PopHorror Let's Get Scared
One of my favorite movies to come out in the last few years is the Canadian film, Riot Girls (2019 – our review). It’s funny, it’s thrilling, it’s an adrenaline rush disguised as a movie, and I loved every second of it. When I read about the new film, Multiverse, about four brilliant university students who are forced to confront themselves in terrifying ways when their Quantum Physics experiment leads to an entangled parallel existence that leaves them questioning who they are and what is real and realized it shared two of the stars of Riot Girls, Paloma Kwiatkowski and Munro Chambers (our last interview), I jumped at the chance to see it… and it did not disappoint. To celebrate the release of the Multiverse, I was lucky enough to chat with Paloma and Munro via Zoom, and we talked about making the film, working together again, and what’s up next.
PopHorror: Hi guys! I watched Multiverse last night, and I really liked it. Also, I’m a huge Riot Girls fan, so this is really a pleasure to speak with you both.
Paloma Kwiatowski: Awesome!
Munro Chambers: Yeah!
PopHorror: What was it that intrigued you about the film and made you want to be a part of it?
Paloma Kwiatowski: Munro and I actually have a similar journey to this movie. There were some casting issues or scheduling issues that happened pretty close to the shooting time. So both Munro and myself were offered these roles on a very short basis basically. Like, “You have to accept by the end of today, or we have to find someone else.”
PopHorror: Oh wow!
Paloma Kwiatowski: A fly-by-day kind of thing. But we both were struck by how interesting the script was and the idea of playing two different versions of yourself. Even though it was a low budget indie film, there was nothing in it that was going to be impossible to film. I was like, “Okay, I think this is something that’s actually achievable. I believe that we can do it, and I believe that we could have a real good time doing it as well.”
PopHorror: Talk about putting you guys on the spot!
Paloma Kwiatowski: Yeah, it was a pretty easy decision, I think. It didn’t take me long to be like, “This is a cool project.”
Munro Chambers: Yeah, anytime you get a chance to play, and you get a chance to act, it’s always a good time, especially when the script is good. It’s easy.
PopHorror: After reading the script, was there anything you were adamant about bringing to your character?
Munro Chambers: Personally for me, I don’t think so. It was pretty much on the page. I think we found on the day and rehearsing off set little things that we wanted to add based on the relationships we’d created, little nuance things. One thing I loved is the little intimate moments we had to have with each ensemble member, and you kind of added your own little spin to it, depending on who you were working with. So a scene between Paloma and I, we’ll add a little something there off-camera, that something Sandra [Mae Frank] and I would do or Rob [Naylor] and I. There’s nothing before that. It’s pretty much on the page, which was nice.
Paloma Kwiatowski: For me, I think, I was really thinking about how each version of each character was going to affect each version of the other characters. Does that make sense? Like Loretta One obviously has a different relationship with Danny One than she does with Danny Two. Or in an extreme example, Loretta has a very different relationship with Gerry Two because Gerry Two is a little bit off or Amy Two because she’s not deaf. So that was really fun to play with.
PopHorror: This film required a lot from you like learning sign language, scientific jargon, the stunts, and like you said before, playing different versions of yourself. How did you prepare for your role?
Paloma Kwiatowski: There wasn’t a whole lot of time. It was just jumping into it, learning about… I personally explored what multiverse theory was, what quantum entanglement is, and what scientists do to try to understand a little bit of what I was saying. I had the brunt of the scientific jargon. I was the leader, so I had to know what I was talking about, so I really tried to actually learn what I was talking about. Although I don’t think the scientists who study quantum physics really know what they’re talking about either, so I think it was alright.
PopHorror: Well, you did it flawlessly. What was it like working together again?
Munro Chambers: Well, for us, when we did Riot Girls, we only had like two or three scenes together, so this was wonderful. We were always crossing paths and our worlds in Riot Girls were completely different, so it was nice to work together. But when I found out that Paloma was—and I know Paloma is going to hate this—but when I found out Paloma was one, I was like, “Oh yeah. We’re going.” She’s so talented and she’s wonderful, and she led Riot Girls flawlessly plus her work previously. I was like, “Oh yeah. Let’s go!” Because we knew that she was going to be one of the leaders of the film, along with Sandra as well. It was a joy.
Paloma Kwiatowski: It was awesome because with Riot Girls, I only got a taste of Munro. We only had those couple scenes at the very end of the movie. But, of course, we crossed paths on set and during the table reads. It was so wonderful to get to know Munro. I actually didn’t know Munro was joining until after I had signed on to the project, so it was a lovely surprise.
Munro Chambers: I didn’t know if I was before or after you. That’s so funny, because I didn’t know which was before.
PopHorror: What’s up next for you both?
Paloma Kwiatowski: I’m in the world of auditioning again so trying to find the right project. I have a couple things out in the world. I did this year an episode of Debris, which is another sci-fi show, so it’s in the grain of this Multiverse world. And then I have a couple of little things that I don’t know when they’re coming out yet, so I can’t speak on them yet.
Munro Chambers: For myself, I was lucky enough to do a DLC on a video game called Watch Dogs: Legion Bloodlines. I got to play Jackson Pearce, which is an absolute dream to do motion capture. I did a film called Taking the Fall, which is now on VOD. And I did something earlier this year in Sault St. Marie which is going to star Chelsea Clark, and it’s kind of rooted in a Hindu god. It’s a mystery thriller, and it’s something really, I think, unique. I think it’s something people are going to find interesting.
PopHorror: That’s exciting! I’m a huge fan of you both, so I’m excited to see what you have coming up for us. And just one last question: What is your favorite scary movie?
Paloma Kwiatowski: Ooh. I just watched quite a few of them because of Halloweentimes. You know what I really love? I rewatched Signs recently, and I think that’s one of my favorite horror movies. It’s so well directed. It’s such a good slow scare.
PopHorror: That’s a good choice.
Munro Chambers: I’m not a big horror fan. It scares me too much. I don’t like it, personally. I love being a part of it, but I let it get into my head too much. I think one of my favorites, just because of the way they did it and the long silence, is Rear Window. I think it’s something for me that, if I’m going to watch something, I want it to be dynamic visually and play with you a little bit. I don’t like the pop up stuff, even though it’s so impressive. That’s how good they are. I just curl up into a little ball and yell, “No!”
Thank you so much, Paloma and Munro, for taking the time to speak with us. Multiverse is available in theaters November 12 and On Demand and Digital November 16, 2021.
