Robin McLeavy Interview

Robin McLeavy, who plays the psychotic Lola in the excellent horror movie The Loved Ones , attended this year's Film Four Fright Fest in London to promote the film, and took time out to talk to Flash-Bang about the film. PLEASE BE WARNED - SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

FB: Robin, let me start by saying what a wonderful film The Loved Ones is.

Robyn: Thank you!

FB: So what brought you to the role? I know that you hadn’t done any “horror stuff” before…

Robyn: Yeah, Horror isn’t something that had ever jumped out at me as that I’d thought I’d ever do, but when I read the script it really jumped out at me, and I thought “wow, what a wonderful opportunity to play a psychopath!” it’s not every day you have the opportunity to play a young woman who’s that psychologically unhinged, while at the same time is in control of someone else, in a sense.

In doing the film…and watching other horrors such as Misery, to get a feel of what we were going for, gave me a better appreciation of Horror as a genre and all the artistry which goes into making a horror, which I hadn’t really considered before.

FB: It’s a very active, physical role…

Robyn: Yeah, it’s really kind of “hands-on”. In a sense, the violence is kind of Lola’s way of communicating with Brent and its almost a tool for intimacy in a way, which is kind of disturbing. But it’s the only way she knows how to get close to someone; she doesn’t have a vocabulary of intimacy other than that.

FB: Do you think that comes from her background – her relationship with her parents?

Robyn: yeah, definitely. Being raised in a home where your mother has had a frontal lobotomy, making her essentially a zombie, and being raised by a father who is, you know, training his daughter in torture techniques! A pretty interesting platform on which to raise a child! When that’s the norm, I guess it leaves an indelible mark and that’s the only way she knows how to function.

FB: there are two central relationships in the film – the relationship between Lola and her dad, which is all kinds of intense, and the battle of wills that develops between Lola and Brent…

Robyn: It’s funny because Xavier didn’t have hardly any dialogue for the entire film, so we really had to work on how he could communicate just by looking at me…yeah it’s like a silent battle of his will. Yeah it’s a fascinating scenario, having these two people trying to destroy that will and the pleasure that comes from that. And it does border on a strange, borderline-erotic link between the two of them.

FB: Lola is at that age where she’s “blossoming into womanhood” as it were, full of emotions and urges she doesn’t yet know how to control…

Robyn: And you can see that in the way she’s jealous of her mum, and her dad’s affection for her, and that she’s trying to drive a rift between them. I read some books on incest in preparing for the role, and the psychology behind it…it’s pretty messed up!

FB: It does add an extra dimension to the film. This isn’t just a bunch of crazies, they are all acting out of a kind of love for each other…

Robyn: And Lola is punishing all the boys who, in her eyes, don’t treat her right while her father has always given her everything she’s ever wanted as she’s his little princess…

FB: I understand the film is being shown tonight at Frightfest, will you be attending?

Robyn: Yes I will

FB: The one thing that struck me watching the review copy, was I wished I could have seen it with a proper audience…

Robyn: I know – I didn’t go to TIFF because I was doing a play, but I went to the Texas SXSW festival, and the audiences were just amazing, so vocal and so raucous, cheering and screaming, it was just fantastic.

FB: I can imagine the whole “drill sequence” is likely to get the audience on the edge of it’s seat…

Robyn: (Laughs) Definitely. And because all the tools they use are so domestic and commonplace…they probably go home and are eyeing their hand-drill in a new light.

FB: Anyone who’s had to drill a hole before can certainly…empathise…

Robyn: just one step away!

FB: It’s a great scene in the way it ramps up the tension…

R: It just gets worse and worse!

FB: How did you find the end of the film, where you’re having to crawl along the road?

Robyn: you know, that was really uncomfortable. I started with no protection on my knees or elbows, and I’d crawl a few inches, and I had to cover about 20 meters of ground, and it was really rough asphalt. The ended up putting some quite thin bandages on my knees and covering it in blood, but it was still really painful! I was at the end of my tether by the end of the scene. All that grunting and groaning wasn’t acting – that was for real!

FB: So how was the experience of making The Loved Ones for you overall? Would you consider tackling a role as physical as Lola in the future?

Robyn: I actually love doing fight sequences. I’m a secret martial arts film fan, so I wish I could be as athletic and dynamic like Jackie Chan or Bruce Lee… fight sequences can look so magic on film and to watch. As far as other roles, the next role I want to do won’t be a horror, just because I kind of like to do the opposite of what I’ve just done – I don’t want to be pegged for the “crazy” roles all the time. I did just finish playing a nun in a play, so I’ve kind of levelled out my…I’ve repented my sins!

Many thanks to Robin for her time. The Loved Ones is released in the UK on 4th October by Optimum Releasing.

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