Interview with Actress Maddie Hasson of ‘We Summon the Darkness’

We Summon the Darkness (read our review – here) is a horror-comedy that doesn’t take itself too seriously and it doesn’t expect you to either. The satiric little gem fresh out of 2019’s Fantastic Fest is amusing entertainment, which I am welcoming very freely these last few weeks because of the shitstorm that is going on in our world. It’s a welcome break from reality, and I will take it, however, I can get it. I was lucky enough to speak with star Maddie Hasson, and we discussed late-night shenanigans, why she became an actress, and of course, horror movies.

 

PH: Hey Maddie! We watched We Summon the Darkness last night, and thought it was so much fun.

MH: Aw, I’m glad you liked it! It is really fun.

PH: How much fun was it to visit the 80s?

MH: I love the 80s. I really enjoyed it. It’s such an over-the-top period of time, as far as fashion, and music. I had such a fun time diving into those fashions.

PH: What was it about Val that made you want to do this project?

MH: I had originally auditioned for Beverly, but Marc (Myers, the director), was like, “I don’t see you as Beverly,” and Val was already cast. And I thought, well, that’s done. But luckily the person that was playing Val had to drop out. She had to go do another job. And he was like, “Do you want to do it?” and I was like, “Sure, do you want to see me do it? So you can see what you’re getting into?” And he was like, “Nope.” And I was like, “Okay. Hope you like it because there’s no turning back.” But I just loved how Val is different from anybody I’ve ever really played. She’s very overtly sexual and over-the-top, and she’s very in her own head. She’s sort of on another plane than everyone else is. Her head’s always in the clouds thinking about other things. I really enjoyed that.

PH: Where did you guys film, and how long did it take?

MH: We shot in Selkirk, Manitoba, in Canada, and it took around a month to shoot. 

PH: Oh, that’s not too bad.

MH: Yeah, it’s really low budget and we had to do it really fast, like all the time. We shot only nights, so we would wake up at 4 pm, and go to work and we would come home at like, 5 am. Every day for a month. You bond really fast during those hours of the day, I realized, because you’re just running on fumes. You have no defense mechanisms. It’s really fun.

PH: Something about that time of day has a different feel than the rest, that just makes you freer, I think.

MH: I think so. It does. Let me tell you, we were very free on that set. I’ve never sworn more in my life, and I swear a lot. It was a lot of yelling, a lot of laughing, a lot of swearing. A lot of Red Bull. I had a lot of Twinkies for some reason. I’ve never done that, but it happened. It was a good time.

PH: I can imagine because that’s a great cast to be with! What made you want to be an actress?

MH: We’re going in deep! I was a dancer first. I always enjoyed performing, and I was a dancer as a child for eight years. I did it competitively and took it so furiously, which is really funny to think looking back because I was a very precocious little child. I was like, “I’m going to dance class. I don’t have time for that Mother!” Anyway, but I stopped doing that at around 13 and started doing plays. That’s what I really liked about dancing. I liked the performing and I liked manipulating my face, and I liked that aspect. My play director told me to go and audition for a movie in town, just on a whim. And the casting director sort of found me, and hooked me up with my first manager in LA that day, and I got really lucky with it all. How it all panned out.

PH: That’s really great! What are you currently working on?

MH: I’m not currently working on anything other than baking cookies. But I have a movie coming out called Malignant, directed by James Wan. Another horror. But I don’t have a release date to tell you because everything’s been pushed.

PH: That is fantastic. I can’t wait to hear more about that one. I have one last question for you, Maddie, and that is, what is your favorite scary movie?

MH: Oh, I’ve never gotten that question. I’ve never thought about this. I want to come up with a cool one. I want to say something that’s so cool, and like old and French or something, but I have never seen anything like that. Wouldn’t it be cool if I did, and you were like, “What is that?”  and I’m like, “You can’t even buy it.” Nevermind. Anyway, I really enjoyed Hereditary. That really scared me. And I really liked The Witch. Those kinds of movies really, really scare me a lot.

Thank you to Maddie for taking the time to speak with us. Be sure to check out We Summon the Darkness when it hits Digital and On Demand April 10, 2020.