*Wrong Turn 6: Last Resort just hit Blu-ray and DVD on Tuesday, but it’s already receiving a lot of comments from the horror community. The content, compared to some of the previous entries in the franchise, is a lot darker – less fun, more serious. There’s a lot of crazy, fucked up shit going on throughout the new sequel directed by Valeri Milev, and in the middle of it all you find the character of Sally played by Sadie Katz. She’s a Hell cat, she’s a seductress, and she’s part of the incest-loving, cannibalistic hillbilly’s last chance at survival. It truly takes a talented actress to pull off such a role and here Sadie Katz shows us all why she is a force to be reckoned with in the entertainment industry.
In my interview with Sadie Katz – which you can listen to or read below – you’ll hear about her big introduction to the horror community, her take on her character Sally, behind-the-scenes commentary, and how she was blown away by Wrong Turn 6: Last Resort’s locations and effects. It’s certainly a fun listen (I love her sultry voice), and it shows how daring she is to tackle such a difficult, but well worth it role.
HorrorSociety: The movie just came out on Tuesday. Are you excited that it’s finally out there?
Sadie: Yes, I am. I feel like the anticipation was there for so long. Did you get a chance to see it?
HorrorSociety: I did. I got a chance to watch it yesterday. First, I wanted to congratulate you because you did a fantastic job in the movie.
Sadie: You have to say that… or I’ll come get you!
HorrorSociety: I reviewed it for HorrorSociety.com and I said you and Chris [Jarvis] did such a good job, I kind of want to be part of the Hillicker Family… minus the cannibalism and incest. You guys did that good of a job.
Sadie: Thank you for that. Chris [Jarvis] and I didn’t have a lot of scenes together, but we certainly talked about the Hillicker origins and what made us tick. We had a lot of thoughts about keeping it in the family. Chris is a very well trained actor and he took the role very seriously. We wanted to dive deep into what made Sally tick. Sally had a bit more of a backstory to her. Originally, when I auditioned, there was more dialogue because you get only so many sides so they beef up the sides for you. They were about losing her baby and everything. I tried to find a way to, without getting to actor-y or pretentious on you, make her have lots of things going on underneath. So, I didn’t play her as straight crazy, but she’s pretty off her rocker!
HorrorSociety: Speaking of when you auditioned… I remember way back when, you were the first cast member confirmed for Wrong Turn 6 and all the horror blogs and websites exploded. Everyone was so excited that you were joining the film in some sort of capacity. How did you feel then when you got this really big embrace from the horror community?
Sadie: I have to give a lot of credit to my publicist because he’s great. I was really excited about it. I was in this film called House of Bad [before] that was very well received and reviewed even though it was low budget. It won fan favorite at a film festal. It kind of validated me, it felt great. I kind of felt accepted into the horror community more than I thought. It really is this tight, close-knit group and they’re all pretty loyal. The first night of that festival it was funny how many people I knew there. It was like going to a class reunion and thinking you’re not going to know anyone and then you’re like, “Hey! I know a bunch of people here!” I ran into some of the people who did horror shorts like ABCs of Death and I was like, “Hey! I know you!”
HorrorSociety: What can you tell me about your character of Sally that we may not have covered yet?
Sadie: One of the things that’s kind of fun… One of the first things Sally says is, “I can’t go another winter.” The idea is set up so strong, that Frank H. Woodward wrote into the script. [Sally] is this wonderful cat in heat. We have lots of scenes of Sally watching… She’s horny. She’s been holding her eggs in. She’s waiting to mate. It’s driving her to the point of insanity. That’s kind of a fun thing to play and it’s enjoyable to watch because the idea, at the heart, she really wants to continue the family line and a lot is riding on that… And she’s also horny as Hell. She’s gnawing and gnashing at her teeth in the mountains to get it on already.
HorrorSociety: She was going completely crazy. She kind of… Um… Smothered someone with a pillow.
Sadie: My cousin sent me a text that says, “I have two words for you – vagina pillow.”
HorrorSociety: And she enjoyed that! She really enjoyed that. Would you consider her – because you understand the script more and the depth behind it more than the viewer – would you consider Sally the matriarch of that family now?
Sadie: I think that’s where Frank H. [Woodward] was going with that. At least she thinks she is. She takes it upon herself. She has to carry on the line. That’s important to her. She’s big sis, big mama throwing her weight around. That was the fun thing of filming at this hot springs, this beautiful place that Sally takes all this pride in. There’s a scene cut from the movie. She yells at the cannibals and she says, “I’m not going to let you guys ruin this for me,” and gives them a tongue lashing at the beginning of the script before the murder and mayhem. She realizes the Hillickers won’t be any more unless some babies come.
