Sophie Thatcher has had quite a year. She has become a fan favorite on the Showtime series Yellowjackets, which concluded its second season in May with a major surprise for her character, and this summer, she also headlined the big screen Stephen King adaptation The Boogeyman. But did one role begat the other? This was an inquiry I had for director Rob Savage when I had the chance to interview him late last month for The Boogeyman’s home video and streaming release.
It turns out that Savage did watch the pilot episode of Yellowjackets prior to Sophie Thatcher’s casting, but that was only after her name was put in consideration for the lead role in his movie. He explained that he was impressed by her work as Teen Natalie on the horror series, and he had also seen her star opposite Pedro Pascal in the sci-fi feature Prospect, but a big way he ultimately connected with her was through their mutual appreciation of film. Said the director,
You know what, I'd never seen any of Yellowjackets until she was put forward for this. I'd seen her in a little indie movie she'd done with Pedro Pascal, Prospect. And then I watched the first episode of Yellowjackets before I met with her, and I thought she was great. But really the reason that I cast her was one, all the material I saw from her was great. I mean, she's fantastic in everything she's in. But it was also when I went on my first Zoom with her, I was wearing a T-shirt for the Andrzej Zulawski movie Possession, one of my favorite movies, and she immediately said, 'Oh, I love Possession!'
Released in 1981, Possession is a cult psychological horror film starring Isabelle Adjani and Sam Neill. The story centers on a married couple played by the two leads and begins with the former asking the latter for a divorce before their lives spiral into chaos. It’s evidently a favorite of both Rob Savage and Sophie Thatcher, and it created an instant bond between them in the run up to the start of their work together on The Boogeyman.
Continuing, Rob Savage explained that discussion of Possession led to broader talks about genre film (when I spoke with Thatcher this summer, she expressed a particular affection for Carrie opening her eyes to the power of women in horror), and it was ultimately clear to him that they could properly communicate about horror during their collaboration:
We spent the whole call talking about art house horror that we love. And it was just clear that we had the same vocabulary when it came to horror cinema. It's just one of those things where it was apparent that it was gonna have to be her.
In The Boogeyman, Sophie Thatcher stars as Sadie Harper, a teenage girl who, along with her sister (Vivien Lyra Blair) and father (Chris Messina), is left reeling following the death of her mother in a car crash. The family is deep in mourning, which unfortunately makes them perfect prey for a supernatural entity that lives in darkness and moves into their house.
Also starring David Dastmalchian, Marin Ireland, and LisaGay Hamilton, The Boogeyman is now widely available on home video. You can stream it with a Hulu subscription, and you can also purchase or rent it digitally from retailers including Amazon, Google Play, Vudu and Apple. The film is also available on Blu-ray and a perfect addition to your Ultimate Stephen King Collection.
