Into darkness

Teresa Palmer ain’t afraid of no ghosts...

Rebecca isn’t a typical Final Girl or a warrior. What do you like about her?

I love that she’s so far removed from who I am, though I could really relate to her – my mother also has schizoaffective disorder, so it was me and my mum growing up. I could see how someone else in that situation could fall into this world of darkness and carry this dark energy with them. Rebecca very much pushes people away, doesn’t trust anyone. I kind of had the polar opposite experience where I wanted to be close with everyone.

The idea of a monster appearing in the dark is a great concept...

It’s pretty simple, if you think about it, this innate fear we all have of the dark. I certainly had it as a child; I had it up to when I was a teenager, actually. I slept in my mum’s bed for the longest time because I was petrified of being alone in my room. The thing you see in the corner which is actually just a stand with a couple of umbrellas, it’s the wolf man coming to get you or the Mothman.

It’s David Sandberg’s first feature film. What were your impressions of him?

I love him, he’s the most gentle spirit. He’s very calm, his energy’s never wavering, it’s always really stable. That kind of energy set the tone for the cast and crew, which was wonderful. It never felt stressful, even if I knew we were running out of time. I never felt that anxiety the way you do on other movies because he was just so relaxed about it all. And it was his first movie!

Was it difficult working with the light effects?

Not really. It was quite interesting, I’ve never been on a film where there were the least amount of lights possible! Usually it’s the opposite, you’re trying to light everything. It was cool, so shadowy and dark and it made for this intimate feel among the crew and cast. Everything was practical, even Diana. The girl who played her, Elisha, she was my stunt double on I Am Number Four! She was really able to contort her body in ways that meant they didn’t need to use CGI. I was petrified watching the way she could bend and move. She was really horrifying.