This interview was accomplished prior to the start of the SAG strike.
Waiting for something horrific to happen to them that they don’t deserve is often the most terrifying thing that can happen to a group of innocent people who have no real means of protecting themselves. That’s certainly the case for the actresses’ characters in the new ensemble action thriller, ‘Fear the Night,’ which is led by such talented performers as Gia Crovatin and genre veteran Maggie Q.
The diverse female protagonists are determined to overcome their sense of dread and terror that’s unleashed upon them by a menacing group of unknown men. The women, who initially are fighting amongst themselves over petty differences, must learn to overcome their minor conflict in order to prove that they’re not the cause of the men’s latest troubles, like they believe, and survive.
The film was written and directed by fellow genre veteran Neil LaBute. He also served as an executive producer, alongside Maggie Q, on the drama, which Quiver Distribution is releasing in theaters, On Digital and On Demand today, July 21.
In ‘Fear the Night,’ eight women attend a bachelorette party at a remote farmhouse in the California hills. They’re interrupted by the arrival of masked intruders who surround the place and begin shooting arrows at the home and the guests. One partygoer – Tess (Maggie Q), a military veteran who is fighting her addictions and her difficulty at fitting in with other people – leads the women in making a stand against the attackers. Together, the women fight back in an effort to save themselves over the course of a single dark night
Crovatin generously took the time earlier this month, prior to the start of the SAG strike, to talk about starring in ‘Fear the Night’ during an exclusive interview over Zoom. Among other things, the actress discussed why she was inspired to portray the character of Mia, who’s a friend of Tess’ sisters and is a guest at the bachelorette party, in the movie. She also mentioned that she appreciated having the opportunity to reunite with LaBute, with whom she’s previously worked with on such films as last year’s crime drama, ‘Out of the Blue’ and horror comedy ‘House of Darkness,’ on ‘Fear the Night.’
The conversation began with Crovatin explaining why she was interested in playing Mia in ‘Fear the Night.’ “I think it has to come down to the script – it has to be a really good script! This story was just fascinating to me because it’s about a group of women who are solving a problem. They get involved in a bad situation and have to figure out how to solve the problem of getting out of the situation. That’s a very human story,” she shared.
“Then you just add the layers of interesting characters and the fabulous dialogue and the tension of the masked men who are trying to get something, but we don’t quite understand what it is. So who wouldn’t want to do this kind of piece?,” the actress asked.
Once Crovatin signed on to star in the thriller, she noted that she prepared to play Mia by studying the script. “I really always go back to the text over and over again. I come from the theater, so the text is my Bible,” she shared.
“Beyond that, I start to create the world myself. I go to music and create a playlist. I also create a backstory. I look for parallels within the script. I feel like the character of Mia is sort of an outsider, which parallels the character of Tes, who’s played by Maggie Q, who also thinks of herself as an outsider,” the performer revealed.
“So I thought, what would be different to that? What’s interesting to me about being an outsider? I just started zeroing in on this Stevie Nicks-spiritual-hippie-type girl who you would underestimate, and wouldn’t think would be this secret powerhouse, but who really gets to shine,” Crovatin added.
Mia is also unique in the fact that she effortlessly infuses humor into the tense situation that she and her friends find themselves in. The actress embraced that side of the character, saying: “I just think that’s so natural and human. You can be stuck in a tense, crisis-filled situation, and just automatically start making jokes, as you want to lighten the atmosphere a little bit. I think that’s very human.
“I’ve never been on a set with that many women all together all the time,” Crovatin also revealed. “I had seven other fabulous women who I was having a ball with. We were shooting really intense stuff at night, over the course of three weeks. I was just loving my job and feeling like the luckiest actor in the world. So I think that just naturally translated into Mia’s energy, as she was really happy to be at the party!”
Like the performer previously mentioned, ‘Fear the Night’ features an ensemble cast that’s led by Maggie Q. Crovatin was grateful to be a part of such a strong, female-led action thriller, and create the characters’ dynamics with her co-stars.
“I think that Mia has a crush on Tes, and I also have a crush on Maggie! She’s like no other; she’s incredibly smart, super talented, incredibly beautiful and everything that you want in a number one, and eve more,” the actress divulged.
