The Rental stars Alison Brie and Sheila Vand on the films that 'scared the s---' out of them
In writer-director Dave Franco's horror movie The Rental, two brothers (played by Dan Stevens and Jeremy Allen White) rent a house by the sea for the weekend with their partners, respectively portrayed by Franco's wife, Alison Brie, and Sheila Vand. Do terrible things ensue? Indeed they do, although we won't say more at the risk of spoiling matters.
Instead, we asked Brie and Vand to tell us about the movies which most chilled their spines. You can read (if you dare!) the pair's responses below:
ALISON BRIE: Do you have a favorite horror movie?
SHEILA VAND: The one that terrified me the most as a kid — It was really scary. I was so afraid of using the shower and the toilet, things that you have to use all the time. I always showered with the door opened and every time I peed it was like — I remember just regretting seeing it. Chucky also scared me a lot. Child’s Play. I couldn’t really handle my dolls in the same way. Some of the newer stuff, I love Babadook, I love It Follows. I love this wave of indie-horror films that care just as much about cinematography and character development. I like to think of The Rental as definitely in that group of films that isn’t afraid to be subtle and have depth at the same time as being a horror movie. What about you?
BRIE: That’s so funny about It. I was so scared of just the It poster, I never saw the original when I was a kid. I think my number one, scares-me-the-most, horror movie is The Exorcist. Maybe I was 14 when I saw it and just was so scared. Then there are movies like that through my adulthood too. Paranormal Activity scared the s--- out of me. I think Rosemary's Baby is probably my favorite because it’s not quite as scary and I can watch it over and over and just enjoy the artistry of it.
VAND: I remember also The Blair Witch Project.
BRIE: We just watched that and the whole time I was like, "Oh my God!"
VAND: I saw it with one of my cousins, and I came out, and he was kind of laughing at how scared I was. I was like, "You don’t understand!" And I picked up a leaf from the ground and I was like, "What if this was the only thing you could eat and you didn’t know where you were?" I took it so much to heart what those people went through and how real it all felt.
BRIE: I saw it with my high school boyfriend, in the theater. I had driven, and I drove him to his house to drop him off, and then I made him follow me in his car to my house because I was so sacred. We just rewatched it and I was shocked at how little scary stuff you see in the movie. You don’t see anything scary! And it's so effective. I feel Dave does something similar with his restraint in this movie.
VAND: Yeah, I love that restraint. Sometimes it’s scarier what you don’t know is out there.
The Rental is currently playing at select drive-ins and theaters and is available on demand.
Allyson Riggs/IFC Films
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