Sophie Thatcher wants to be more than a scream queen

If you’ve seen Sophie Thatcher in a movie or TV show, she’s probably been in, or around, distress. In the past year or so, the 24-year-old American actor has battled evil spirits in The Boogeyman, applied make-up to Mia Goth in MaXXXine, and fended off cannibals as the younger version of Juliette Lewis in Yellowjackets. Continuing the perception that she’s the new face of horror, Thatcher stars in Heretic, a darkly comic thriller from A24 about the perils of being a young woman isolated with an older man who won’t shut up.

Written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods (the duo who came up with A Quiet Place), Heretic is a talky, knowingly outrageous horror in which Thatcher plays Sister Barnes, a downbeat Mormon missionary with a traumatic past who’s paired with Sister Paxton (Chloe East from The Fabelmans), a sprightly newcomer with questions about everything, including Magnum condoms. Together, they knock on the door of Mr Reed (Hugh Grant in villain mode), a loquacious loner who resides in a creaky, isolated house with, apparently, his wife. The pair should obviously run away, but this is Grant, the heartthrob of your favourite 90s romcoms, and he’s wearing the most unthreatening cardigan possible.

Once Barnes and Paxton are inside, Mr Reed reveals himself to be the ultimate mansplainer, dominating the conversation with contemptuous screeds about religion, the overlap between Lana Del Rey’s “Get Free” and Radiohead’s “Creep”, and the throwaway fact that his guests can’t leave via the front door due to a timed lock. What’s even more compelling is Barnes and Paxton responding in silent dread, the pair subtly glancing at each other in their potential kidnapper’s presence while secretly plotting an escape. While Grant gets the best lines (partly through having most of them), it’s actually Thatcher and East who steal the show by conveying real, palpable terror, sometimes while barely moving a muscle.

Outside of being a scream queen, Thatcher starred in Pavement’s music video for “Harness Your Hopes” as the world’s biggest Pavement fan, but she’s also a musician herself with a growing discography. In fact, Thatcher gets the final word in Heretic by crooning a shoegaze-style Bob Dylan cover that gently reverberates over the end credits. In early November, I spoke to Thatcher about getting approval from her family to do Heretic, how Elliott Smith influenced her acting career, and why she’s ready to move on from the horror genre.

When I heard the cover of ‘Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door’ in the end credits, I thought it was Mazzy Star. But then I learned it was actually sung by you.

Sophie Thatcher: It works for the film because Hugh Grant talks about religion and iterations. Changing the time signature and adding that slide guitar made it sound exactly like Mazzy Star. But if you listen to them back to back, it’s the same chords.

Are you singing that in character as Sister Barnes, or as Sophie Thatcher?

Sophie Thatcher: They wanted me to sing in character, but I don’t think Barnes is musical at all. It’s too sultry for Barnes. It was more me. I remember getting notes from the directors, being like, ‘This is what you’re feeling right now. Blah blah blah… ’

Hugh kept us on our toes in the best way possible ... Sometimes actors don’t really give their all, or they give 20 per cent when the camera isn’t on them. But he was very giving

I’ve read a lot of interviews where you mention being obsessed with Elliott Smith, and only one where you refer to your Meisner training. Was it more helpful being an emo teen listening to Either/Or and From a Basement on the Hill than going to acting school?

Sophie Thatcher: I only had a couple of months of Meisner classes, so it didn’t fully stick with me. The biggest thing I took away was that the scene is dependent on the other person. You can’t be completely selfish. You have to be present and take it off the other person, which has helped me forever.

When I was 16 and in Prospect, I listened to Elliott Smith in between takes. Listening to him reminds me of being a child, and that centres me. He was the most formative part of my childhood. He taught me how to be sensitive and vulnerable. I would say I’ve stuck with him more than Meisner [laughs]. But they’re not comparable.

Heretic could be called From a Basement on the Hill.

Sophie Thatcher: That’s good, that’s good. It is on a hill, too.

If Meisner taught you how to be present and to react, was that useful for Heretic? Most of the film is you and Chloe East reacting to Hugh Grant.

Sophie Thatcher: Absolutely. It was a lot of reacting, and Hugh kept us on our toes in the best way possible. He was very present throughout each take, even when the camera wasn’t on him. Sometimes actors don’t really give their all, or they give 20 per cent when the camera isn’t on them. But he was very giving. Because so much of the library scene relies on feeling our claustrophobia and rising terror, he was good with keeping a consistent performance.

The Boogeyman has a lot of jump scares. In Heretic, you have to keep it together most of the time.

Sophie Thatcher: Yeah. There’s more building tension, and naturally, when you build that tension, and you force yourself not to cry – you’re like, ‘I can’t cry here’ – you want to cry, and it becomes more emotional. There were many layers of that. [demonstrates uncomfortable position] There was a lot of stiffness, and feeling uncomfortable, and tension in the neck as you’re trying to restrain yourself from crying.

It sounds like a specialty of yours. Whether it’s deliberate or not, you’ve become a horror person.

