PopHorror Let's Get Scared
If you know me, then you know I fucking love teen slashers, especially those from the 90s. One of my favorite slice-and-dice horror flicks that falls into this is the 1997 gem, I Know What You Did Last Summer. Based off a 1973 Lois Duncan novel of the same name, the film version is cheesy goodness that I’m actually watching right now as I type this up (like the new series – which is definitely NOT cheesy – the movie is also on Amazon Prime). For the release of the new show based on both the book and movie, I chatted with the star of the Amazon Prime production, Madison Iseman, about playing twins and why she loves horror.
PopHorror: What intrigued you about the role and made you want to be a part of the project?
Madison Iseman: I think it started with I Know What You Did Last Summer. Obviously, I was a very huge fan from when I was a little. And the first time I read the pilot. The pilot blew my mind, first of all. The big twist at the end, I was absolutely shook. Also, the opportunity to get to play twins. I feel like it’s every actor’s bucket list. It just had all the ingredients of everything I’ve always wanted.
PopHorror: I went into it completely blind, and I did not even realize that you were playing twins in it. What were the challenges of playing a dual role?
Madison Iseman: Lots. I think the most important thing is separating them as individual people, but it’s also very important to us to not make them your stereotypical twin norms. We wanted them to feel real and to have some similarities, but also having two different personalities. It definitely had its challenges, and had its technical challenges as well. But we had a great team. I can’t complain. It was a lot of fun.
PopHorror: After reading the script, was there anything you were adamant about bringing to the characters?
Madison Iseman: I guess more than anything, I really wanted to make them somewhat likable because of the situations they’re dealing with. I feel like it’s an easy setup for you to hate the characters. We make a lot of poor decisions on this show, to say the least. It was finding those moments to make them feel real and human where people can sympathize with them. We went through this thing, we’re dealing with this situation, and some people might look at what we do and go, “Wow, I would never do that!” But you have to ask yourself what you would do in that situation? It’s not an easy answer, so that was important for us to bring into the storytelling.
PopHorror: I have absolutely no idea what I would do in that situation. Who does?
Madison Iseman: Hopefully, you never have to deal with it.
PopHorror: Exactly! You’re no stranger to horror. Annabelle Comes Home [our review] is one of my favorites of the whole franchise. What is it that draws you to horror?
Madison Iseman: I think my favorite thing about it is that there’s really no rules, you know? You can kind of make up anything you want, and there doesn’t have to be a clear reason why. The same thing with fantasy. They fit in the same world for me as far as anything goes. I think I really love the freedom in that, especially as an actor and a creator, being able to create my own world and have my characters exist in it versus real life. Which yes, it is real life, too, but you just have more freedom.
PopHorror: I love that so much and completely agree. And while it is real life, a lot of it I don’t want to be real life, because that’s the fun thing about horror.
Madison Iseman: That’s the fun thing about watching movies! Of course, I don’t want a demon in my living room, but I’ll watch it.
Thank you so much, Madison, for taking the time to speak with us. Be sure to catch I Know What You Did Last Summer on Amazon Prime now!
