Revelations of “Black Phone”, Madeleine McGraw and Mason Thames come back with us on the set, their relationship to horror cinema and what scares them in it.
In Black Phonethere is of course Ethan Hawke. Who finds the director Scott Derrickson ten years after Sinister, and goes to the dark side of the force, since he embodies the big bad in this story of kidnapper and killer of children. Which are notably played by Madeleine McGraw and Mason Thames.
If the first was seen in Ant-Man and the Wasp (Hope young, it was her), american sniper Where The Curse of the White Ladybefore giving voice in Toy Story 4 Where The Mitchells vs. the Machines, his partner makes his debut on the big screen here. And it is together that they return to the film, while waiting to see them again at the cinema.
AlloCiné: Horror movies are generally fun to watch. How are they spinning?
Mason Thames : Extremely fun.
Madeleine McGraw : Most of the time, it’s not scary on set. But the first time I saw the basement set in the studio, it scared me. Because it was very dark and caves scare me in general. So I felt shivers down my spine (laughs)
Mason Thames: I wondered if that would be creepy or not, but it was quite the opposite. Seeing the mask was scarier, but very cool for me too.
Madeleine McGraw: One of the reasons it’s not as scary as the finished film is that you see the lights, the crew at work, the cameras…
Does that mean that horror movies scare you less now because you know how they’re made?
Madeleine McGraw: Yes and no. A movie like Black Phone shouldn’t scare me because I know the backstage, but even knowing what’s going to happen I’m still terrified.
Mason Thames: And if there’s an intense scene, like a dog dying or something horrible, I say to myself “It’s wrong, the dog is fine. Everything is fine.” But I’m still scared in front of a horror movie.
What will you remember from this first experience on a Mason movie set?
Mason Thames: It was an incredible experience for my first film. Madeleine is amazing, and Scott is probably… No, not probably: he’s one of the best people and one of the best directors I could work with. He’s one of the nicest people in the world, and I hope to work with him again.
Few horror movies have managed to scare me like Sinister
Isn’t it frustrating working with a director when you’re too young to have seen most of his horror films? Unless you were able to watch it anyway.
Madeleine McGraw: I could see Doctor Strange, that I love. But not the others because they’re too scary and I’m not really allowed to watch them, although I would love to.
Mason Thames: The first Scott Derrickson movie I saw was Sinister. With my brother. And it was super creepy. It still is. Few horror movies have managed to scare me like this. So working with him on my first feature film was cool.
What scares you the most in horror movies?
Madeleine McGraw: Probably the jump scares. I think that’s what scares me the most.
Mason Thames: The silence.
Madeleine McGraw: But yes ! Because you know something is going to happen!
Mason Thames: When a scene is very calm, it’s suspicious. And no matter how much you know something is going to happen, when it does, you’re still scared. And I like that in horror movies.
Interview by Maximilien Pierrette in Paris on June 10, 2022