Sophie Thatcher: I seem to be good at it. I just saw an interview that came out, and there’s this funny picture of me, and then underneath it was: ‘I’m sick of seeing myself scared on camera.’ I was like, ‘Oh, man.’ I mean, I said that, and it’s true. But I feel like I have more to offer.

You see that in this movie. A good chunk of the movie is me with varying levels of fear, and I think I’m ready to move on from that to some extent. I’ve just done it so many times. Of course, with these characters, there are amazing arcs, where it starts with fear or grief, and then turns around. But I’m ready for people to see a different side of me.

A good chunk of the movie is me with varying levels of fear, and I think I’m ready to move on from that to some extent. I’ve just done it so many times ... 

Maybe you can play a Hugh Grant-style ‘baddie’.

Sophie Thatcher: You’ve really done your research. He kept being like ‘baddie’ [in interviews], and I don’t think he realises the connotations behind that. I haven’t said anything because I want him to keep saying it! I want him to keep calling himself a baddie.

I was talking about this, and feeling slightly frustrated. He asked me, ‘Have you ever played a film villain?’ I was like, ‘No, but I would love to. Or someone who has the upper hand for once.’

Do you audition for those kind of roles?

Sophie Thatcher: I don’t really get auditions. A lot of the offers I get now are for horror movies because people see I can do that, and they see me in that world. It’s kind of like a placebo effect. I’m trying to do something where I’m not entirely a victim.

You’re in Alex Ross Perry’s movie about Pavement, Pavements. So when that comes out, you can be pigeonholed as something else.

Sophie Thatcher: I know. I can just be cast as a Pavement fan!

Do you get recognised in public for your Pavement music video?

Sophie Thatcher: I was at a Pavement show in LA, and people were like, ‘You’re the girl from the video?’ A lot of people that like Yellowjackets will look me up and find the Pavement video and get into Pavement. It’s cool that there’s a much younger audience being brought in.

It’s so crazy to me that Pavement have had this reunion. They’re an amazing band, and I’m excited to see the movie. When you look back on their songs, they’re very theatrical, and the lyrics are so absurdist. They have such good melodies that really stick with you. They’re iconic. It’s nice to know that they will live on forever through every generation.

Have you seen the film?

I’m always covered in blood. I’m ready to not be covered in blood

Yes, it’s my favourite film I’ve seen this year. People laughed so much at the cinema.

Sophie Thatcher: I love Alex. He’s fucking amazing. I’m so thankful that he gave me that opportunity. I say this and I actually mean it: my boyfriend reached out to me when I posted that video. He was following me on Instagram, but I don’t think he ever would have reached out to me if I hadn’t posted that video. He’s obsessed with Pavement, and he was like, ‘Oh, wow.’ That put us together!

I know you grew up Mormon until you were 13, and you have a twin sister. Did that play a part in you wanting to do Heretic, or why they came to you?

Sophie Thatcher: I knew Scott and Bryan because they wrote The Boogeyman. Originally, I auditioned for Paxton, because I like being out of my comfort zone. But Barnes made a lot more sense.

I drew a lot from sister dynamics. I’m older than my twin, and we go back and forth in phases of our lives where I feel like the older sister and she feels like the older sister. But Sister Barnes and Sister Paxton aren’t really friends, and they’ve been grouped together. And me and my twin are inseparable, and know everything about each other.

Was it important that even though the film is quite cynical about religion, it’s also respectful of people’s beliefs?

Sophie Thatcher: Yeah, absolutely. That’s why I was fully open to it because it was a question of: will my entire family be offended? That’s the last thing I want to do because I love my mother’s family. Sending a script to her and asking her permission – not asking her permission, but, you know, I just wanted her to feel comfortable, because I know she still goes to the church, and I don’t want to mess up her community and family life and friend life.

It was heavy in that regard. But as soon as she read it, she was like, ‘You have to do it.’ My mother’s family is very open-minded. I felt lucky.

What’s it like watching yourself in, specifically, a horror movie?

Sophie Thatcher: I’m very used to it at this point. I’ve been lucky with the horror movies I’ve been cast in. There’s always a pity I feel for actors in a bad horror movie, because it’s emotionally and physically demanding. When you watch it, you’re like, ‘I went through a lot. I hope this pays off.’

I feel like every movie I’ve seen myself in, I’ve felt very satisfied. I’m sure I’ll feel a different satisfaction from different genres. It’s definitely my favourite genre. I don’t want to diminish it, and horror fans are so devoted and dedicated. But I feel ready – even just with interview stuff – I’m ready to talk about something else [laughs].

You mean stuff like being asked all the time about your favourite horror film?

Sophie Thatcher: Yeah, that. I mean, I’ve been talking about it forever – it’s 28 Days Later, and that was the movie that got me into movies. But I’m ready to learn something new about myself.

And you’ll get to have those horror conversations again when Companion comes out in two months’ time.

Sophie Thatcher: Well, Companion is more of a sci-fi thriller. It’s gory, as you can tell from the trailer, but it’s not horror in the way Heretic is. It felt different. But, again, at the end of the day, I’m always covered in blood. I’m ready to not be covered in blood.

Heretic is out in UK cinemas now