Q&A with HELL FEST Co-Star Reign Edwards

The doors to Hell Fest have opened in cinemas across the country courtesy of CBS Films and Lionsgate. The new horror movie features a group of friends hunted by a masked murderer in a horror-themed amusement park, and one of those friends is played by Reign Edwards (FX's Snowfall, CBS' MacGyver). To celebrate the release of Hell Fest, we caught up with Edwards for our latest Q&A to discuss memorable moments on set, working with director Gregory Plotkin (aka "Gucci Greg"), and her experiences in real-life haunted attractions.

Congratulations on Hell Fest, Reign! What attracted you to the role of Brooke and the story of Hell Fest, and what was the audition process like for your character?

Reign Edwards: Thank you so much! What attracted me to the role of Brooke is how fun she is! She’s always being goofy, laughing, possibly inappropriate, and just enjoying life! She’s a character that really enjoys good company and having fun. She always wants everyone to have a good time and live life to the fullest!

What attracted me to Hell Fest was the story of going to a haunted attraction theme park because I had literally just gone to Netherworld in Atlanta for the first time about a month before I got the audition, and surprisingly loved it! It was a really cool/hilarious experience with all of my friends. In regards to the audition process, I auditioned three times. I had the initial audition with casting director Deanna Bridigi (love her!) , a callback with her and [director] Gregory Plotkin (whom I like to call “Gucci Greg”), and then a chemistry read with the coolest group of girls where we were all mixed and matched up in different groups. That’s where I met Bex [Taylor-Klaus] and Amy [Forsyth] for the first time!

You’ve worked on really exciting projects in recent years, including Snowfall and MacGyver, but this is one of your first experiences in the horror genre. Are you a big fan of the horror genre or haunted attractions?

Reign Edwards: Yes, this project is verrrry different from Snowfall and Macgyver, haha! But it was such a fun experience working in the horror genre—tons of laughs on set from genuinely being scared! I’ve become a big fan of haunted attractions ever since Netherworld last year. I used to be terrified to go! One of my best friends, who I actually work with on Macgyver, Tristin Mays, tricked me into it and I actually ended up loving the experience and am super excited to go to some attractions this Halloween.

I’m still working on my relationship with the horror film genre [laughs]! I’ve gotten to the point where I can see a thriller without jumping around in my seat at the movie theater, but full-on scary movies I’m still working on. I saw a preview for a scary movie while at the movie theater with my family and was scared so bad that I almost hit my cousin in the face with the mozzarella stick I was trying to eat! And that was just the preview—I can’t imagine seeing the full film. I’m hoping that I’ll be a little more prepared when I go see Hell Fest, since I know what’s going to happen, but there’s still a strong possibility that I will be jumping around in my seat like a lunatic.

The set designs for Hell Fest just ooze this palpable, spooky atmosphere. What was it like being on set? Did it feel like you were constantly in a haunted house?

Reign Edwards: To me, it didn’t feel like I was constantly in a haunted house because one, no one was scaring us constantly as they do in haunted houses and other attractions. And two, I got to see all of the behind-the-scenes magic they put into creating the sets. Even when I’m at haunted attractions in real life, I’m fascinated by how they put all of the sets and special FX together. So, being on this project, I was just geeking out the entire time and fan-girling over the incredible work that our crew did in designing the sets and bringing them all to life!

Hell Fest has such a fun and talented cast. What are some of your favorite memories from working with Amy Forsyth, Bex Taylor-Klaus, Tony Todd, and some of the other cast members?

Reign Edwards: GIGGLES O’ CLOCK, lol! For the first two weeks of filming, we filmed at night. So we all had to change our sleep schedules to being awake at night and sleeping during the day. There was always that time of night when we’d been up for so long that we became delirious, so everything became funny. That time, as so eloquently named by (I believe) Bex Taylor-Klaus, is called giggles o’ clock... and she was the funniest person whenever that hour came! I have the best video of her lying on the ground at two in the morning and she couldn’t stop laughing for like 10 minutes!

Then, there was another time when we got back to the hotel at 6:00am. We went straight to the continental breakfast to eat and for whatever reason, Bex and I couldn’t stop laughing. I still have no clue what we were talking/laughing about, but we were laughing so hard that we couldn’t breathe. One of my favorite memories with Amy was when we were filming a serious scene and someone took an early cue, messing up the scene and causing Amy to legitimately get scared. We both went from being super serious/intense in our scene to laughing hysterically and then back into the seriousness of our scene once they called "action." There are so many funny and fun memories that I could go on and on about with this cast, but those are definitely two of my favorite memories!

This seems like a really fun movie to go see with your friends this Halloween season. Have you watched it with an audience or with your friends yet?

Reign Edwards: I have not. I’ve seen bits and pieces of it going in for ADR [Automated Dialog Replacement] and it looks amazing! Gucci Greg not only directed this film, but edited it as well, and has done a terrific job from just the bits and pieces that I’ve seen! I’m so excited to see it! I plan on taking a group of friends and family to the theater and celebrating by watching it surrounded by those I love!

Do you have a favorite scene from the film that you’re especially excited for audiences to experience?

Reign Edwards: The scenes from The Deform School Maze I’m super excited for our audiences to see! We had so much fun shooting those scenes and I think they really capture what it’s like at a lot of the haunted mazes that are popular nowadays. It captures the fun in going to these types of events! There are a few genuine scares in there as well, haha!

Hell Fest director Gregory Plotkin is no stranger to the horror genre, having worked as an editor on Happy Death Day, four Paranormal Activity movies, and Jordan Peele’s Get Out. What was it like working with Plotkin on Hell Fest? Did he give you and the other actors a lot of creative freedom on set?

Reign Edwards: Gucci Greeeeggg!! I love him, lol! But in all seriousness, Greg is one of the coolest directors I’ve worked with. Since he’s also an editor, it made filming so much easier. He knows what we have to spend time on and what we don’t. I always had a great line of communication with him in terms of what I felt might work for my character. He listened whenever I had a concern and was always really good about giving feedback and direction. Greg really let us make these characters our own! He made sure we had a fun time filming this movie so that it would read true when audiences watch the film. I hope that comes across, because we had such a great time shooting it!

With Hell Fest now in theaters from CBS Films and Lionsgate, what other projects do you have coming up that you’re excited about, and where can our readers go to keep up to date on your projects?

Reign Edwards: Funny you should ask, because season 3 of MacGyver comes back on the same day of Hell Fest’s release (September 28th) on CBS, so check your local listings for that! Snowfall Season 2 has been airing on FX and you can always catch up on FXNOW! I have a few things up my sleeve that I’m not at liberty to say, but definitely keep an eye out! You can head over to my social media platforms to keep up to date with me! My Instagram/Twitter is: @reignedwards and my Facebook is Reign Edwards. Thank you so much for your time!

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In case you missed it, check out our previous Hell Fest coverage, including Staci Layne Wilson's review and her video interviews with the cast and crew!