What would you do if you found out your distant cousin turned out to be a fleshmask-wearing psychopath? That’s the quandary facing Alexandra Daddario’s character in TEXAS CHAINSAW 3D, the latest chapter in the seemingly immortal franchise. A direct sequel to Tobe Hooper’s 1974 classic, TEXAS CHAINSAW 3D lands in theaters on January 4th.
Ms. Daddario is no stranger to encountering psychos. She made an impression on horror fans in Stevan Mena’s compelling shocker BEREAVEMENT, which saw the actress play “final girl” amid buckets of blood and bodies hanging from chains. (She must like this sort of thing!) The actress has also successfully been dealing with less intimidating sorts – depending on your point of view – on shows like “Parenthood” and “White Collar.” The opportunity to speak with Daddarrio about TEXAS CHAINSAW 3D recently arose, and I took it; read on for the results.
As I understand it, your character in TEXAS CHAINSAW 3D discovers that she’s related to Leatherface, which I imagine is pretty shocking. Can you talk a little about how this comes to light?
Alexandra: The story is sort of a mystery at first, she doesn’t know anything about her family or any of this, and as it unravels you start to see the evolution of her character and who she was and who she becomes. That was really fun to play. When she does discover what’s really going on, it’s just a great twist, it changes the way she sees herself.
What is the relation between her and Leatherface? Is that top secret?
Alexandra: She’s his cousin. I think that’s something I’m allowed to say. (Laughs)
How would you react if you found out you were related to a cannibalistic killer?
Alexandra: You know, I’m not sure. As myself, I would probably be completely horrified. Also, I think my parents would have a lot of explaining to do. I think you would completely question who you are as a person, and what your life is going to be like.
Is it just Leatherface you’re up against? Obviously, he’s more than enough to handle, but are there any other family members you have to deal with in the film?
Alexandra: There are other family members in the film, but nobody we have to deal with. Leatherface is Leatherface and he’s the villain, but there are other obstacles in the film that are presented to the characters.
How familiar are you with TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE series? Did you have to revisit the original film?
Alexandra: When I booked the film, I had not seen the other films. I am very easily scared and horror films are very effective on me, so I don’t watch a ton of horror films. But to prepare for this, I watched the original and the Jessica Biel version of the film, and the original just blew me away by how amazing it was. It made me so excited to be part of the franchise, and so excited to meet the actors who are in the film, and some of the original castmembers came and worked on our film, which was such an honor.I’m really excited to be part of it. And even though I’m so scared by horror films, it’s only because some horror films are so effective, I get very frightened.
Well you’re in this and you were also in BEREAVEMENT, which is a pretty intense film, are you suffering any post traumatic stress?
Alexandra: (Laughs) Maybe! But I think being an actress and being able to be in horror films is kind of amazing because you have to learn to stretch yourself as an actor and go to places you don’t go to in your regular life. Sometimes, at the end of days, I go back to my hotel room and feel a little weird, but it’s because you’ve tricked your body into thinking it’s in this place that it’s not actually in. It’s sort of incredible as an actress to do that, because it’s a completely different kind of thing that I usually get to do.
Do you get good and bloody in this, and more importantly, do you get an opportunity to kick some butt?
Alexandra: I get an opportunity to do both. I definitely do get bloody, there’s a lot of scares in the film, it’s very scary. I tihnk one of the great things about my character is that she has a tougher side, she has this fight in her, and that’s pretty awesome.
What was it like shooting in 3D? Does it make you any more self-conscious as a performer, or do you go about it the way you normally would?
Alexandra: It doesn’t affect your performance or make you any more self-conscious, it’s just a camera to you. But it does take longer, it’s just one more thing to make sure is exactly right, it’s such a complicated technology. We had an amazing 3D team, but there are all these different things – you can’t have things coming in and out of the frame, yall these things that can disrupt the 3D, but other than that, as a performer, it didn’t really affect me.