Interviews
Kiernan Shipka on Her Love of Horror and the Eldritch Terrors That Await in the Final Season of “Sabrina” [Interview]
The next season of Netflix’s “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” will unfortunately be the show’s final season, with Part 4 set to arrive on December 31, 2020. Over the course of Part 4’s eight episodes, The Eldritch Terrors will descend upon Greendale, the official plot synopsis teased, and Sabrina herself offers some more teases in a new interview this week.
Speaking with Bloody Disgusting’s The Boo Crew Podcast, actress Kiernan Shipka promises a wild final season of “Sabrina,” packed with all kinds of Eldritch nightmares.
“I think the fun thing about the Eldritch Terrors is that it really makes every episode sort of feel like its own small movie, because we’re tackling something in every single episode,” Shipka explains to The Boo Crew. “There’s a through line with the plot, obviously, through all the episodes, but just to have something kind of like insular, per episode… like you’re handling these really scary, vast, sort of unknowns, like ya know, you’re battling Darkness, and the Weird, and sort of all these really interesting things. And I think just creatively that gave everyone on set – from production design to direction to writing – just this massive creative outlet to just play. So I think it’s the most free season in that regard.”
She continues, “And I think people are just gonna kind of get into these terrors because they sort of represent these bigger things that we all sort of battle.”
The conversation about “Sabrina” paved the way for a more general chat about the horror genre, with Shipka revealing that she’s a longtime (and big time) fan of all things horror.
“I am a big fan. I think the earliest I was ever exposed… I did a really random horror movie called Carriers when I was 6 years old so I think technically that was the first time I was ever exposed to horror. And then when I started getting older I just got obsessed with Halloween,” Shipka explains. “Every year when spooky season came about I wanted to watch all the scary movies. I never wanted to be a princess, I always wanted to be a zombie. And it’s always sort of been right there for me. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve watched The Shining a million times, and it just sort of becomes part of you.”
One of her favorite horror movies of 2020? Leigh Whannell’s The Invisible Man.
“Ya know what movie just genuinely got me really scared? It was The Invisible Man. I thought it was so brilliant,” Shipka tells The Boo Crew. “Obviously I know [Elisabeth Moss] and have had the pleasure of working with her and she’s just phenomenal. There’s something about that movie… it’s not blood and gore, it’s just this absolutely tangible horror. That really scares me. I love horror movies that are big and slashery and all that kind of stuff. But when we’re talking about actually getting scared, when something just kind of has you on the edge of your seat and so uncomfortable and sort of mind-racing the whole time… I thought they did such an amazing job with that movie in that regard.”
Of course, Shipka had made a name for herself in the horror genre even before “Chilling Adventures” came around, co-starring in Osgood Perkins’ The Blackcoat’s Daughter.
“Osgood Perkins is so brilliant. I remember signing on to do the movie and luckily we had like four months before we actually shot it, so we had so much time to go to lunches and get coffees and talk about the character and sort of map out where she was. Oftentimes you don’t get that luxury,” the actress reflects. “It was the coldest winter that Canada had seen in a very long time, when I shot it, and my first scene was outside with a wind blower, minus 30 degrees. The things we do. It was so fun. I look back on that experience as one of my most fond acting memories. I just had such a fun time playing with that role, because you don’t want to give away too much and you don’t want to be super obvious with what you’re doing, and I really like subtlety and that was sort of an exercise in subtlety. You want to play it so there’s something a little bit off, and to me that was so fun.”
You can listen to The Boo Crew’s full chat with Kiernan Shipka 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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