ComingSoon Senior Editor Brandon Schreur spoke to The Dead Thing stars Blu Hunt and Ben Smith-Petersen, along with director and co-writer Elric Kane, about the new Shudder horror movie. The three of them discussed getting into the character’s mindsets, the film’s approach to horror and human drama, and more.
“Alex is trapped in a downward spiral of shallow hookups and tepid connections, but she is caught off guard when her dating app swipes lead her into the arms of a mysterious, charming young man Kyle,” the synopsis reads. “Despite their passionate night, when the sun rises, the mystery man is nowhere to be found. Alex then sets out to find the one person who made her feel alive. Through her investigation, she reconnects with Kyle, but also digs up a ghastly supernatural secret. The pair quickly descend into a whirlwind of obsession, dependence, lust, and infatuation that has grave consequences.”
The Dead Thing begins streaming on Shudder on Friday, February 14, 2025.
Brandon Schreur: Elric, I’m wondering if you can tell me a little bit about how this movie came to fruition. When did you first have the idea for The Dead Thing, and what did the process of bringing it to life look like on your end?
Elric Kane: It started with wanting to make something makeable. Like, a feature that you didn’t have to ask for permission and a million dollars for, because that’s often what kills most of us in L.A., waiting. You wait your whole life, and nothing happens. Loving movies like Habit and movies where you can see the independent nature of it, I was like, ‘Okay, I know I want to do a story like that.’ I really love single character-focused, where you’re really with that person for a lot of the movie. I tend to find that to be a really exciting type of filmmaking.
I knew I had those things in the back of my head. It wasn’t until I had a coworker who would always talk about her dating habits, especially the weirder apps. Apps like, ‘You know, there’s one where you’re in the back of a taxi together, and there’s one where you’re doing a donut and coffee.’ I just found it very amusing hearing all the stories, and it started to conjure a person who was very lost through that process and where a horror story could come from, a modern and contemporary take on something that might otherwise feel like an urban legend or something by the end of the film.
We just started, piece-by-piece, to create a story out of it. And trying to always strip it back; we had a first draft that was very stripped down. Then we kind of added another layer. I always knew that if we cast the right person, it would have a lot of life to it, the character. It didn’t need to be overly written, it just needed the right actor. And, somehow, we got it.
Definitely. That makes total sense, that’s really interesting. Blu, I absolutely loved your performance in this movie as Alex. She’s such an interesting character, and I loved how, even if she’s not saying much, you express so much through your expressions and body language. I thought you were incredible in here. I just wanted to ask you, in general, what it was like getting to play this character and if there were any big challenges or hurdles you had to overcome to really get into Alex’s mindset.
Blu Hunt: Honestly, it felt fairly easy getting into her mindset. Like, I feel like I’ve definitely been there before. I think even at the time that we were shooting, I was in an on-and-off again relationship that was horrible and I couldn’t leave. I was able to definitely put a lot of that in there. Actually, that guy plays one of the guys that I sleep with in the movie. We are forever in a movie together.
Elric Kane: I’m sorry.
Hunt: You know he texted me when he saw it was playing at the New Bev. No, but, I was really excited to play a quiet character because I definitely have two sides of myself. I’m very [makes hand gesture], but I’m also very, very, very quiet and introverted. I was excited to try out a more naturalistic style of acting, which I’ve always wanted to do. And you don’t really get to do on a bigger project because they need you to be on a lot in a way that I find inauthentic. I was just excited to play a really authentic character. It felt fairly easy to go to that mind space. I mean, I even felt kind of very depressed filming while playing such a depressed person.
I think the biggest hurdle was just maybe more of the horror scenes near the end of the movie. I have a really bad scream that I’m really insecure about. I need someone to do the blowout or dub my scream. So, whenever I do horror scenes, I’m always really nervous. But other than that, I loved playing Alex. I liked playing a quiet person who still had a huge inner life. I love quiet people and find they’re very alive inside, behind their eyes.
