Olivier Paris Talks ‘SCARED TO DEATH,’ Haunted Sets, and Horror Comedy

Scared to Death is a 2024 American comedy horror film written and directed by Paul Boyd. The film stars Lin Shaye, Bill Moseley, Olivier Paris, Victoria Konefal, B.J. Minor, Jade Chynoweth, Rae Dawn Chong, Lucinda Jenney, and Kurt Deimer. The film premiered at the Popcorn Frights Film Festival on August 11, 2024, before arriving in limited theaters and on VOD in 2026.

The story follows Jasper, a low-level production assistant trying to make a name for himself in Hollywood, who convinces a film crew to hold a real séance inside an abandoned children’s shelter while preparing for a horror movie. Things quickly spiral out of control as the crew becomes trapped with supernatural forces tied to the building’s dark history.

Pop Horror spoke with Olivier Paris about playing Jasper, filming inside a reportedly haunted house, working with director Paul Boyd, and balancing horror with comedy.

Relating to Jasper and the Film’s Horror-Comedy Tone

PopHorror: What drew you to Scared to Death when you first read the script?

Olivier Paris: I saw myself. I mean, Jasper is a low-level production assistant, and he’s just basically trying to make a name for himself with his film business. And I feel like as an actor, I relate to that struggle of trying to get your name out there, make great work.

And I feel like I wanted to dive more into his psyche and see what’s going on with this guy. And I feel like that’s what really pulled me into this project.

PopHorror: Sure. And the film has a mix of supernatural horror and satire about filmmaking itself. So what appealed to you most about that balance? Was it the satire or something else?

Olivier Paris: Yeah, you know, I love the supernaturals, the unknown. I mean, it’s this gray area. Science, there’s a lot of things in the world that science can’t really explain. So I think it’s really fascinating when a project tries to peel the layers back of what’s real, what’s fake. That has always piqued my interest.

And then the satire part too, you know, I feel like you can’t take life too seriously. And I just think, yeah, it was an interesting combination, having that supernatural and the comedy. There was just so much to work with there. And I think it made for a really interesting, unique experience with the two.

PopHorror: And when it comes to the character, how would you describe your character without giving away spoilers? I’m sure you don’t want to totally give everything away in the interview.

Olivier Paris: Yeah, you know, I mean, I would say he is a professional. He’s professional. He has a hustler mentality. He will basically do anything necessary to get what he wants and to achieve success, even if it means doing some things that might not be morally right, without saying too much.

PopHorror: And of course, there are people like that in real life. So that’s like a commentary on the person who will do anything to climb up that ladder.

Olivier Paris: Definitely, yeah, it’s a big part of the business. Sometimes there’s a lot of bad actors that will, yeah, they sometimes got to step on the little guy to get up. And I think this definitely speaks on that issue within the industry.

Intense Scenes and Haunted House Stories

PopHorror: And was there a scene in the movie that felt especially intense, or memorable to shoot?

Olivier Paris: Yeah, the séance was definitely intense. That was really intense. The stakes were high, everybody was scared to death, nobody wanted to die.

And then also too, there were some fight sequences in the film, without spoiling too much. I think that was really intense. There was a lot of movement involved in rehearsals with the fighting sequence. So I think that was really intense. I felt like I was gonna die.

PopHorror: And you have to try to make it look realistic.

Olivier Paris: Yeah, you got to go for it. That’s the thing too, it requires a lot of mental and physical energy to bring that. So I think that’s why it felt so intense. I felt like I was running a marathon in that scene.

PopHorror: And horror sets can sometimes produce these strange stories. So did anything unexpected happen during the production?

Olivier Paris: Yeah, well, I mean, I don’t know if somebody was pulling a prank, but there were these really creepy porcelain dolls throughout the house. And I swear, sometimes it would be there, and then I would go to crafty or whatever, and then I would come back and the doll wasn’t there. It was just gone. So that was super weird.

And then there was a piano in the main séance room. And the owner of the house said that there was a ghost living in the house, and he doesn’t like it when you touch his piano. So nobody would sit on the piano or play it or anything like that. So I thought that was really spooky.

PopHorror: So you’re saying this was supposed to be a real haunted house that you were shooting?

Olivier Paris: Yeah. I forgot when the house was built, but I think it was built in like the 1880s or 1890s. And apparently, it’s one of the most haunted houses in Pasadena. So yeah, it’s the real deal.

Cast Chemistry and Working With Paul Boyd

PopHorror: So Jade said that everybody got along with each other pretty much on the set. So is that true?

Olivier Paris: Yeah, no, everybody was so easygoing and passionate. No fights.

PopHorror: Although it’s good for a gossip column.

