Madelaine Petsch on breathing new life into a cult classic

In a cinematic landscape where horror often finds its strength in reinvention, Madelaine Petsch steps into the spotlight to discuss her journey through the eerie realm of The Strangers trilogy. From navigating the intricacies of simultaneous filming to the visceral experiences on set, the 29-year-old Washington state native shares the essence of reviving a beloved cult classic.

Chris Saunders: Your latest film, The Strangers: Chapter 1, is part of a wider trilogy, and you filmed all three films at the same time. What was that process like and what challenges did you face in that unorthodox scenario?

Madelaine Petsch: Yeah, it was quite an insane task to take on. We cross-boarded all three films, which meant I could shoot the final scene of movie three in the morning, pop over and film the middle of movie one halfway through the day, and then shoot something from movie two to finish off. Luckily, all three movies are set over a very short timespan so, once I started to look at it like one very long film, I was able to tackle it like I would any other project. I also had copious amounts of notes. I’d say the biggest challenge was the time constraint, though. I think we had only 55 days to shoot all three films, so we were really up against the clock.