The horror movies that “fucked up” Sophie Thatcher: “I was sobbing for days”
While some people believe that movies should entertain, the beliefs about the purpose of the medium and the effect it can have vary across the audience lines.
Some try to numb their minds through fast-paced action and superhero stories, the ensuing rush restoring the illusion that regular life still holds a magical quality. Others try to challenge themselves through stories that go against the grain and shine a light on a different side of life. But there is a select group of people who neither retreat to the cinema for comfort or intellectual stimulation, instead seeking the thrills of being scared shitless and unable to sleep at night.
Die-hard fans of the horror genre are a whole other kettle of fish, scuttling to the cinema for every new release that promises innovative jump scares or a new twist on the ghost story. During this day and age, it’s a great time to be a horror nerd, with countless new takes on the genre that can lead you to a film from the perspective of a dog or a sexually charged remake of Nosferatu.
For Sophie Thatcher, it has made for a very promising beginning to her career, starring in some of the most successful modern horrors and marking her as the next generation’s ‘scream queen’. But with such a clear affinity for horror after starring in films like Companion, Heretic and an upcoming project with Nicolas Winding Refn, the actor shared the classics that first drew her to the genre.
The horror genre has been a breakout opportunity for many stars, with the likes of Mia Goth, Daniel Kaluuya and Jamie Lee Curtis being cast in spooky leading roles that have since become the basis of their global fame. For many, this love came from illicit early viewing experiences that piqued their interest, with Thatcher describing a similar memory from her childhood.
When sharing the films that most influenced her love for horror, Thatcher said, “Pan’s Labyrinth. I walked in on the hand scene when my dad was watching it when I was seven or eight years old, which is too young for that. I watched Rosemary’s Baby after taking an edible when I was 15, and I’ve never been more terrified in my life. That stuck with me, but also in a beautiful way. 28 Days Later, any zombie movie, The Walking Dead. Oh, and The Woman in Black! That movie fucked me up. That’s an underrated movie. I was sobbing for days.”
The Woman in Black is perhaps less appreciated amongst older audiences, but one that became a sleepover classic during my adolescent years as everyone flocked to see Daniel Radcliffe in one of his first post-Potter roles. It’s a bleak and harrowing story about grief and one man’s inability to move on from tragedy, seeking solace in an abandoned mansion and finding himself haunted by an entirely different entity.
The spooky old house is a classic trope in the genre, and almost one that could be very boring and ‘been there done that’, but Radcliffe adds a layer of vulnerability and genuine terror to the story that elevates it from the traps of convention. For this reason, it’s easy to see why it would have such a hold over Thatcher, and perhaps a quality she has carried into her own career.
