This Friday, Chris Peckover’s holiday horror comedy Better Watch Out (read my review here) arrives in select theaters and on VOD platforms everywhere, courtesy of Well Go USA. The film pits three teenagers (Olivia DeJonge, Levi Miller, and Ed Oxenbould) against an unknown assailant who is terrorizing them, but it’s quickly revealed that this isn’t your typical home invasion, and soon enough, a wicked game of cat and mouse breaks out, leaving them all wondering just who will be left standing after this night of babysitting gone awry.
Daily Dead recently spoke with Better Watch Out co-star Oxenbould, who most horror fans should remember from his memorable performance in M. Night Shyamalan’s The Visit, and during our interview, he chatted about his involvement with the project, collaborating with Peckover as well as with Miller and DeJonge, and what he loves about the horror genre.
So good to speak with you, Ed. I loved you in The Visit and thought you were great in this as well. I would love to hear about your thoughts going into this project. What was it in the role of Garrett that made you think this would be a fun character to play around with? He has some really good subtle moments to his character, and there's a really interesting dynamic between your character and Levi's character, and eventually Olivia's character as well.
Ed Oxenbould: Well, going into it, it was actually funny, because I'd initially read the script quite a while before principal shooting, and originally the director was considering me for Levi Miller's role, Luke, and I was a bit torn because the character is quite full-on. He's quite intense, as you know, and also I felt a connection to Garrett, even though I wasn't supposed to read for him.
I remember when it came back around for the role of Garrett after a while, I thought, "I don't know, this could be really interesting. I really like the idea of playing the supporting role that actually has a lot of depth and meaning to him." I always loved Garrett, from the minute I read the script. I feel lucky that I got to play him.
Did you work with Chris at all in terms of the character, as far as adding some little notes to him, or was all that pretty much right there in the script when you came on board?
Ed Oxenbould: Yeah, there were a lot of those little subtle moments in the script which were really funny, but we had a lot of rehearsal time in which we developed a whole bunch of extra little moments, too. Then, we added a lot of moments on the set. It was a very collaborative process, where I could take these moments and say, "Hey, how about this?" and Chris would go, "Sure, we could try it." A lot of those things made it into the film, which is great when that happens. It was great. It was a really collaborative process, both on set and beforehand, too.
I know you worked with Olivia before on The Visit, so I'm sure that camaraderie was already there between you two. You also mentioned being able to have all this rehearsal time. Do you feel like that was super integral to how well the three of your characters work together in this film?
Ed Oxenbould: Oh, yeah. We did have quite an extensive rehearsal period. It was really great to get that connection with Levi, but also, honestly, me and Levi connected within a day. Within an hour, even. It seemed like we were best mates from the start, and we're still super, super close friends to this day. But that did just help so much, and the chemistry was real. I didn't have to act really, because it was just all there.
I mentioned The Visit, which I loved, and I still laugh every time I think about the rap that you do at the end, too. And now you've done this back-to-back pair of really fun and different horror movies, and I was wondering if there’s something that you find in the genre that's fun for you to play around with, versus doing other types of genres?
Ed Oxenbould: Yeah, I've done six films now, and they've all been a good mix of different genres, but I do have to say that the horror genre's probably been my favorite because it's very fun. Although these haven't been flat-out, super paranormal horror [films], I do love the psychological thriller aspects of it. There's just something about it. I just love it. I love making something with a sinister undertone to it. It's really great to have these evil moments that you get to be a part of, too.
Speaking to that, do you feel like the horror genre gives you an opportunity to explore characters in different ways than say maybe a comedy would, or even drama?
Ed Oxenbould: Absolutely. Almost every aspect of it is entirely different, and that's what I've loved about doing these movies. I've been lucky in my career so far that I've been lucky enough to experience a whole different variety of genres, and it's all taught me so much.
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In case you missed it, read Heather's review of Better Watch Out and check out her interview with co-writer/director Chris Peckover.
Red band trailer:
Heather A. Wixson was born and raised in the Chicago suburbs, until she followed her dreams and moved to Los Angeles in 2009. A 14-year veteran in the world of horror entertainment journalism, Wixson fell in love with genre films at a very early age, and has spent more than a decade as a writer and supporter of preserving the history of horror and science fiction cinema. Throughout her career, Wixson has contributed to several notable websites, including Fangoria, Dread Central, Terror Tube, and FEARnet, and she currently serves as the Managing Editor for Daily Dead, which has been her home since 2013. She's also written for both Fangoria Magazine & ReMind Magazine, and her latest book project, Monsters, Makeup & Effects: Volume One will be released on October 20, 2021.
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