Connect with us

News

Sylvia Hoeks Talks Creating Queen Kane in ‘See’ on AppleTV+

Published

on

See Sylvia Hoeks

If you’ve had the pleasure of watching AppleTV+’s series See, and if you haven’t you really should, you will no doubt have become quite familiar by now with Queen Kane played by Dutch actress Sylvia Hoeks. Sometimes unbalanced but always intriguing, she is a character fit to rival Cersei Lannister from Game of Thrones with her ecstatic belief in the rightness of her reign.

See is set in a dystopian future where sight is no longer the norm, and further, the ability to see is considered evil and the product of witchcraft. In the first episode, two children are born with sight, and their mother (Hera Hilmar) and adoptive father (Jason Momoa) soon find themselves on the run with their entire clan in an attempt to save the children from Queen Kane and her Witchfinder General Timacti Jun (Christian Camargo).

It is a brilliant story, as brutal as it is beautiful.

I had the opportunity to speak with Hoeks about how she became involved in the project, and the process she underwent for bringing Queen Kane to life.

**This interview contains some spoilers below this line**

As so often happens today, it began with a self-taped audition after Hoeks was contacted by series creator Steven Knight. As she began to dig into the sides that were sent to her, she felt an instant connection to the character.

“I really loved what I read of the queen and this intriguing new world,” Hoeks explained. “I had quite an idea already about how I wanted to pursue the role if I got it. I really wanted to make it weird and awkward and a bit crazy.”

That included going to director Francis Lawrence (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire) and explaining that she wanted to shave her head. Lawrence agreed and slowly her inner thoughts and ideas began to form Queen Kane on set.

This also included developing a peculiar and intriguing cadence to her speech giving it a lilting sing-song type quality that, among other things, leaves the listener off-balance, unsure of what her motives or intentions are from time to time.

“I though of Lou Reed and some of his interviews that I had watched,” the actress said laughing. “He toyed with the journalists during those interviews. He was definitely under the influence of a lot of things but he does it in a way so that he sounds a bit crazy but in a way that’s very intriguing. It’s almost like a cat who is playing with a mouse so I tend to take it from there. Queen Kane uses her voice to play with her mice.”

That is, essentially, one of things so fascinating about Queen Kane. You’re really never sure what she is thinking, but you know, without doubt, that she is the Queen. Moreover, she says it was an amazing experience to play a role written for a woman in power who didn’t depend on her body or sex to hold onto her throne.

“She handles herself in different ways. She doesn’t rely on sex or her charm but instead her wits,” Hoeks said. “She believes in what she believes in and she does what she does and she doesn’t care what you think. If she were wrong, her whole world would fall apart. She stands on a cliff and she needs to keep standing.”

This especially became important when, late in the season, it was revealed that Hilmar’s character Maghra was actually her sister and had a claim to the throne. It brought an unexpected but exciting dynamic to the series finale, but also gave fans something to look forward to in the second season.

It’s something that Hoeks is looking forward to, as well.

“I think that we both, as strong women, can be in each other’s way a lot which will be funny,” she aid. “But they can also learn from each other. I’m already excited about playing it.”

I must admit I’m looking forward to seeing that play out myself.

You can watch all of season one of See on AppleTV+. Be sure to check out the series and Sylvia Hoeks brilliant performance as Queen Kane!

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

News

Brad Dourif Says He’s Retiring Except For One Important Role

Published

on

Brad Dourif has been doing movies for nearly 50 years. Now it seems he is walking away from the industry at 74 to enjoy his golden years. Except, there is a caveat.

Recently, digital entertainment publication JoBlo’s Tyler Nichols talked to some of the Chucky television series cast members. During the interview, Dourif made an announcement.

“Dourif said that he’s retired from acting,” says Nichols. “The only reason he came back for the show was because of his daughter Fiona and he considers Chucky creator Don Mancini to be family. But for non-Chucky stuff, he considers himself retired.”

Dourif has voiced the possessed doll since 1988 (minus the 2019 reboot). The original movie “Child’s Play” has become such a cult classic it’s at the top of some people’s best chillers of all time. Chucky himself is ingrained in pop culture history much like Frankenstein or Jason Voorhees.

While Dourif may be known for his famous voiceover, he is also an Oscar-nominated actor for his part in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Another famous horror role is The Gemini Killer in William Peter Blatty’s Exorcist III. And who can forget Betazoid Lon Suder in Star Trek: Voyager?

The good news is that Don Mancini is already pitching a concept for season four of Chucky which might also include a feature-length movie with a series tie-in. So, Although Dourif says he is retiring from the industry, ironically he is Chucky’s friend till the end.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading

Editorial

7 Great ‘Scream’ Fan Films & Shorts Worth a Watch

Published

on

The Scream franchise is such an iconic series, that many budding filmmakers take inspiration from it and make their own sequels or, at least, build upon the original universe created by screenwriter Kevin Williamson. YouTube is the perfect medium to showcase these talents (and budgets) with fan-made homages with their own personal twists.

The great thing about Ghostface is that he can appear anywhere, in any town, he just needs the signature mask, knife, and unhinged motive. Thanks to Fair Use laws it’s possible to expand upon Wes Craven’s creation by simply getting a group of young adults together and killing them off one by one. Oh, and don’t forget the twist. You’ll notice that Roger Jackson’s famous Ghostface voice is uncanny valley, but you get the gist.

We have gathered five fan films/shorts related to Scream that we thought were pretty good. Although they can’t possibly match the beats of a $33 million blockbuster, they get by on what they have. But who needs money? If you’re talented and motivated anything is possible as proven by these filmmakers who are well on their way to the big leagues.

Take a look at the below films and let us know what you think. And while you’re at it, leave these young filmmakers a thumbs up, or leave them a comment to encourage them to create more films. Besides, where else are you going to see Ghostface vs. a Katana all set to a hip-hop soundtrack?

Scream Live (2023)

Scream Live

Ghostface (2021)

Ghostface

Ghost Face (2023)

Ghost Face

Don’t Scream (2022)

Don’t Scream

Scream: A Fan Film (2023)

Scream: A Fan Film

The Scream (2023)

The Scream

A Scream Fan Film (2023)

A Scream Fan Film
Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading

Movies

Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

Published

on

Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading