Killer Queens
ASSASSINATION NATION | Sam Levinson gives the Salem witch trials a modern-day spin…
Snapped up for a whopping $10 million-plus at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Assassination Nation is a 21st Century horror story about a small town that loses its “motherfucking mind” when a hacker exposes the salacious secrets of its residents. Centred on four inseparable young women who take the blame before fighting back, it’s a hyper-stylised cautionary tale with plenty to say about the perils of the internet age. Writer/director Sam Levinson and his cast prepare Teasers for a night of terror…
Sam Levinson (writer/director) Social media is not the villain of this film. Righteousness is the villain – people who believe, with absolute certainty, that what they are doing in any given moment is right. That’s a horror film. That’s scary. Mobs are scary. I think all social media has done is it’s allowed humans to be the best versions of themselves and the worst versions of themselves. It’s a tool for us to be either crazier or kinder, more empathic or more violent.
Abra (Em) It’s just a mirror. It’s a big reflection of what’s going on. Sometimes it’s really ugly to look at, sometimes it’s not. But to let people you don’t know, and people who are so far from you in real life, get into your head like that – it’s a really weird space to live in. I’m saying that anyone can mind-fuck you from far away.
Suki Waterhouse (Sarah) I always think it’s so boring when you see texting in films. It’s not in this movie. It’s superexciting. We all had our own phones, and we were taking behind-the-scenes footage ourselves. It actually makes it so terrifying, seeing violence through the lens of a phone, and hyper-real.
Hari Nef (Bex) #MeToo is about the very vulnerable, difficult process of speaking out about assault and processing trauma. This film is more about defending yourself from assault – it’s this fantasy of fighting back. It’s very rare that a woman who is going to be assaulted has a gun on her, or a samurai sword. But the fantasy of that is what is feeling so cathartic – particularly for women who watch this. It has a place in the #MeToo era, but there are nuances that are worth parsing.
Odessa Young (Lily) The red coats were a big deal because it symbolised that community. I remember when I saw us all [in the coats], I was like, “Oh, we look badass. I get it.” I don’t think we were told there would be that many teenage girls behind us. Watching this convergence of teen girls come up and be cheering behind you, and unified on the home front – it was fucking incredible.
ETA | 23 NOVEMBER / ASSASSINATION NATION OPENS NEXT MONTH.