By Jeremy Smith
As David Robert Mitchell’s indie-horror sleeper IT FOLLOWS continues its theatrical expansion across the country, it’s becoming quite evident that its imperiled lead, Maika Monroe, is a flat-out movie star. Cast as a young woman who’s stalked by a sexually-transmitted malevolent force, Monroe conjures up a palpable mixture of terror and yearning that’s as uncommon as the film’s style and intellect. Though IT FOLLOWS honors the genre’s tradition of young people repeatedly placing themselves in precarious situations, the film also takes the time to hang out with its characters so that audiences might view them as more than mere slasher fodder. Favoring long takes and slow-mounting dread over cheap jump scares, Mitchell lets viewers sink into his idiosyncratic universe: a Detroit suburb that, save for a few modern accoutrements, seems to have stalled out technologically in the early 1980s. And while we’re never quite sure when the film is set, we never question the characters’ place in this peculiar world. They belong, and, despite the terrifying goings-on in their otherwise tranquil neighborhood, we wind up wanting to stay there with them.
IT FOLLOWS is a top-to-bottom triumph, and it’s impossible to imagine it working with anyone but Monroe in the lead. She brings a unique air of innocence and burgeoning sensuality to the character of Jay; the world is opening up to her, and it’s a horrifically beautiful thing to behold. She’s stumbled into adulthood, and, as a result, she’s summoned the encroaching sense of death that haunts us all. Contrary to what some critics have claimed, this isn’t a movie about the dangers of sex; it’s about the things we do – screw, drink, watch TV – to avoid thinking about our mortality. And Monroe is superb as our tragic, but determined surrogate in a world where this inescapable truth has taken on a monstrously persistent human form.
After her breakout performance in Ramin Bahrani’s AT ANY PRICE, it was just a matter of time – and the right role – before Monroe got on the mainstream radar. That her emergence has come on the heels of two horror films (she was also excellent in Adam Wingard’s THE GUEST) has some folks ready to declare her the new “Scream Queen”, but this is ridiculously limiting for an actress with her talent. If Monroe has her way, and it’s hard to believe she won’t, she’ll be working with the likes of Wes Anderson one day.
I had the opportunity to chat with Monroe over the phone this week, and we discussed Mitchell’s directorial style, how she bonded with her costars and the rigors of being strapped to a wheelchair in one’s underwear during a frigid Detroit winter.
Jeremy: I was a big fan of David’s from his first film, but he’s a very unique filmmaker. In one interview you said the script was unlike anything you’ve ever read. How did it read, and what made it stand out for you?
Maika Monroe: There’s something about David’s writing that, although it can be considered a ridiculous synopsis, there’s a realness within it. The characters had depth to them, which was refreshing for the genre for me. The character was just someone I was interested in playing, and seemed challenging to me. That’s what initially brought me to it.
Jeremy: Did you get a sense from the script how you would portray Jay, and how did that evolve once you started shooting?
Monroe: It’s important for me to work with the director. David had such a specific idea of what he wanted to create. It really started with the wardrobe of this girl; I remember we flew out to Detroit, where we were filming, about two weeks before, and we were trying to get the look of this character. That, for me, as an actor helps me so much because you learn a lot about that person. There was a specific hairstyle he wanted, the clothing, the shoes… so that’s where it started.
Jeremy: You got bit by the acting bug after indulging other pursuits. What kind of training have you done since then? Do you subscribe to any kind of method?
Monroe: Not really. For me, every project is different, every role is different, so you have to approach it in different ways. I can’t do one way every time; I don’t think that would work for me. But I work with a coach, and that’s really it. For me, acting classes aren’t good. People telling me “That’s right” or “That’s wrong” when it’s art and you can’t really tell if it’s right or wrong… I think everyone interprets things differently. But I work with a coach very closely, and we’ll go over scripts and characters and kind of build something together, and then go work with the director and add even more layers to it.
Jeremy: How did David’s approach to directing you as an actor differ from other directors you’ve worked with?
