PopHorror Let's Get Scared
This month, the much anticipated The Houses October Built 2 will be hitting VOD outlets. One of the film’s stars, Brandy Schaefer (Coffin Girl), took some time to sit down with PopHorror and discuss the film and her character.
PopHorror: At the end of The Houses October Built, we see you getting buried alive. That is where we pick up in The Houses October Built 2. Can you tell me what that experience was like?
Brandy Schaefer: Oh yeah. I was literally in a box with dirt being thrown on top of me. I got as close to being buried alive as you could get before they were like, “Okay, this is as far as we can take it before it gets unsafe.” Luckily, I’m not claustrophobic!
PopHorror: Wow, I can imagine! How did you feel during that scene? Were you afraid at all?
Brandy Schaefer: I felt safe knowing I had a lot of support and the crew were covering their bases. So I did feel very safe. But yet, it was a little scary because you never know if something could go wrong. Plus I’m in character who at that moment is afraid she really is being buried alive. So yeah, it definitely was a little scary for sure. But I had no qualms going into it.
PopHorror: In part 2, they spend a lot of time with your character, examining her trauma and everything she had gone through. How difficult was it to pull off those kinds of emotions?
Brandy Schaefer: I think for the character, it’s a lot more real because in the movie, the character was this viral YouTube celebrity that made it hard for her to live a normal life. In reality, I don’t have that problem. So, you just have to look at how someone would deal with that kind of thing going on in their life. Plus, when you think about it, that’s probably not the greatest thing to be known for. When you look at being buried alive and your biggest embarrassment or shame being put out there on the internet for everyone to see. I can see why she wouldn’t want to jump back into that again. The last trip didn’t end well for her, so she had no reason to want to jump back into it. But she loves her friends and her group, so it was a hard decision.
PopHorror: I thought it was really well done. In most horror films, you see people go through some horrific trauma and the characters act like they are barely affected by it at all. So, I thought this added a really nice layer.
Brandy Schaefer: Yeah, I think so, too. Bobby and Zack are really good at making things believable. That is something that has always been a big deal for them. They know you see something in a movie and the character’s reaction just doesn’t make any sense. So, they had to make it believable and give me a reason for wanting to go out to do it again.
PopHorror: The haunted sights you went to, they were all real places, correct?
Brandy Schaefer: Oh, yeah. They were all real places and real attractions
PopHorror: Oh, wow! How fun was that?
Brandy Schaefer: It was a lot of fun. Though, I will say toward the end, I was starting to feel emotionally drained just from being scared so much. Every time we’d go out, the guys would scope out the location. They would all go through it a few times without me. So, when we’d film, I’m going through it for the first time. So 99.9% of the time, when you see me jumping on screen, that is my natural reaction. A few times I went through more than once and even then. You’d think after going through it once, I’d remember where I got scared before and wouldn’t jump again. But nope, that never happens. I’d jump every time. So, by the end of the night, I was like, “Guys, I’m just drained.”
PopHorror: Has there been any talk of a part 3 that you know of?
Brandy Schaefer: I guess you never know. I’m sure they’d like to see how this one goes. But I love working with everybody, but if there is a 3, I’ll definitely be there.
PopHorror: The film hitting Netflix last year was really huge for part 1. I know a lot of people who had never heard of it got to watch it that way.
Brandy Schaefer: Oh, yeah. Netflix helps us reach a much larger audience. Not everyone can make it to the theater, so that really gave us a huge opportunity to reach people we may not have normally reached.
PopHorror: What else would you like to share with everyone?
Brandy Schaefer: Well, I just hope everyone likes it. Our goal was to make some fun films that people can watch around every Halloween and get a good scare and just have fun with it.
Thank you so much, Brandy Schaefer, for taking the time to speak to PopHorror! Be sure to check out the Houses October Built 2 in limited theaters and VOD on September 22nd.
