Sadie Katz is a busy lady. The American actress, writer, and director has something of a reputation for being a scream queen. Daniel Conama talks to Sadie about her new film Moggy Creatures, what she actually thinks of cats and how much she likes Buffy The Vampire Slayer.
The story of Moggy Creatures is quite a unique one. Can you tell us a little bit more about it?
Okay, so I’m going to be totally honest here and tell you I’ve always been frightened of cats. What’s crazy about Moggy Creatures and what Scott Frazelle did so brilliantly is he took that fear and amped it up…with hairless cats! Not just one but…well…let’s just say this kitty is pregnant and there’s a litter. Seriously though what I loved about Moggy is Frazelle could have just gone for cheap thrills which would have worked quite nicely but, there’s actually a lot of substance and had me rooting for the characters and there was jumps and thrills around every corner. At it’s surface Moggy Creatures is really a story about a couple struggling thru the loss of a child, they take in a stray cat and well…things don’t go too well. Look deeper and it’s a story about human struggle after loss and sometimes that’s the scariest story to tell.
What drew you to the character of Anna?
Anna is lost in her own pain and also rooting for her husband’s career. I think as a woman this is a common theme the older you get. You’re always dealing with your own biological clock as well as rooting for your own career success as well as your partners. Woman deal with loss differently than men. The need to nurture is so innate to a woman, I mean we are hard-wired to actually need to breed. I loved the simple idea of Anna taking in a stray cat and needing to love it. I think when playing horror the idea of something familiar, with good intentions going terribly wrong is fun to play. You want the audience to relate. You want them rooting for the character, Anna is someone to root for. She’s a fighter.
You’re perhaps best known for your role as Sally in ‘ Wrong Turn’, where your acting was praised heavily. How does it feel to have been part of such a well-known franchise? What did you enjoy most about working on this project?
I feel so very lucky to have been involved in “Wrong Turn.” It’s a strange thing to get messages almost daily from around the world from fans who loved Sally. When we were shooting in Bulgaria I was very aware that it was a franchise a lot of people cared about. There’s one scene in particular where I got to come up and scream at Three Finger for ahem…getting the kill before I said it was alright…it was in the chamber it was so cold there were sheets of ice on the floor. They had just filmed the scene where they ripped Roxanne Pallett’s legs apart and the whole thing was just sorta surreal. Every scene felt so important to me because I wanted to get everything right. Sally was such a complex character which you don’t always get to play in horror Frank Woodworth (the writer) gave her such a wonderful back story, I was amping myself up storming back and forth waiting for “Action” and I was looking over and saw the three baddies and I felt really super happy to get to jump into a series I felt so excited and decided that the only thing to do was to go for it. I went tearing into Three Finger it was so surreal and fun and I actually felt lost in the scene, I felt like Sally.
I didn’t feel like the “bad guy” I felt angry they took the kill from me I was defending my wants of the character, I wasn’t acting. I understood Sally. I wanted what she did which if that’s to eat humans & fuck your brother to further your family line well…that’s really fun as an actress because it means you’re actually taking a ridiculous premise seriously which is a super gift. So I enjoyed really caring about my character’s wants. By the way, that is the weirdest answer I’ve ever given. I apologize in advance.
How does it feel to be dubbed as a “Scream Queen”?
Everyone asks me this. I’m not sure how to take it. I think there are some actresses who have done one hundred films, all horror films and maybe they might deserve that more. I think it’s a nice thing to say if it makes people watch your film or like follow you on social media whatever. It’s a compliment either way. I’m involved in a (hush, hush) reality pilot about Scream Queens so I’ll take the title and run.
Are you drawn to horror movies or did this happen naturally?
I love a good scary movie. It’s popcorn entertainment and I like a good jump! Horror movies are wonderful for pushing an actor to the highest stakes which is so fun to play. Also truthfully, when you are starting out that’s what’s out there in indie films. The fan base of horror is incredibly kind and loyal. Which is crazy if you think about it. It’s like people who listen to Goth music normally are soft spoken and pretty mellow. I just read that people who have anxiety are drawn to horror films. Which makes sense because I think horror fans are so awesome. When people are going thru a lot they tend to come out the other side a little nicer to others. So once you do horror you keep doing horror. I’d be happy to do horror forever well…if they’ll have me.
What was it like to work opposite Michael Moon, who is notoriously known for acting in horror pieces?
I haven’t worked with Michael before he is also a stage actor and takes his craft seriously which is always nice. He’s very sensitive and has his own process which is perfect for the character. It’s always exciting to work opposite with another actor and see what buttons to push and get each other’s creative juices following. He’s a cutie too…so that never hurts.
In ‘ Hidden Treasure’, you’re credited as Buffy Green. Why did you go under this name for this particular film?
Ha. Well, I’m a Buffy The Vampire Slayer nerd. This is actually a late night Cinemax movie and everyone gave me a lot of crap for doing this movie so I asked them to list me under a different name. I think it’s so hilarious I got grief for the nudity in this film when half of cable Westworld, True Detective, Game of Thrones etc… has so much nudity the truth is I had 40 pages of dialogue and I shot two love scenes each love scene was shot in one take, each under twelve minutes. I’m not embarrassed. I’m still a super Buffy Fan.
You wrote ‘ Scorned’ based on a break up in your own life. Do you prefer to be in front of the camera or behind it?
I prefer to be anywhere close I can be to a camera! Although, I really love acting. I hate how insecure acting makes me. It makes me a vain creature who can’t eat bread and I love bread. Writing and directing is a different beast and doesn’t require me to count calories which is lovely but, my first love has always been acting. I hope one day it won’t be actually. That was a lot of honesty in one answer. Next question…
Thank you so very much for having me!
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