Last week, I was fortunate enough to sit down and chat with the two leads of Shudder's latest slasher flick, Bloody Axe Wound. Amongst other things, we talked about the different films they pulled inspiration from to bring their performance to the next level, as well as their favorite scary movies! Bloody Axe Wound is in theaters this Friday, December 27th. The film also stars Jeffery Dean Morgan (The Walking Dead) and Billy Burke (Twilight).
1428 ELM: The film felt like a blend of coming-of-age stories and the horror kind of slasher genre. Were there any performances from either genre that inspired you?
SARI: I feel like I, more holistically, was thinking of films like Jennifer's Body, sort of like Scream, really leaning into that campy-but-slasher. So, I used those for inspiration.
MOLLY: When films in the same vein come to mind, it's like a Cabin in the Woods. I feel like our film hits heavily on the comedy aspect of horror comedy.
1428 ELM: Those are both great answers. I definitely got that Cabin in the Woods and Jennifer's Body vibes there. Did either of you have a particularly favorite scene to film?
SARI: I have so many that it's really hard to , I actually loved all the scenes that we did in the car. I felt like that was such a fun buddy-adventure moment. I also really love any scenes in the high school where Abby is infiltrating and starting to get to know all the other students, and our locker scene, I think, is my favorite scene.
MOLLY: That was a lot of fun. I liked watching the death. I think it's something that I always wondered if I'd be scared of, being on a horror set, but getting to watch the special effects in action was really cool. We had such a good special effects team working on this movie that it was incredible. I don't know when people will watch this interview or if they will have seen the movie already, and I don't want to give too much away, but, there's one toward the end that was so crazy to watch happen.
SARI: And what was crazy was we shot it in the middle of the day. It was just like we did it from the beginning of the day to the end of the day, and it was hot because we were shooting in the middle of the summer. So it was just a crazy time.
1428 ELM: The whole third act of the film I particularly enjoyed because it felt very Friday the 13th, especially with the, I don't want to spoil too much, but with the final set piece where that takes place. Sari, there were a few scenes where you did really well, like acting with your eyes because you wore a mask. I'm curious if there were any specific other masked characters and horror films that you took inspiration from?
SARI: Well, first of all, thank you so much. I have been told that I'm a very expressive actor. I have a very expressive, like a lot of facial expressions going on. So, this was actually my first foray into horror, but I come from the world of comedy. And so I think within comedy, you really have to nail those facial expressions and just say so much without anything at all. I think the show that I did called A.P. Bio really helped a ton with that and sort of like translated into this role.
1428 ELM: Both of you had great on-screen chemistry. Every single line, I really dug it, especially the the scene on the bleachers. How did you develop that chemistry?
SARI: I always say I've never become quicker friends with anyone on set than Molly Brown. It was literally like love at first sight for real. I love Molly. I think we got there a couple days before, which I think was intentional from Matt. Like, I know he wanted us to sort of bond and get to know each other and have that chemistry. But I kind of feel like it was very instant.
MOLLY: We were in a town in upstate New York and that was honestly, we haven't really talked about many of our other cast members who were also just so amazing. Eddie and Sari already knew each other as well. They were so like welcoming to everyone else. Actors in general can like be kind of like misfits and filming this movie felt like being at summer camp. We were all in this hotel together and it was just a lot of fun, I think especially with the team that we had, you don't take things too seriously.
SARI: And it's a blend of horror and comedy. We're within scenes of intense moments. There's always that levity, which I think carried through set.
1428 ELM: To close out this interview, I do want to ask, what is your favorite scary movie?
SARI: That's hard because I'm scared of scary movies.
MOLLY: I would go with Cabin in the Woods, but since we already talked about it, I'm just going to throw that out. I'm so sorry, I'm cheating and answering your question, it's just the best scary movie I saw this year. Admittedly, it was also the only scary movie I think I saw this year, but Smile 2 f**ked me up.
SARI: That's a good one. I didn't watch it because I am so scared of scary movies, but I actually would say I really love Midsommar and I think I realized that I could do that because it was in broad daylight. I think I'm a scaredy cat when it comes to the dark. And then a throwback but the scary movie that really has always stuck with me is One Missed Call. Has anyone seen that movie? Like that one's so old, I think I watched it as like a little kid and I still am scared of my voicemail.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Bloody Axe Wound is in theaters December 27th and will be streaming on Shudder in March 2025.