Totally. And, again, I just thought you were great in this movie. Ben, Kyle is super interesting in here, too. I think I spent most of the first half of the movie trying to figure out what his deal is — he comes on, he’s super nice, he disappears, he comes back, and he’s kind of nice, but you also learn some other stuff. So when you were first reading the script, given there’s so many layers and tones and vibes that Kyle brings, what aspect of this character were you most excited to play?
Ben Smith-Petersen: I think Kyle was so fascinated by Alex. I think that was something that was exciting. It’s almost like he doesn’t really know why he’s so fascinated by her. It’s hard to talk about it without giving it away. But he doesn’t really understand himself and is trying to figure it out through her.
Kane: It’s like kindred spirits, a bit. Like when you see the reflection of yourself — not literal, and it’s part of attraction, obviously — but part of the idea is that this person is finally being heard for the first time. She feels heard and feels like the person is listening. And he’s sensing something in her; there’s obviously a darkness inside of her, in the moment when we meet her. I think those two things are attracting these two together. And, at least on the creative side, I think these two performers found that, and it gives it the throughline for the whole story.
Oh, yeah, I totally connected to all of that. Elric, I also love how you directed this movie and infused so much atmosphere into it. It’s a horror movie and some scary stuff happens, but it’s not the kind of horror movie where you’re throwing jump scares or a bunch of gore at you. It’s all based on real, human drama, and I connected with that so much. Being an independent filmmaker, I’m wondering if that was always your vision for the movie and if there was any kind of pushback you had to fight against from anyone who wanted more “conventional” scares to be in there.
Kane: I’ll tell you something really exciting. Two days ago, I was writing with the same writing partner, and we came up with a jump scare. I was like, ‘Nobody will see that coming!’ It was the cheesiest one, someone coming behind someone and going ‘Boo!’ I was like, ‘Perfect, let’s keep that because nobody will expect us to do that now.’
No, it was always intentional to make something [like this]. It’s funny that IFC Shudder is putting it out because, in my mind, it’s more IFC. It’s like an indie film more than it is just a horror film, even though it’s both things. But all my favorite horror films are the ones where, if you take out all the horror, it’s still captivating. Rosemary’s Baby, take out the supernatural and it’s still working in all the same ways, claustrophobia-wise and paranoia-wise.
A lot of movies are like that. Don’t Look Now. Just some of my favorites, they have the horror from just their drama and that’s enough, sometimes. You want to make sure you can pull that side of it off because that’s the part I’m going to feel something about. Again, I’ve been saying it, but the horror scenes, to me, are actually the love scenes. That was very intentional. It was definitely in the text. Not like ‘scary’ horror, but they’re the scenes where you’re being consumed. They’re the scenes where someone is being overtaken and losing themselves completely. I feel like those scenes are actually where the horror exists in this movie, not the death scenes, which are a little more throwaway, which is the opposite of most horror films.
Whether that works or not, that’s not up to me, but that is intentional. It’s trying to do something a little different in that way.
Yeah, I love different and I thought it did totally work, so I’m a big fan. Blu and Ben, I also wanted to ask about your scenes together and working together in this movie. Back to the question I asked you, Ben, there are some scenes where you guys are really cute and sweet together. But then there are scenes where something sinister is going on, and that just kind of escalates more and more throughout the movie. What was it like acting together in this project and how did you go about finding the connection between these two characters?
Hunt: It really came naturally. Like, the same way that they kind of just meet each other and like each other — I think, as actors, we kind of just met and got along, and it all kind of just progressed. We kind of shot sequentially, basically. So it kind of eased us into their relationship, I think. It was very supportive, too, especially because Ben does stunts and a lot of the intimate scenes are actually very active, they’re actually a lot like stunt-work kind of scenes. It was a very great relationship, for me, on set.
Smith-Petersen: I mean, that’s it. It’s about two people meeting each other and learning as much as they can about each other in a really short amount of time. Which is the reality of what was happening. So it was kind of right there.
Thanks to Blu Hunt, Ben Smith-Petersen, and Elric Kane for taking the time to discuss The Dead Thing.
