Geekscape Interviews: ‘As Above, So Below’ star Perdita Weeks

Of all the cinematic genres, it has long fascinated me that horror is among the few to predominately feature women in prominent roles. Whether a screaming, almost-naked teen babysitter is shorthand for sympathy and terror and is thus quietly misogynistic, or because horror filmmakers tend to be more socially progressive and want strong women conquering forces is solidly uncertain. This is for you to decide.

Still, it always brings a smile to my face whenever I see a strong central woman in any movie, and As Above, So Below deserves recognition.

Just before I entered the heavenly gates that were the doors to Power MorphiCon in Pasadena this past weekend, I had the chance to talk about the dungeon to hell with Perdita Weeks, the star of As Above, So Below! How much fun did the smart, talented, and indeed lovely Ms. Weeks have playing a badass? And what was it like down there?

Scarlet is a strong and daring individual. She’s Indiana Jones meets Ellen Ripley to me. So, very plainly, how much fun did you have playing a badass?

Perdita: It was so good. It was so fun. I knew it was going to be fun when I read the script. Yeah, it was like, I’ve kind of always wanted to play Lara Croft, unfortunately Angelina got there first. [laughs] I just thought, [it was] really fun, [she was] really strong, leading a group of individuals down to the catacombs. It was brilliant. Hard, but very, very fun.

Yeah, I picked up on the Lara Croft thing a little bit too. The movie was kind of like a video game to me. But you filmed it in the actual catacombs! With the physical challenges in those tiny, dark hallways, being terrified must not have been farfetched, was it? What was it like shooting down there?

Perdita: The first time we went, the first time we went before shooting was just like a walk around. The Dowdles showed off which spaces we’d be using specifically. And it was a little daunting, more just because I’ve never shot anywhere that was going to be so logistically difficult. It was very tough on the crew, having to get all their cables down there, incredibly heavy equipment, and lighting luckily wasn’t really an issue, because the only lights were from our head helmets and the one from the camera. But because of the style of shooting, the found footage aspect, and the fact that all six of us would essentially be having cameras, it meant the crew had to completely hide away, all the time, because you never knew what would be caught in the frame. But it was more incredibly exciting and novel, to be one of the few people who ever shot down there. There was maybe a good forty to sixty of us. It was quite a bonding, unifying experience actually. I mean, you spend that long, you know, with that many people, it was a tight-knit crew by the end of it. You know, we felt like we had really gone through something.

By the time we got to shoot in the sound studio in the last week we were like, this is heaven! There were toilet facilities, and coffee! [laughs] It was hardening, but it was really good for the film. We all felt quite so proud of ourselves after it. Some people had a couple of … head injuries, minor.

Oh, wow.

Perdita: Yeah, ceiling, the height, it changes all the time so it was incredibly unstable. Lots of times, lots of members of the crew had just gone smack! Into kind of like a sticking out rock. It’s a mad, mad place to be in for the entire film. It was bizarre. Probably more bizarre than it even looks in the film. It was scary in the film, in reality it was kind of hysterical. Like, what are we even doing here? Is it even going to work? But, it was great. It adds to the kind of excitement.

Your terror came out genuine, it was amazing to watch. You put on an excellent performance down there.

Perdita: Thank you!

In addition to the actual setting and challenges that came with it, you’re also filming a found footage movie. Very verite-like. Was there any learning curves in acting in those spaces with that kind of genre? As opposed to, for example, shooting The Tudors?

Perdita: Oh, yes! But it was great! You have a lot more energy, because you’re never off. You never know when the camera is gonna capture you. It brings you that much more closer. For each sort of scene, if you can call it that, because in the film the action is so continuous, and lots of time we’d have ten or fifteen minutes of continuous action. I mean, it was incredibly, absolutely exhausting, but brilliant. We would get to do one scene, all day. And at the end of it we’d change, every single take it would be different. But you know, they were using continuous takes, and every time the DOP would do something different. So you never knew really what was going to happen. It was kind of just about reacting to all that.

There was six of us there, all of our performances are changing all the time, so it was a great acting experience, actually. Especially when you’re doing, you know, people give horror a bad rep, but my God, it’s hard work. For any actor. It’s very testing. I’d recommend it to any actor. It’s very hard work but very, very satisfying.

Scarlet is burdened by family guilt and seeks redemption. She’s rebellious and she never hesitates. She immediately dives into a situation. Do you think she’s trying to prove something to the world, or do you think she’s trying to prove something to herself?

Perdita: I think the thing with her is that the thing she really isn’t interested in is fame, or money, or even success to some degree. My whole idea for her was that, she works as a professor in order to just make enough money, and she’ll stop the very second she’s got just the right amount to go and complete this mission. And the thing with her, the reason she is so, as you say, has no hesitation to do anything … is she’s got nothing to lose. That’s what I love about her. Characters like this just don’t come out often. Characters with absolutely nothing to lose as the one complete driving force.

It was a complete dream to play because it makes every decision that you have to make incredibly easier. You know exactly what their purpose is. And what their motivation is. You know, with her, I honestly didn’t think she’d mind if she died doing this. Because, there is no one around. She’s cast off maybe the one person who maybe did care about her, and she doesn’t have any family left. It was the only thing that mattered to her, until the point where she realizes she’s put other people in danger. And that’s her saving grace. You know, she really doesn’t want to endanger anyone else. You see it in the beginning of the movie when she goes to Iran. It’s the only thing that matters. If she dies, she dies. There’s no one who would miss her.

She was fearless and absolutely one of my favorite characters in recent history. You played her well.

Perdita: Oh, great! [laughs]

One last question. Because this is Geekscape, we are nerds here. This is a bit of a fun question. The catacombs are of course terrifying and ancient. If you could be any superhero and go back to the catacombs, and face off all the demons, what superhero would you be?

Perdita: Ooh! Golly, I’m not very up on my superheroes! Who would I be? Well I don’t know if she’s really a superhero, but what was the name that Alan Cumming played like in X-Men, he was a little black sort of–oh, no! I’m gonna be, oh, what’s the name of that… Rebecca Romijn-Stamos played in X-Men and Jennifer Lawrence played now?

Mystique!

Perdita: Mystique! Yeah! That would be cool. It’d be handy! You know, to just blend in and whatever. And also, she’s a good ninja.

As Above, So Below is in theaters now. Head here for our review, and here for our interview with director and writers John Erick Dowdle and Drew Dowdle!