THE DARK AND THE WICKED star Michael Abbott Jr. on finding the humanity in the horror

The Dark and the Wicked is hands down one of the most terrifying horror films in recent memory. Written and directed by Bryan Bertino (The Strangers) and shot at his family’s home, the film stars Michael Abbot Jr. as Michael and Marin Ireland as Louise, a pair of estranged siblings who return to their family’s secluded farm to help care for their dying father (Michael Zagst).

Once they settle in, it quickly becomes apparent that something very wrong is transpiring within their family home. Their mother seems to be speaking to an invisible presence and is convinced an entity is trying to steal her husband’s soul. As violent acts begin to take hold of their mother and surreal incidents begin to swirl around the family, Michael and Louise have to band together to combat the insidious evil trying to tear their family apart.

Bertino manages to strike at our deepest fears with The Dark and the Wicked and then proceeds to push those fears to the breaking point. As unnerving and brutal as the film is, it’s balanced by the incredibly human relationship between Michael and Louise, two individualistic siblings forced to come together in the face of unimaginable terrors.

We caught up with the extremely affable Michael Abbott Jr. to discuss what drew him to The Dark and the Wicked given his fear of horror movies, the happy accidents that occurred on-set, his role in the incredibly strange and moving The Death of Dick Long, and much more.

The Dark and the Wicked is streaming now on Shudder.

Bad Feeling Magazine: You’ve mentioned in interviews that you’re not necessarily the biggest horror movie fan because they scare so much. As someone who watched a lot of horror movies, I think The Dark and the Wicked is probably one of the most terrifying films I’ve seen in the last couple of years. What initially drew you to this project?

Michael Abbott Jr.: Yes, it’s true, I have never really been a huge fan of horror, for no other reason than they really scare me, I have enough of my own fear and anxiety as a normal person that to add horror and gore on top of it, and then go to bed at night, just doesn’t serve me well as an individual. [Laughs] But, you know, I think I’ve always kind of misconstrued the idea of horror. Also, I think my idea of horror up until now had kind of been, you know, a woman in a nightgown running through the woods in the dark being chased by a man with a machete, which I’m sure has been done millions of times. But I was never really drawn to being a part of something like that.

And then when I read the script for The Dark and the Wicked, the things that really drew me in were the fact that aside from it having horror elements and psychological thriller elements, stripping those away, it read to me as a family drama. That’s one thing that really kind of drew me in, and the fact that these characters, specifically Michael and Louise, in dealing with grief and loss and isolation, I felt like these were people that the audience would be able to connect to very personally, and almost be able to see themselves living the experiences that Michael and Louise were living on-screen.

So that was exciting for me, because, you know, I always want to tell a good story, I want to tell a good captivating story. And I obviously want the audience to feel some type of connection with the character that I’m playing. And I thought this was an opportunity to do that, and to be able to do it with a master of the horror genre, Bryan Bertino, I would have been ignorant to turn down the opportunity.

Speaking of Bryan Bertino, what was the process like filming this at his family home? That kind of connection must have added a personal spin to the project for everyone involved.

100%. Yeah, he grew up on this farm and his family still lives there. And I think because of that, he had written the script on the property. And so that was a very personal connection for him. He had been sitting with the story for so long that he knew exactly what he wanted to see in every shot. So, I think in terms of the production, I think it saved us a lot of time. Because he knew exactly what he wanted to see. And once he was able to capture what he wanted to see, we were able to move on and he would offer Marin and I the opportunity to have a couple of takes doing whatever it was that we wanted to do.

So, in those moments of improvisation or exploration, I think a lot of exciting, happy accidents were created, which you know, as an actor, that kind of doesn’t happen very often. So when it does, it means a lot, you feel like you’re really being able to bring something to the table and be a part of the creative process in a way that you wouldn’t necessarily always get to be. So that made it very personal for us.

Your character is pretty stoic, especially at the beginning of the film, and then he’s thrust into this madness. Is that sort of restraint more of a challenge as an actor, because you really can’t go all out? It’s not in Michael’s character.

Right. It is very challenging. And I think [with] The Death of Dick Long, I think that was about the only similarity of those two characters is that, you know, small, Southern town gentlemen tend to not wear their emotions on their sleeve. And so there is some restraint there, just being a product of that environment, that I think that they carry… you know, Michael is a family man, and is a product of growing up on this farm. And though he doesn’t live there anymore, he still lives a very connected to the earth type of existence. You know, Michael is probably the type of guy that if a tree falls in your backyard, you probably call your friend Michael to come and chop it up, you know, he’s gonna have the best chainsaw, the pickup truck to load it into and get it out of there for you.

And that’s not to say that, you know, someone who is stoic doesn’t react to the circumstances that they’re thrust upon. And I think, certainly, with both of the characters, I think Louise is obviously put through the wringer a lot harder than Michael is throughout the course of the film. But I think you certainly see an arc for both characters, for sure. To the point where I think it obviously becomes too much for Michael, and he tries to get out of there as quickly as he can, in hopes that he can save his sister as well. But not to the point where he’s willing to risk his own well-being or the well-being of his family in order to save her, which I think speaks to the relationship that this family has as a whole.

One of the elements that make the film so unsettling is that you don’t get a lot of backstory about what this entity is or what’s happening. And that fear really allows the audience to build it up in their own minds. When you were working with Bryan, did you ask about any of this backstory? Did he want to provide any sort of context behind what’s happening on the farm?

You know, I think the conversations that we had with Bryan, I think the family relationships were what meant the most to us as actors. And kind of were the most helpful in terms of leading us through the story. So I think we spent a lot of time dealing with relationships, and what the dynamic of this family was. And there was — I don’t think we talked as much about what it was that was actually taking over at this house.

But everything you see on-screen was written on the paper. So he was very specific about what he wanted. And, you know, so much of the things that you see on-screen we obviously didn’t see as the actors. Now, there were some distracting scenes, granted, but we were able to focus in on what we felt was most important, which was the relationship and the family dynamics.

The Death of Dick Long is an incredible movie — what was your thought process the first time you were pitched the idea or approached for that film?

I didn’t get a pitch before. Before I read the script, no one pitched it to me. And I’m so glad that they didn’t. I’m not sure what kind of pitch I would have heard for that film and been like, “That sounds like a good idea to jump into that.” But when I read the script, it really read to me like a love story, a man who obviously had some very deep, dark secrets. But what stood out to me was the fact that this man cared very deeply for his family, loved his daughter more than anything in the world, and was willing to do just about anything to save that, to save his family and to keep his family together.

And [it was] a love story with his family, not only with his family but with his best friend Earl. You know, another very relationship-driven story. That film is very special to me. The process of shooting that film, the production of that film, was very exciting and very special to me. When it all came down to it, we had a fantastic premiere at Sundance, you know, the feedback was incredible.

I think that there is certainly a cult following for the film and hopefully over the years that will continue to grow and new people will continue to find it and experience it. But I think it’s a great story. Aside from the weird things that happen, if you really strip those things away, it’s a love story, [between] a guy and his family.

The Dark and the Wicked is streaming now on Shudder.