Alexandra Daddario Interview For ‘Texas Chainsaw 3D’

‘Texas Chainsaw 3D’ continues the story of the homicidal Sawyer family, picking up where Tobe Hooper’s 1974 horror classic left off in Texas, where for decades people went missing without a trace.  The townspeople long suspected the Sawyer family, owners of a local barbeque pit, were somehow responsible.  Their suspicions were finally confirmed one hot summer day when a young woman escaped the Sawyer house following the brutal murders of her four friends.  Word around the small town quickly spread, and a vigilante mob of enraged locals surrounded the Sawyer stronghold, burning it to the ground and killing every last member of the family – or so they thought. Decades later and hundreds of miles away from the original massacre, a young woman named Heather (Alexandra Daddario) learns that she has inherited a Texas estate from a grandmother she never knew she had.  After embarking on a road trip with friends to uncover her roots, she finds she is the sole owner of a lavish, isolated Victorian mansion. But her newfound wealth comes at a price as she stumbles upon a horror that awaits her in the mansion’s dank cellars. Landing in cinemas on January 4th, 2013, ‘Texas Chainsaw 3D’ stars the likes of Daddario, Dan Yeager, Tremaine “Trey Songz” Neverson, Scott Eastwood, Tania Raymonde, Shaun Sipos, Keram Malicki-Sanchez, James MacDonald, Thom Barry, Paul Rae, Richard Riehle, Bill Moseley and Gunnar Hansen. John Luessenhop (Takers) directs.

How ingrained were you with the previous ‘Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ films and mythology before jumping aboard ‘Texas Chainsaw 3D’?  And what was it about this script that sparked your interest?

Alexandra Daddario: I was familiar with what ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ movie was and who Leatherface was, but I hadn’t seen any of the films – I’m scaredy cat! Just from pop culture I knew what it was. But I watched the original and the Jessica Biel version before I did this film. I just thought they were terrifying and amazing, and the original film is so scary I could see how it would kick off a franchise that has lasted over 30 years, and why Leatherface is so iconic.

This ‘Texas Chainsaw 3D’ script was very different than the usual remakes and sequels in that it has a story that stands on its own. It’s a direct sequel from the original 1974 movie, it’s taking that story and continuing it and it ignores the other sequels. I really like that because it’s giving it a fresh slate. I loved the mixture of action, horror and it also has elements of mystery. It really caught me off guard when I read the script

What characteristics did you like about your character Heather, what did you find interesting to latch onto?

Alexandra Daddario: Heather, I think she’s a lot stronger than some of the female characters we have seen in horror films. She sort of finds herself and finds her strength, and she has these incredible stunts that she gets to pull off – which I loved (laughs). I really liked that, I liked being able to play the ‘frightened, running-away-screaming character,’ but then she also gets to find the strength within herself.

Heather’s the protagonist of ‘Texas Chainsaw.’ She’s a normal girl but she doesn’t feel like she really fits in. She discovers that she doesn’t actually come where she though she came from; there’s this whole other life and family that she is a part of. So she goes on this journey with her friends, she goes on a road trip. She pretty much goes through a spiritual journey, an emotional journey and a literal journey to find out who exactly she is and where she came from and what it means. So we go on this adventure, terrifying adventure (laughs).

For you, what do you think it is about Leatherface that makes him such an iconic character?

Alexandra Daddario: For me, one of the things that makes Leatherface terrifying is that he’s humanised and that he’s a real person; yet he’s incredibly demented. There’s that scene in the original film where it’s a close-up of his face and he’s in his human mask and you can see him licking his lips and his teeth. That’s such a terrifying shot because you see that he’s an actual person, you see up close how scary and weird and how off the character is – but you still see him as being a human being. And I think in this, in ‘Texas Chainsaw,’ he’s not just this lurking, large killer, he’s shrouded in darkness – chasing you (laughs). He’s actually humanised. I think that’s very interesting and very scary.

Did you have a day that particularly stood out for you when you were filming ‘Texas Chainsaw 3D’?

Alexandra Daddario: One of the scariest scenes that I had to do was with Tania Raymonde, who’s a wonderful actress and a wonderful person. We were in tight quarters in this claustrophobic environment, being chased by Leatherface with his chainsaw. I think just by feeding off each others energy, screaming and crying, working our way up to that hysteria, I think that just made it more and more terrifying. That was a really crazy shoot day.

Do you have a favourite horror movie?

Alexandra Daddario: I’m a scaredy cat (laughs), I get scared very easily so I usually watch horror films with my hands in front of my eyes. But I love the first film, ’The Texas Chain Saw Massacre,’ I’m a huge fan of that. Also, I love ‘The Shining’ and ‘The Silence of the Lambs.’ Those are horror movies that I really enjoy. And then also ‘Psycho,’ and ‘The Birds’ – that terrified me when I was kid (laughs).