If you’ve had the unnerving pleasure of watching the Turkish hellscape nightmare, Baskin, you’re probably curious about director Can Evrenol’s next film. Rest assured, Housewife is not as intense as Evrenol’s first feature but he can’t resist transforming a story about one woman’s quest for self-help into a cult odyssey into a Lovecraftian dream maze.
The star of the film, French actress Clémentine Poidatz (Mars, Shut In), graciously sat down with us recently to discuss her journey working on the most bizarre film experience she has ever been a part of. Even though she’s not exactly a horror fan, she loved every minute of the practical effects and gore on set. Poidatz also talked about how she’s a recent convert and now wants to watch every horror movie she can get her hands on … just in time for Halloween.
In Housewife, Holly (Poidatz) has been haunted by a horrific childhood trauma for twenty years and struggles with vivid, disturbing nightmares that leave her detached and unable to live a normal life. Then an old friend recommends Holly meet with charismatic cult leader Bruce O’Hara (Sakurai), and she is led on a twisted journey of waking dreams that will begin to unravel the fabric of reality and reveal the truth about Holly’s family… a terrifying destiny.
Housewife is now available on VOD, Digital, and DVD.
DC: Had you seen Baskin before coming aboard Housewife? The script must’ve been a little bit of a relief knowing it wasn’t going to be quite as intense, at least until the very end.
CP: (laughs) I had a phone call from my agent in Paris and she was like, ‘Do you like horror movies?’ I know nothing about horror movies. She sent me a link for Baskin and then the script for Housewife. So I first started with the movie Baskin and it was … it was an experience. I love that movie but it’s so violent. I’m not used to that kind of movie. I knew that I wanted to work with this guy. I knew nothing about Lovecraft but there was something there that was very appealing to me. I’ve never worked on movies like this. So I met with Can and he was completely adorable; he’s the coolest dude on Earth. Really. He’s very different from his movies.
The lead actress that was supposed to play Holly decided not to do it and they asked me if I wanted to do it. I took several days because there were a lot of sex scenes and it was so violent and I had never worked on something like that. Plus, it was being shot in Turkey and at the time there were lots of bombings everywhere and people like artists and journalists were going to jail. So, it was kind of intense. I knew I wanted to do it but I could not understand the reasons why I wanted to do it.
DC: It’s really unique. But, certainly, seeing Baskin if you’re not really into horror movies is jumping in head first.
CP: And that’s exactly why I wanted to do it. I’m French so I’m used to playing French girls who are smoking in the kitchen and crying and crying and crying and committing suicide at the end of the movie. So to me, it was very different from everything I’ve experienced so far. I loved that challenge.
DC: Have you ever experienced anything cult-like before?
CP: Yes. Unfortunately, because it was not a good experience. I wasn’t raised as a Catholic when I was a kid. I knew nothing about God. When I was eighteen, I had a very good friend at University that was in a cult but I didn’t know it was a cult. I thought it was just a very cool group of people. In the end, it turned out to be not a good cult. That was not a good experience. But I could completely relate to a fascination with a group of people talking about God. I can completely understand why it’s good for some people to find that group of people. I could really understand Holly in terms of why she was obsessed with Bruce O’Hara [David Sakurai]. When she comes back she needs some answer and she needs someone to help her with that.
DC: You were saying that you didn’t really understand the ending at first and the Lovecraftian imagery. Do you think it’s possible to believe that everything that’s happening is all in Holly’s head?
CP: That’s what I think, that she’s lost somewhere. She lost herself somewhere. I don’t know if it’s all in her head or if she’s, like, mentally lost somewhere. I know that Can [Evrenol] thinks something very different but, for me, she’s lost until the end of her life. It’s not like she’s going to wake up one day and be in the normal world. She’s gone. She’s just lost in her dreams or in her past, she’s lost somewhere. That’s my vision of it but I know for Can it’s more real. It’s her reality but not the world’s reality.
DC: Seeing how Dread Central is a horror website, I do want to ask about the practical effects and some of the graphic stuff seeing how fans of Baskin will be curious about that. Were you on set for some of the practical effects scenes like the face removal? Not to spoil anything but did that, kind of, tactile relationship help you as an actress with the more graphic scenes that occur once Holly goes inside that dream maze?
CP: Yes, the makeup artists were absolutely fantastic. It’s not so much CGI, everything is kind of real, practically everything. Everything with the face and the skin and the blood was completely real. It was fantastic, I love it. Now I want to do more movies in blood and skin and disgusting things. And I did my own CGI. You know when Bruce O’Hara puts his hand on my belly and it’s growing up?
DC: Yes, it’s horrifying.
CP: It’s my belly that is very flexible, yeah, it’s really cool and it’s my own thing. At first the wanted to do CGI on it but if I drink a lot of water and I breathe properly I can fake the belly. I’m kind of proud of it. But yes, of course it helps when you have real things in front of you … It was so intense. But I was having so much fun in spite of myself. You feel so free when you experience these kinds of things as an actor. Now I’m a huge horror fan, I love horror movies and genre movies. I’m watching everything I can.
DC: Good! I love hearing that. Maybe we can give you some recommendations.
CP: Yes! I’m going to check the website. I want to do more and more gore movies. I love it!
DC: We’ve converted you!
