PopHorror Let's Get Scared
I don’t need to tell horror fans to stay out of the woods. If you don’t know that by now, do you even watch horror? The new original Peacock show, The Girl in the Woods, a drama with monsters based on a series of shorts from Crypt TV, reminds me why I stay out forests. They’re big, full of weird noises and even weirder stuff, and there are way too many places to hide. Not for me to hide, but like, for scary things to hide. To celebrate the release of the show, I caught up with star Kylie Liya Page and we chatted about filming the show in Oregon, how she prepared for such a physical role, and what’s up next.
PopHorror: The show is so much fun so I’m really excited to speak with you.
Kylie Liya Page: Thank you! I’m so excited to speak with you too. I’m so excited to talk about all of this.
PopHorror: What intrigued you about the show and made you want to be a part of it?
Kylie Liya Page: I think the fact that it was predominantly women that were writing and creating the show. Obviously our director and our writer, the producers, everyone was a woman. I thought that was incredible. Along with that, the LGBTQ representation with Casey [Modderno], our writer, being a trans woman, and Jasmine [Johnson], our executive producer being a member of the LGBTQ community. I was like, “Oh my God!” What a unique group of people that are producing a wild show about monsters and love and family, all these things. I love sci-fi, I love mythology, and everything like that. I was like, “Wow! This is like everything I want to do in a show.”
PopHorror: That’s amazing. I also love the LGBTQ representation.
Kylie Liya Page: And like how casually it’s presented and it’s so normalized in our show as opposed to shedding a light on it like how Glee or something does. It’s just a part of our world. It’s just things that the people on our show are going through and that they’re facing and are dealing with. It’s so normal. I loved that, too. Not only do we have inclusivity, but it’s also done in a way that’s just normal.
PopHorror: It was pretty natural. It wasn’t like, “Oh, here’s the gay part!”
Kylie Liya Page: It was like, hey this is happening. Okay cool! Accept it.
PopHorror: The role is pretty physical. How did you prepare for shooting?
Kylie Liya Page: I worked with a coach, a martial arts coach. Well, technically he was a boxing coach, like a boxing champion. And then he also had martial arts training under his belt. I found him through my neighbor. He was their personal trainer. They were like, “Oh, you should go to him!” And I was like, “Oh, okay! Let’s do it!” I worked with him for about five weeks prior because I knew that they were filming all of the mining town stuff first before getting to the colony, so I had a decent amount of time to prepare. Obviously, this came right out of Covid, so I was sitting around on my couch eating chips for a whole year, and then I had to be in peak physical shape and kick the shit out of people. But I did a lot of martial arts training and worked with the whole stunt team. They were so helpful, and I was really able to learn martial arts in its entirety, in its art form. It’s honestly so therapeutic. There’s so much breath work, and you have to be in such a zen focus in order to actually carry out the specific technique of everything. That was amazing.
PopHorror: The show is a lot of fun to watch. I’m sure it was a lot of fun to make as well. What was your favorite part of filming?
Kylie Liya Page: So much. I think being in Oregon… It’s the most beautiful place I have ever been. It was so surreal to be there. It was just so beautiful. The air is so crisp, so fresh. I’m from New York, so pollution central. Being in Oregon and all of the trees. I felt like I was in a whole new world. I didn’t feel like I was on this planet. It’s just so beautiful. I’m a big hiker so I got to adventure out and really see Oregon. And also the people. The people were insane. They were the most inspiring, unique individuals that I’ve ever met in my life. Like actually in my life. Learning where they came from, their stories, who they are. It was so cool just being able to work with them and create with them but also learn so much from them as human beings. Everybody’s process. You pick up on so much from people, I think, just from meeting them, about their essences and who they are. It teaches you so much about humanity. I was learning every single second that I was there. Learning martial arts, learning film, learning about how the magic is created and learning about people. I was so grateful to be there. I learned so much and I saw so much. It was amazing.
PopHorror: I’m in Arizona so I get jealous of the greenery and the normal weather. I would love to go back to Oregon. It’s just brown and dusty here. And hot.
Kylie Liya Page: I’ve heard Arizona is really, really cool though, if you’re into that desert life.
PopHorror: Which I am not. What is up next for you, Kylie?
Kylie Liya Page: I’m actually in Savannah, Georgia, right now shooting a Hulu series starring Elle Fanning and Colton Ryan. It’s called The Girl from Plainville. I’m sure it will be out sometime next year. I’m not sure when it’s coming out because we’re in the middle of filming it. It’s about the story of Michelle Carter from back in 2014. It’s a very dark show. Michelle Carter is a girl who was arrested for involuntary manslaughter back in 2014 because they accused her of being responsible for this guy’s suicide. So it’s about that case.
PopHorror: The girlfriend that texted him to go ahead and go for it, and he did? That sounds very interesting.
Kylie Liya Page: We’re shooting a TV show about that. There’s a documentary on HBO about it called I Love You, Now Die.
PopHorror: I watched that!
Kylie Liya Page: We’re working with that team to create this TV show. Elle Fanning is playing Michelle Carter and Colton Ryan is playing Conrad Roy.
PopHorror: Oh, wow! I’ll have to keep an eye out for that. That’s a very interesting case, so I am very intrigued. Just one last question for you today. What is your favorite scary movie?
Kylie Liya Page: To be honest, I don’t watch scary movies. I am not, “Let’s go watch a scary movie!” Like, no.
PopHorror: That breaks my heart.
Kylie Liya Page: I saw The Conjuring 2. I went with a group of friends, but I was like holding myself in fear the whole time. I just can’t. I get so freaked out. Horror is not my thing. I’ve seen a couple of thrillers. I really enjoyed Get Out.
Thank you so much, Kylie, for taking the time to speak with us. You can watch The Girl in the Woods on Peacock now!
