Exclusive: Jay Huguley Talks Abattoir and Working with Darren Lynn Bousman
Staci Layne Wilson
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Even if his name doesn’t immediately conjure up an image, take our word for it: You have seen Jay Huguley. He’s best known for playing David on AMC’s “The Walking Dead” and as Jimmy Ledoux on HBO’s “True Detective,” opposite Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. Right now, he’s got a pivotal role in the latest horror movie from Darren Lynn Bousman, Abattoir (review).
In this gory noir ghost story, Jay plays Felix. “Felix is, hmmm… I have to think about what I can and can’t say without ruining the movie for people. Suffice to say, Felix is a family member of Julia’s, the lead character who is played by Jessica Lowndes. My wife in the film and her are family and went through some circumstances.” He won’t specify what, but “a couple of things happened to us, which sets Julia off on her passionate journey to find out what the hell’s going on.”
Related Story: Director Darren Lynn Bousman Talks Abattoir
Photo Credit: Kristine Ambrose
When asked whether he knew Darren Bousman prior to working with him, Jay said no – “I just did an old fashioned audition. I put myself on tape for it. I always wanted to work with him, after all the other movies that he’d made. Anyway, they came back with a couple of notes from the tapes and then I got it and I was on a plane to New Orleans.”
We wondered if it was mainly the story – which is pretty unusual – or if it was the cachet of the director that most attracted Jay to the project. “The main reason I wanted to do the movie was to work with Darren. For an actor, it’s a great thing to work with an auteur, which is what I consider Darren. Like a Hitchcock, he really has a strong point of view and a style that I just think is genius. I’ve done a couple of things in the horror genre, and this was the first time I’ve ever been scared making a movie. He set an incredible atmosphere, the reality of a situation; that’s a thrill for an actor to play because our job is to make people believe in the circumstances, and when you have a director who is that good, who sets up a scene the way he does, your job is easier, a lot more interesting, and a lot of fun.”
Did he always appreciate auteur-made horror? “Yeah, for me it started with Brian De Palma, growing up in the Seventies and Eighties, and my babysitter took me to see Sisters in 1976 or something like that. I see them all. I always think you think horror directors are going to be really serious and sort of quiet, but you know, Darren is a lot of fun and really smart and sets up a really easy set and has the cutest dog I have ever seen in my life! So he’s certainly a hell of a lot of fun, really funny, really smart and creative, and we think of horror directors as not only serious but dark, and that was not my experience with Darren.”
As far as Abattoir goes, what sets it apart for Jay is that it’s not like a typical American horror film. “It’s beautifully directed, beautifully shot, there’s shades of film noir, there’s shades of European film, there’s a Bogey and Bacall, it’s a total thrill ride, and it’s absolutely terrifying. Honestly, I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
Abattoir stars Jessica Lowndes, Dayton Callie, J. LaRose, Joe Anderson, Jay Huguley, and Lin Shaye. Bousman directed from a script by David Schow, Teddy Tenenbaum, and Christopher Monfette.
Synopsis:
A real estate reporter named Julia Talben unearths an urban legend about a house being built from rooms where horrific tragedies have occurred. The investigation ultimately leads Talben and a detective to the enigmatic Jebediah Crone and the answer to the question: How do you construct a haunted house?
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