“She’s everything you want in a leader. So it felt like a natural transition that she’d be the leader of this pack of women in the film,” Crovatin added.
“As for the other actors, I also got to work with Kat Foster, who plays one of the sisters, and Highdee Kuan, who also plays one of the sisters. I also worked with Brenda Meaney, Ito Aghayere, Roshni Shukla and Kirstin Leigh. It was so fun,” the performer gushed about her co-stars.
“When there’s a group of women together on set, and we’re allowed to be our authentic selves, there’s no other feeling like it. It was so awesome, and I love the company of women, and I love it even more at work on set. It’s the best,” Crovatin added.
Following up on the fact that the film’s main ensemble cast of protagonists is made up entirely of women, the actress noted that everyone talks “about the all-female set all the time, and we all single it out. We say that it’s something that’s rare.”
However, Crovatin also points out that “we just need to talk about how it’s a human story. At the base of it, these characters are people who are dealing with something uncomfortable, and they just happen to be all women.
“I think it’s important to humanize everything. It’s also vital to show that even if you disagree with someone or just don’t get along, there are things that you can find commonality on. You can look at someone else’s humanity and come together to solve a problem. I think that’s the heartbeat of this film,” the performer added.
Besides embracing the experience of working with her co-stars throughout the drama’s production, Crovatin also appreciated being able to collaborate with LaBute as the feature’s scribe-helmer. “He’s the best. I’ve worked with him many times in theater and on TV and movies. Neil’s awesome and incredibly talented. He’s a gift to be with on set, and is a great leader. He keeps his cool as he problem solves,” she shared.
“He’s also open to different ideas, and always talks about how the best idea wins. He doesn’t care if the idea comes from craft services, one of the grips or one of the actors,” the actress continued.
“If an idea is going to help us tell the best story, that’s what we want to do; we want to tell the best story. You feel very safe, respected and encouraged to think outside the box and let it fly. It’s the best feeling in the world as an actor,” Crovatin added.
With the plot mainly taking place on Tes and her sisters’ family ranch, the performer enjoyed the experience of being able to shoot ‘Fear the Night’ in one primary location. “We shot about an hour outside of Los Angeles, south of Palmdale, in the mountains. It was beautiful, but it was also rocky, almost like Mars. It felt other worldly!,” she recalled.
“We were really isolated, and we were shooting nights. It was cold, as the temperature shifts 65 degrees in California. So there were hard conditions,” Crovatin also revealed.
“Like I mentioned earlier, I come from the theater. So I like doing things in a linear fashion and having a confined space, as that’s what I’m used to, being on stage,” the actress admitted.
“So this film felt almost theatrical in a way, as it’s just us. The story’s not in real time, but what happens during the party is as much in real time as possible,” Crovatin continued.
“That’s really exciting to me. We were so informed by the environment and circ*mstances that it was just easy, but also very hard,” the performer added with a laugh.
“We did shoot out of sequence for certain scenes, as we front-loaded all of the day scenes. So anything that had daylight we mainly shot in the beginning of the production,” Crovatin shared. “But there were a few things that we also shot at the end.
“I think we shot for 21 days, and the big chunk of it was at nighttime. The house had to go through the stuff that it goes through, so that part of the movie had to be shot in order. You don’t want to see damage before the damage happens,” the actress pointed out.
“So that was helpful, but we didn’t shoot everything exactly in order as it is in the script. You’re lucky when you get to do that, as it makes things a lot easier,” Crovatin also admitted.
The performer also enjoyed having the opportunity to create her physicality, especially while shooting the more action-driven sequences, for her portrayal of Mia during the production. “Something that I came up with while I was preparing the character was what she was like in her body. We know that Mia was a track star in high school and really loved running, so you have to have respect for your body,” Crovatin pointed out.
“So that lent to her clothing choices and feeling very comfortable and present in her body. She also knew what she was capable of, and used that to her advantage,” the actress divulged.
“That felt natural to me. I’m someone who enjoys working out and being physical. I’m also clumsy, but I do like using my body to my fullest potential. So I channeled that in to Mia,” Crovatin continued.
“I got to do all my own stunts, which was fun. I did a lot of running in this movie, and I fell. I had one big fall, and now I have a fabulous scar on my knee to celebrate the process! But I had so much fun doing all of the physical stuff,” the performer concluded.