Monroe: David is very calm and very hands on. He’s right there, and pulls you aside and very quietly speaks to you. “Okay, let’s try this.” “Let’s do this.” “Do you want to play around with that?” There’s a presence and a strength that he carries through a film. Things can get crazy, especially on a film like this where most of it is night shoots; we’re shooting outside in freezing weather, and he handles every situation so well. It was nice having a leader like that for a film like this.
Jeremy: The wheelchair scene is pretty rough. How long did that take, and how did you sustain that sense of terror throughout all of that?
Monroe: That was probably one of the hardest scenes to shoot. It was the last day of our entire shoot, so we’re on the fifth week by now. We shot that scene for probably eight or nine hours outside, and it was very difficult. We shot a lot of it with the camera attached to the wheelchair, so you’d be seeing 360 degrees around. Sometimes one thing wouldn’t line up, so we’d have to do it again. There were all of these angles David wanted to get, so it was very difficult to stay in that mindset.
Jeremy: Especially with a camera right in your face. How do you get that camera to go away and make that situation believable?
Monroe: It’s so hard. I just have to draw on my own experiences and darker places to get there and make it as real as possible. That’s all I can do. I don’t know what it feels like to have someone chasing after me, and I’m running for my life… I don’t know these things. I don’t know what it feels like to have complete terror. You just have to think, “If I was in this situation, how would I deal with it?”
Jeremy: How did you interact with the actors who played the ghosts on set? Did you talk to them, or did you want them to keep their distance?
Monroe: No, they’re there on set, and everyone’s going to be running into each other and eating lunch together. It’s hard to avoid the situation. They’re all really nice people.
Jeremy: You established a really believable sibling relationship with Lili. How quickly did that come together?
Monroe: It was really nice, because the cast of kids got there two weeks before shooting, and got to really hang out and establish real relationships. We got to know each other really well. We were all staying in the same hotel in a suburban town, and they became real relationships. I’m still friends with these people. That made it easier.
Jeremy: The swimming pool scene is another harrowing sequence. You can really feel the velocity of these heavy objects being flung at you. How did that work out for you? I imagine you had to be in the pool a good deal.
Monroe: (Laughs) We were shooting that scene for three days. It was three days in the swimming pool, and not so much fun. They were really throwing objects. I just had to keep a safe distance. But it all felt very real. I was getting pulled under water, and I was diving from these things… it was very real.
Jeremy: Any close calls?
Monroe: No, I was fine. They made sure I was safe. But, still, there were heavy objects coming at me.
Jeremy: The film has been in theaters for a couple of weeks, but it keeps building momentum. It’s tapped into something, and people are really digging it. Did you have any sense that this would occur?
Monroe: No. (Laughs) I had no idea. When we were filming on set, I knew we were making something special, but not to this extent. It’s really surreal.
Jeremy: David favors long takes, which is something most directors don’t do nowadays. Was that different for you in any way?
Monroe: The long shots you have to play that more like a play. You have to know where you’re moving to, and hit certain marks, and pay more attention to the camera than you would otherwise.
Jeremy: I’ve seen a few people looking to christen you the new Scream Queen. How do you feel about that?
Monroe: Gosh, I don’t know. It’s weird to me because THE GUEST and IT FOLLOWS just kind of happened by chance, that they came back-to-back and audiences loved them. The projects I have coming up have nothing to do with horror, but it’s cool.
Jeremy: You’re early in your career, so you’ve got so much ahead of you. Do you look at any actresses or actors for inspiration in how you’d like your career to go?
Monroe: Oh gosh, it’s so hard. There’s nothing you can plan with this career. If there’s someone I look up to, I think Jessica Chastain is incredible. Her diversity in going from THE HELP to ZERO DARK THIRTY, I think that’s very impressive. I want to continue to challenge myself and pick cool characters and keep loving what I do.
Jeremy: Any filmmakers you’d love to work with?
Monroe: Wes Anderson would be awesome. (Laughs) That would be incredible.
Let’s make that happen, Wes.
IT FOLLOWS is the best film I’ve seen thus far in 2015, and, starting today, it is most likely in a theater near you. Don’t miss it.
