Interviews
Devon Sawa Reflects on ‘Idle Hands’ and Explains How Upcoming Movie ‘Black Friday’ Channels That Spirit
Decades after becoming a fan favorite actor in the horror genre thanks to the one-two punch of Idle Hands and Final Destination, Devon Sawa recently made his return to the horror world with the Fred Durst-directed The Fanatic, and he can next be seen in the brand new thriller Hunter Hunter that releases on VOD outlets this coming Friday, December 18th.
Sawa will also be starring in Glenn Danzig’s vampire western Death Rider in the House of Vampires, as well as a horror-comedy titled Black Friday that also stars Bruce Campbell. For Sawa, starring alongside Campbell in the latter film is something of a full circle moment, as his performance in Idle Hands was heavily inspired by Campbell’s most iconic character.
Speaking with Bloody Disgusting’s The Boo Crew Podcast this week, Sawa explains that Bruce Campbell inspiration, reflects on Idle Hands, and provides some Black Friday teases.
“I remember being like eleven, twelve years old and having a trampoline and mimicking everything Bruce Campbell did [in Evil Dead 2]. All the hand stuff,” Sawa tells The Boo Crew. “The script [for Idle Hands] was called something else at the time, and there was one little bit, in the original script, where the mother gets possessed. And the mother is, like, that’s mainly the thing. And there was one bit where my hand gets possessed. And I walk into this Sony meeting, all these executives are there and producers and what not. And I just start Bruce Campbell’ing all over the goddamn room, with my hand, and it kind of evolved from there. I got the part and it became a little bit more comedy than it was originally written.”
He continues, “Idle Hands was at a time when I Know What You Did Last Summer and Scream were the biggest things ever. The first director was Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas), and that’s what I fell in love with. When I went into the original auditions for him, it was living in that world. It was living in the Evil Dead 2 meets Beetlejuice world. But I guess the studio was really kind of leaning towards these teen movies… so they hired this other director, Rodman Flender, who was leaning more towards that way. But it was starting to feel a little bit like I Know What You Did Last Summer… where we’re trying to take it serious… and then I just leaned all the way into, “fuck those films”… they are what they are, but we’re gonna make this film, and this film’s going to last; it’s gonna be campy and over the top.”
For Black Friday, Sawa wanted to tap back into those campy Idle Hands vibes. As part of that process, he had to get back in touch with the fearless teenager he once was.
“I’ve always been really excited about horror, and especially the kind of weird horror. Either so sick or… so wacky, awesome and fun. That’s why I keep going back to horror. I’m just such a fan of the genre. I wish I could talk about [Black Friday] because it’s back in the Idle Hands kind of genre feel. It’s wacky and terrifying and fun and we’ve got some really good special effects people. And a great director,” he explains. “I got to find out where I was in my life… to be that fearless again. When you’re eighteen years old you don’t care so much. You’re just gonna try shit. I want to make another, what I call these shelf movies – back in the day, you used to have like 15/20 movies on a shelf that you’d brag to your friends about.”
He adds, “I want this to be one of those.”
Listen to The Boo Crew’s full chat with Devon Sawa below.
As the inaugural season of Apple TV+’s stellar new series “Widow’s Bay” barrels toward its finale in two weeks, the latest episode gives Kate O’Flynn the spotlight as her character revisits her trauma with the Boogeyman.
“Your Baggage“, directed by Andrew DeYoung (Friendship), sees O’Flynn’s scene-stealing Patricia once again renew her fight with the Michael Myers-like stalker that slaughtered her peers during her adolescence. Thrillingly, it makes for one extended chase sequence that sees Patricia trying to warn others, while evading the undead killer.
In short, this episode’s incredible riff on Halloween and the slasher subgenre transformed Patricia into a fierce Final Girl.
“Well, that felt like a bucket list that I didn’t know was on my bucket list until I did it, but when I did it, I just lapped up every minute,” O’Flynn tells Bloody Disgusting of her triumphant turn this episode. “It felt fantastic for her to get that moment where she is becoming a badass. That was amazing.”
The actress turned to a few notable references for her performance. “Horror-wise, I go back to my youth, which was referenced in some of the episodes: Wicker Man, Carrie, and Rosemary’s Baby, that sort of thing is my kind of vibe.”
O’Flynn also notes how the series’ unique tone allows for so much creative freedom to make bold swings. “There’s something very freeing about it. Every moment is up for grabs, so it’s like we don’t have to totally land in one direction or another. It keeps it alive.“
Patricia is the eccentric assistant to Matthew Rhys‘ Mayor Tom Loftis, who’s at the forefront of trying to solve the island’s pesky curse predicament. Rhys felt the same about “Widow’s Bay” and its rare ability to make you laugh and scream in equal measure, stemming from series creator Katie Dippold.
“The mandate was, ‘It’s a real world with real people. You play for real.’ There’s no playing for comedy or horror,” Rhys echoes O’Flynn’s sentiments on how freeing the series’ tone has been.
New episodes will release every Wednesday through June 17 only on Apple TV+.
Kate O’Flynn in “Widow’s Bay,” now streaming on Apple TV.
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