Olivier Paris: Yeah, no, everybody was super down to earth and friendly. So I’m very fortunate that no fights broke out.

PopHorror: So that’s almost more like a Hollywood stereotype or movie stereotype then?

Olivier Paris: Yeah, I mean, it definitely happens. There could be a lot of turmoil on set or something’s not going right. But I was super fortunate that we had an amazing team of people. We didn’t like to fight, so that helped.

PopHorror: So how did you collaborate with the director Paul Boyd regarding the tone of the film? Were there any interesting things that you learned about the movie or movie making in general from that?

Olivier Paris: Yeah, well, apparently Paul said he had a totally different idea of what Jasper would be. And he said it wasn’t until he saw my audition tape that he was like, “That’s Jasper. That’s what I’m going for.”

So it was really interesting that he had one idea, and then it totally changed after watching whatever I did.

But this was kind of a commentary on himself and his personal experience in the business. Paul has been doing this for an incredibly long time. He’s done it all. And I think he really collaborated with me in terms of just feeling like Jasper. He’s going for greatness. He wants to achieve success.

And I think just talking with Paul about his journey and how he started, I put myself in his shoes. It just made it super real and authentic for me to get into that headspace.

PopHorror: And everybody has a starting point. So it’s interesting to get some advice from people who have been in a certain industry for a longer amount of time.

Olivier Paris: Yeah, wisdom is invaluable. The whole goal is you learn from their mistakes or what they did or what worked for them. I think it’s incredibly invaluable. So I’m super fortunate that I got to work with him on Scared to Death. And then I also worked with him on another project. So I’m incredibly grateful for his mentorship.

Real Life Fears and Behind-the-Scenes Fun

PopHorror: So what personally scares you more, paranormal horror or some real life situations?

Olivier Paris: Yeah, I think they’re both frightening, but I think it’s the real life stuff that’s the most terrifying. Because I think that within the supernatural, you can immediately say, “Oh, that’s not real. That’s fake.”

Whereas real life situations, it’s real, there’s facts. I think that’s more unsettling to me, that something so horrible actually happened.

PopHorror: There are some people out there who have the exact opposite view. They don’t even consider it a horror movie unless there’s some sort of supernatural thing going on.

Olivier Paris: Yeah, I mean, I think there’s different subgenres of film. In my personal opinion, it’s all horror. But I think when you take something maybe that’s a little more grounded in reality and you sprinkle a little supernatural element into it, I think that also is a really interesting angle.

PopHorror: So to build on what Jade was talking about, did the cast do anything fun behind the scenes to break tension after filming these scarier sequences? What was the fun like on set?

Olivier Paris: Oh yeah. Well, Jade’s a dancer, so she was dancing around in between takes and filming TikTok videos or whatever.

But I think that was the thing too. Even though you’re shooting in a really haunted house, it gets less scary when there’s like 50 crew members and you’re on hour eight. So I think in general we were all just kind of delirious and having fun and telling stories about our childhood, favorite food, bands, just relaxing in between.

Even before we started shooting, we knew it was going to be a pretty intense film. So we actually went to one of those escape rooms. We did a hard escape room, which honestly really helped break the ice and created a good bond between us all.

Final Thoughts on Scared to Death

PopHorror: And what do you hope audiences take away from this film besides the scares?

Olivier Paris: I think it’s just a great commentary on humanity. Everybody starts somewhere. Everybody has a dream.

And I think with Jasper, it kind of starts with this dream and ambition to be a successful director. So I hope people are moved by that and realize that you can do anything you want in this world if you just stick with it.

PopHorror: Looking back now, what’s the one moment from filming Scared to Death that you’ll probably never forget?

Olivier Paris: Yeah, I mean, it’s hard to choose one. But I said in the last interview I did that the scene I loved doing the most was between me, Kurt, and Bill. We basically had to go under the house because the power went out.

And that whole scene was basically improvised. Bill was going at it, Kurt was going at it, and it was almost like they were trying to one-up each other on the joke. So that was a lot of fun. It was such a blast improvising with those two guys. I think that’s one that’ll stick with me for sure.

PopHorror: And so the movie is streaming now. Is there anything else you would like to say about it?

Olivier Paris: Yeah, I mean, listen, it follows Jasper, a young production assistant who’s trying to make a name for himself. And he comes up with the idea to do a séance. They’re making a film about a séance in a haunted house, so he wants to get that real life experience for the actors so they can get involved.

And things go really bad.

So I think if you’re a fan of supernatural horror comedy, this film has it all. So I definitely recommend it if you’re a fan of horror and comedy.

PopHorror: Thanks for answering my questions and have a good day and nice to meet you and all that.