HorrorSociety: Speaking of the backdrop… The hot springs and woods itself… This is a weird question. Did you ever get lost? Because I’m looking at the huge resort and the backwoods you’re filming, and was it ever like, “Where am I?!”
Sadie: I’m telling you that place is absolutely beautiful and huge. We had at least 150 people on the crew. You would wrap your scene, but they’d be shooting another scene and you’d have to go back to your trailer. It was absolutely terrifying walking back to the trailers. I’m a chicken. You would go downstairs, down these huge corridors, the building is very old, lots of history. You’re going around and around and there’s these huge mirrors at the end of every hallway. I’m wearing this beautiful white dress and my blonde hair and from far away I’d be scaring myself. The mirrors are old so you can’t really make me out. I would push my head down so I wouldn’t have to look at my own reflection. Totally scary.
The woods were scary. I’d start running to my trailer in terror. Sometimes I’d be ask, “Is there anyone who would mind taking me to my trailer because I’m totally terrified?” It was really beautiful to film there and we couldn’t have had better. The locations are top notch and they shot it well. It was so impressive. The scene we did in the forest… I was so blown away. I was thinking, “I’m doing Wrong Turn 6, I’m doing a horror film,” and then the first scene we shot I’m handed a torch and have to walk through the forest. Everyone looked so scary. The make-up was so good, too. The old man on the porch rocking back and forth… I was asking, “Where did you find him? Is he wearing make-up?” Then this little girl comes wheelchairing over and she’s got the prosthetics on and one leg. I’m like, “Damn you are terrifying! You are so scary.” It was so easy to be in that world because it looked great and the cameras were hidden in the trees… It was lightly snowing… The fire was going… It was very fun to act in because I felt like I was there. It was very easy to jump into the character and be there because the sets were amazing. The make-up was amazing. You could be sitting right next to someone and wonder, “How did they do that to you?”
HorrorSociety: Not to trash another movie, but I think production quality set-wise for Wrong Turn 6 was a little higher than the last film.
Sadie: I loved Wrong Turn 5, but it was more set-y. You knew it was a set and I’m not trashing it either. We weren’t on set. We were on locations. I kept going, “I wonder if we’re going to be in a forest or if they’ll green screen it.” We were really in a hot spring! I asked if they were really in a hot spring or a pool. I couldn’t believe it was happening that way. It was a surprise for the cast. I don’t know if you got to see the DVD extras, but they have a featurette about the hot springs. It really captures how cool it was I had so much fun watching that DVD extras. I’m not one to go out and buy DVDs, but I recommend it if you’re a Wrong Turn fan because it really shows how big of a movie this was. It’s worth the six minute extras. It’s so good.
HorrorSociety: I have my copy, but I haven’t watched the features yet. Now that you mentioned it I’m going to look because I’d love to watch an inside look at that place to see what it was like.
Sadie: It was huge. The sex chamber… When we first went in it I asked, “How did you even find this location?” It was just huge. We had room to run. Normally in horror films you’re trying to figure out how to run away. We were really running and navigating around this place. There really was a kitchen, a place to do everything, halls… Sally’s bedroom actually had these mutated dolls and crazy stuff. I wish you could see the decorations in Sally’s room. Old teddy bears and sown doll parts on things… It was so creepy. All the rooms had really high ceilings, so that’s the reason there are really high shots. We got to go into these scenes with big dolly cranes, which you normally would not do in an interior scene. The dolly’s were actually descending on – not giving it away – my pray… You normally wouldn’t get that in an interior scene.
HorrorSociety: my last question is very simple because we’re a week from Halloween. What is your favorite scary movie?
Sadie: I really liked Black Swan. I want to say A Nightmare on Elm Street, but then I think the movie that terrified me the most was Black Swan. I think that’s an actor’s worst nightmare. I cried in the movie theater during the whole movie because my biggest fear is losing myself in a character and not finding my way out of it. The scene at the end was terrifying. The masturbation scene was creepy, any masturbation scene on camera is. I also just saw the Possession, which is really, really good. It’s got mixed reviews, but I think it’s fucking scary. I highly recommend it. It’s about this little girl that gets a box at an art show. I think you should see it. You’ll have to email me and let me know if you like it.
*Thank you for taking the time to chat with me, Sadie Katz. You did a fantastic job in Wrong Turn 6 and I’m definitely going to check out the DVD featurettes and the movies House of Bad and Possession. If you’ve recently become a fan of Sadie’s, make sure you check out the movie she co-wrote here.
For more on Sadie Katz, please visit:
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2048731/?ref_=tt_cl_t4
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sadie_katz
Facebook Fanpage: https://www.facebook.com/SadieKatz
