SPOILER ALERT, look away now...... |
(SPOILER ALERT), there’s a fairly gruesome scene in Darling,
that must have took ages to prepare and I guess has to be done in one take? I think we had literally 2 takes, but once I hit the artery,
that was it. Brian Spears did a phenomenal job, he always does. They love what
they do and they're very scientific and precious about it. The work that goes
into it is astonishing. As long as you listen and follow directions, then you
can go crazy once they put that saw in your hand! It was so much fucking fun.
It was exactly what I wanted to do. I know, I'm not right.
We have to ask this because you say no one else does, what
movies have you turned down? HA HA HA! Well, you read the one story in my blog about the
Berlin film. There are a handful of really awful ones I turned down that never
got made, so my instincts were right. There was one that I'll write about
someday, all I'll say is that before I read it, I was told my character,
"....doesn't have sex. But there is a blow job scene!" Being told
that before you even read a script is pretty depressing.
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| Lauren in a past life, or should that be past death.... |
What’s 2017 got in store for Lauren Ashley Carter? I made a
film with director/writer Natasha Kermani, Imitation Girl. It's
a Sci-fi drama, and that should be out next year. We're in festival submission
fun land right now. I'm currently writing a horror-comedy novel that I'll
self-publish and turn into a screen play with the help of people more talented
than I. And I'm getting ready to direct my first feature: a drama titled Loveshy, written
by my childhood friends Raina Semivan and Matt Ducey. And if you haven't
listened to me reading Jackie Chan's autobiography, I just finished it!
"I'm moving to Manchester, UK in February for about 6 months or so just because the opportunity arose and I love the UK, so I'm incredibly excited about that!"
You can
listen on Soundcloud at https://soundcloud.com/LaCarter ... It's a
fan reading I do cold. It took me about a year! 70 chapters plus the
epilogue. Now I'm moving onto a second one. I love doing voice work. Larry
Fessenden and Glenn McQuaid asked me to return to Tales From Beyond the
Pale for a live reading at Lincoln Centre, and I had such a blast! I
would love to do loads more in any capacity, but it's a very difficult world to
break into, and not so much cartoon work here in NYC. These fan made audio
books are a way for me to have fun and be creative in between jobs.
★ ★ ★ ★
“Fantastically stylish and deeply creepy”
SciFi Now
★ ★ ★ ★
“A trippy, hypnotic ride”
Bloody Disgusting
“Perfect…Madness has never looked so beautiful”
The Hollywood
Reporter
A lonely girl’s violent
descent into madness.
Hired as the caretaker of a
large mansion in New York, an unnamed young woman soon discovers its haunted
reputation and troubled history. Bored and left to her own devised for extended
periods of time, she slowly goes insane. A chilling black-and-white horror
playing homage to the classics, starring Lauren Ashley Carter, Sean Young and
Larry Fessenden.
OUT NOW on DVD
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