EXCLUSIVE | 'Dreamkatcher' star Radha Mitchell decodes Gail and the science vs supernatural theme
With over 40 films, Radha Mitchell has established herself as one of Hollywood's finest. Come 2020 and the 'Rogue' star returns to the horror genre with 'Dreamkatcher', one of the much-anticipated horror flicks of the year. Her last project in the genre was the 'Silent' series, where she played Rose Da Silva, a role that garnered nominations for 'Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Leading Actress' and 'Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Actor—Female'.
Mitchell is back in 'Dreamkatcher' as Gail, a Manhattan therapist, who travels upstate with her boyfriend Luke, (Henry Thomas) and his orphaned son, Josh (Finlay Wojtak-Hissong) who is haunted by nightmares of his dead mother. When Luke is forced to return to the city, Gail stays behind with Josh and they encounter a mysterious neighbor (Lin Shaye) in the woods. What follows is some intense horror as Gail fights for survival while also uncovering some startling truths.
Ahead of the film's release, Mitchell, in an exclusive with MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) shed light on coming back to horror, her thoughts on the supernatural, and her upcoming film '2Hearts'.
'Dreamkatcher' marks your return to the horror genre after the 'Silent' series. How does it feel to get back to acting in horror films?
It's fun. It's always fun to be able to get paid to scream, you know? (Laughs) And also I was kind of excited to be part of the team as I'm one of the producers on the film. So, there was a sense of the kind of collective on it. Shaye (Lin) took the project, which was a good feeling to become part of a team like that.
There are really tense moments in the film, and there was just a kind of really well-directed kind of naturalistic tone to it as well. So it was nice to have sort of like human drama and then sort of taking it to this more extreme level in the later scenes in the film.
The film is more of a tussle between science and the supernatural. Is this something that you agree with?
I was thinking there's a Gail in all of us. Like there's somebody who's trying to rationalize and gain control of the uncertain situations. I mean, even in the situation we're in now (referring to the COVID-19 pandemic), we're like grappling to make sense of it, and I certainly don't think that we're in a supernatural situation, but literally in the story, her perspective shifts when she leaves world from a completely different perspective.
But it takes a lot to shift her point of view. That's kind of the arc of that character. She goes from with one set of lenses and then, it looks her whole sense of everything. By the end of the story, she's a different person from what she experiences.
Do you think that supernatural or paranormal is a myth or is that always some sort of logical explanation between some unexplained mysteries?
It's a possibility. You know, I'm sort of agnostic in that sense. I wouldn't have the hoopers to tell you I understand everything or think that any of us can understand everything, but I'm not superstitious either. Like, I don't know, I don't immediately think of ghosts. But, I wouldn't rule anything out.
One of the highlights is the location, tone, and the way it's constructed. So it's like, there is some sort of outer beauty, but deep within there's something evil and sinister...
I think what's kind of stir about it is a sort of sense of isolation. They're right there in the middle of nowhere. They're surrounded by all this lavish green beauty, but when they're under the threat coming from inside or outside of the house...there's no one around. So I think that's where you get the sense of what the actual landscape creates. It becomes a character because it isolates the lead characters and leaves them feeling even more vulnerable than they would considering the circumstances.
What were your initial thoughts when you read the script?
My initial thoughts were, "Wow! It's really interesting, the dynamic between the woman and the kid." You don't normally see, so many things just played out between two characters like that. That was unusual. And there wasn't any kind of saccharin. The kid wasn't presented as some super cute little, sweet child and yet he has the sort of vulnerability to him and sort of like the tension between them both wanting something from each other and not being able to get it or give it to each other.
I thought it was kind of adult in a way, considering you said there was an interesting kind of drama to those things.
What can the audience expect from 'Dreamkatcher? Because this is not a conventional horror film because it blends in elements of science
What I thought was interesting while researching the character was that she was a therapist and so she had some kind of handle on cognitive behavioral therapy and ideas around desensitization, and that was interesting to me just to kind of research those things.
And also there are a lot of people that do have intense nightmares. The movie tries to posit explanations and give techniques around how to deal with those experiences. It seems like a respectable family drama, and then it becomes very kind of cynical and a little nihilistic, and supernatural. So it's almost two different films, and that evolution is kind of slow. So you don't know as it still feels like it's coming as a surprise, but it is a slow build.
So what would you do the next time you see a Dreamcatcher/ or Dreamkatcher?
[Laughs] Run! Run!
What can you tease about your upcoming film '2 Hearts'?
It's a beautiful story that engages two different relationships almost in two different timelines. And how these characters are all brought together in this unusual way, which is sort of serendipitous. It appears tragic but is somehow transformative and magical. So, that movie is kind of inspiring and it's based on a true story. And we played real characters. But I guess it's sort of, essentially it's a medical drama.
'Dreamkatcher' will release on VoD on April 28.
