Following the death of her estranged father, Iris learns she has inherited a run-down, centuries-old pub. She travels to Berlin to identify her father’s body and then discuss the estate. Little does she know, when the deed is signed she will become inextricably tied to an unspeakable entity that resides in the pub’s basement – Baghead – a shape-shifting creature that can transform into the dead. Two thousand in cash for two minutes with the creature is all it takes for desperate loved ones to ease their grief. Neil, who has lost his wife, is Iris’ first customer. Like her father, Iris is tempted to exploit the creature’s powers and help desperate people for a price. But she soon discovers breaking the two-minute rule can have terrifying consequences. Together with her best friend Katie, Iris must battle to keep control of Baghead and figure out how to destroy her, before she destroys them.
Set to terrify audiences in theatres this week (you can read our review here), Baghead is a new horrific creation, born from the mind of filmmaker Alberto Corredor, and starring Freya Allan, best known to audiences as Ciri from the Netflix hit series, The Witcher, as Iris. Talking to our own Peter Gray ahead of the release, the starlet touched on the unexpected challenges she faced in making a genre film, if she would be tempted by the character’s offer to talk to the dead, and what she would like to explore next in her career.
Any new horror film that comes into the orbit, I’m always excited for. And the creation of Baghead is something different than what we are used to seeing. Are you a horror fan yourself? It’s so common for actors in these films to not actually like the genre…
I have to say, I don’t watch many horror films. I did go see the recent Saw though. For some reason, I was like, “I’m going to see it the minute it comes out!” I don’t know why. I think I’d seen so many clips of Saw, and I hadn’t watched a full feature length film, so I decided that I was going to. I don’t think I get too scared.
Do you find the material’s disconnection from reality is what alters your perception of scary?
Yeah, I think that kind of thing…it definitely scared me. No doubt. Something that is possible, that could be real…that’s what scares me. Anything that’s supernatural, it doesn’t really scare me. Because I’ve lived in a lot of supernatural stuff (too), and I don’t know how much I believe in that. But yeah, if anything is too real, than it could freak me out.
I was going to ask about that, because obviously you’re most well known for The Witcher. Have you found that that’s the material you’re getting offered the most? It’s all circling that genre for you? And even though Baghead is supernatural, you’re making that conscious effort to not just recreate the same character in different stories.
That’s obviously my aim. My aim as a whole is to really stretch myself in every direction. I definitely don’t want to be boxed in. But it is difficult, because, obviously, they see you do one thing, and then they think “Oh, she can do that.” Yes, it’s easier for me to get the stuff that’s in the realms (of The Witcher), but I’ve managed to play completely different people at the very same time and being in different situations. But I would love to do something ay some point, which is completely stripped back, and doesn’t have any kind of magic, supernatural, or chimpanzees.
I’ve seen you in other interviews and behind-the-scenes tuff, and I think, let’s put you in a romantic comedy!
Oh, I’ll do a romantic comedy.
Yeah, I can see everyone falling head over heels for you.
That’s so lovely. I would love to do something, as well, where I’m not constantly bawling my eyes (out). Like just constantly crying in the woods. I’d love to do something a bit light-hearted.
We talk about that, but we’re going back into Baghead. Was Alberto’s short horror film something you were aware of at all? Or when the script came to you this was brand new territory? And did you watch the short film to get into the mindset for the film?
I mean, I hadn’t seen (the short film) prior to being sent the script. But when I got (the film) I saw the short film, as well. That’s how I got to see it.
When you get sent this script, what’s your initial reaction? As I was watching it, without spoiling anything, certain things happen to your character. I thought, “Holy shit, they’re actually doing that.”
Yeah, I don’t think I suspected it. I definitely enjoy the twist at the end. I hope people don’t expect it. When I was reading it, I wasn’t really expecting it. So, it was fun.
If Baghead was presented to you, do you think you would tinker with it?
I would, yeah. I’d want to get my grandparents back, because I’d love them to know everything that I’ve done. They were so supportive when I started acting, and I would love to tell them what’s happened.
I just don’t know if I could keep it for two minutes (like in the film). But obviously that’s the whole point of the film, that you’re talking to your person, you want to hold on so much, and you wonder if you could disconnect at the right time. Do you think you could live with the consequences?
It’s not very long, is it? Once you’ve opened Pandora’s Box, you kind of just want to stay and tell them everything. I mean, it does make sense why they kind of messed that up so much of the time. Two minutes? It’s not very long to explain everything that’s happened in your life.
Because the setting is so contained, did you find that presented any challenges? Or did you enjoy that you were kind of boxed in?
Yeah, we mainly shot most of the film in this old house in the middle of nowhere. Then we went to the studio, where we filmed the stuff in the basement. It was pretty much those two places. I think when we were in the house it was kind of easy. When we’re shooting it doesn’t look nearly as scary. The colour grading and everything makes it darker. It’s a weird thing, shooting a horror film, because I definitely learned you have to really kind of make yourself scared, which, I know, sounds really stupid, because that’s kind of the whole point. It’s obvious what you have to do. But I feel like I learned a lot about putting myself physically in a certain position. Sometimes I would just jog on the spot to get my breath up. It was actually a bit of a learning process, because it just didn’t feel very real. So I had to create that for myself. And I definitely brought that into my next jobs. Being in the house, it still felt a little bit more spooky. I think when we were in the basement, we were in a studio, and it felt a little bit more challenging. But it was fun being in the house. I enjoyed it.
And filming in the house and the basement set, you always hear on the sets of scary films that weird shit seems to happen. Was this one of those houses where it would creep people out?
I mean, there’s so many people, you were always hearing creaks. There’s a whole crew boxed into this (house), so it’s never really eerily silent. There’s people shouting and the crew, so there was only ever silence when we were filming. So, no, in that way, but I did say to myself I that I would not want to stay in this place on my own, like my character does. It was spooky, the idea of being in that place. I actually think the real place that we were in, because the exterior shots were from a different building, was spookier because it was in the middle of nowhere. I really felt like, if you were out there and anything happened, no one would be able to save you. Whereas the exterior was near civilization, like, in the middle of the countryside. The thought of being there at night would really terrify me.
Well, as I said, I’m a horror fan, and it’s so great to see you in a film like this. Obviously, I know you from The Witcher, but I’m excited to see the career choices you make. Let’s get that Freya Allen romantic comedy, or something stripped back in an A24 movie…
Oh, my god, you’re reading my mind! I want to work with A24 so badly. Can we put that out there?
Baghead is screening in Australian theatres from February 22nd, 2024.
