While horror movies are made with the intention of scaring movie-goers, it’s not uncommon for the people who make them to have a lot of fun during production. Those who possess the prankster spirit can find nearly endless opportunities to get up to some mischief on spooky, dimly lit sets and with creepy props and elements of production design, and it can often make the whole experience a lot more fun between takes.
Floria Signismondi’s new film The Turning is a prime example. Most of the production took place on the grounds of a creepy mansion/estate in Ireland, and actress Brooklynn Prince did her best to utilize it to her advantage and scare her co-stars. As I learned sitting down with Prince and Finn Wolfhard during the film’s Los Angeles press day, however, the efforts didn’t exactly go as planned:
I specifically asked the Turning co-stars if they had taken the opportunity to try and scare each other on the set of the movie when I interviewed them as a pair earlier this month, and while the answer was “yes,” apparently the attempts weren’t all that successful. Brooklynn Prince definitely made efforts to try and jump out and scare Finn Wolfhard, but the Stranger Things star always saw it coming.
According to the actors, she would try and hide as best she could in a room preparing to scare him – and being only seven years old she was very small, and probably pretty easy to miss. The efforts didn’t quite work out as Prince wanted, though, because, in Wolfhard’s words, he “could see her from a mile away.”
While scaring each other didn’t quite work out, Finn Wolfhard and Brooklynn Prince did still find ways to have their own bit of fun while making The Turning. They apparently enjoyed carpooling together to set, and exploring the house – and because the film was in production on February 14th, they even had the chance to send valentines to each other.
Ultimately, it definitely works that the two actors got along well on set, as their characters also share a very strong bond in The Turning. The film is an adaptation of Henry James’ classic gothic novel “The Turn Of The Screw,” and Wolfhard and Prince play Miles and Flora, a pair of orphans who enter the story when a woman named Kate (Mackenzie Davis) becomes their new governess. Unfortunately, the experience isn’t a great one for Kate, as she starts to become haunted by spirits and visions… and Miles and Flora don’t really help matters with their respective rebellious and mischievous personalities.
Also starring Joely Richardson, Barbara Marten, Denna Thomsen, and Niall Greig Fulton, The Turning arrives in theaters this Friday, January 24th. Be on the lookout for more from my interviews with the cast and director, and to see what else is coming soon to the big screen this year, be sure to check out our 2020 Release Calendar.
