Scout Taylor Compton Interview, Halloween 2

MoviesOnline sat down recently to talk with Scout Taylor Compton about returning to the role of Laurie Strode in Rob Zombie’s Halloween II. The film picks up at the exact moment that 2007’s box office smash, Halloween, stopped and follows the aftermath of Michael Myers’s (Tyler Mane) murderous rampage through the eyes of heroine Laurie Strode who is now a seriously damaged person.

When writing Halloween II, Zombie found that his story evolved from his examination of Laurie Strode’s fractured state of mind. Zombie argues that the character was at her most engaging and complex at the end of Halloween, when she was “messed up, covered in blood and holding a gun.” Zombie used his main character’s diminishing control over her sanity as an opportunity to ratchet up the tension. In Halloween II, Laurie’s arc takes her into her own sense of madness.

Here’s what Scout Taylor Compton had to tell us about playing the traumatized Laurie Strode and slowly becoming unglued in “Halloween II”:

Q: How relieved were you when this was over that you wouldn't have to be covered with blood?

Scout: (laughs) It never goes away. I thought, when I did the first one, it was going to go away and here I am again.

Q: How hard was it to stay in the terrified zone? Do you take that intensity home at night?

Scout: Oh no. If I took it home, I'd be the most oppressive person ever.  I'm really easy at just going with it then cutting it off. There was one time. There was an incident with Danielle.  We were doing this really emotional scene and I couldn't get out of it and I ran downstairs and I was crying.  I was bawling and I couldn't get out of it.  That was the first time that's ever happened to me and I ran up to Tyler (Mane) and I was crying in front of him.  I was like 'I can't do this.  I can't do this with her.  It's so hard.  Oh my God, I can't get out of it.  Help me. Help me.’ He just looked down at me and was like 'I need a van.  I need to get out of here.'  Just to kind of help me. It was funny. But that was the one time I couldn't get out of it.  It was hard.

Q: You are constantly screaming. It's such a relentless role.  Did you have any reservations about coming back and doing it again?

Scout: No, because the first experience was wonderful.  It was great and I was comfortable. Rob never pushed me further than I could handle. This one, I had to go up to him. We were in the rain for like eight hours, like ten rain machines at midnight and it was freezing cold and I was just wearing a nightgown and I had to go up to him at like seven o'clock in the morning and go 'I can't do it anymore, Rob.  My body is so numb, I can't.'  And he said 'Okay, dude. We're done.' It's good that you can go up to a director and tell him you're not comfortable.

Q: What are the weaknesses and strengths of the modern Laurie Strode?

Scout: We're completely different from the original Laurie Strode and I think that's what shows in this one. In this one, she's tougher and more vulnerable and kind of messed up and I guess that's kind of a weakness because she's not the strong, strong Laurie Strode anymore, the bookwormish girl.  She's kind of fallen apart.  I guess that's a big weakness, but she's still strong and definitely a survivor, but you can see that it's taken a toll on her. You can see that in the way she acts, the way she looks, the way she portrays herself. It's taken a toll.

Q: What was it about her character in this movie that really resonated with you?

Scout:  I guess where it led to. I know the original Halloween franchise, Laurie just kind of stayed the same throughout the whole entire thing.  That's why I loved Rob's take on it.  She changed and she realistically changed the way someone would and it's something I created. My Laurie that I could create and it was my job.  It was all in my hands.

Q: Did you, Danielle and Brea know each other or meet on this and hang out because you are friends in the film.

Scout: I knew Danielle from the first one. We hung out all the time on the first one.  She's kind of like my older sister because she's been through a lot in this acting business so I can go to her for advice, and with Brea and Angela, we had to hang out in Georgia on the set to create that bond.  We went vintage shopping and did as much as we could in Georgia. We were in Walmart a lot.  We got looks there.  I got looks.  I was like 'Am I that different? You've had Rob in this store and Malcolm in this store.' I heard that Malcolm went on his first Walmart trip in Georgia.  He's like 'I bloody hated it!' 'I go to Walmart all the time, Malcolm.  It's not that bad.’

Q: Do you have the Little Mermaid tattooed on your wrist?

Scout: Yeah. I do.  She's been there for me ever since I was like a baby.  It's a real one.

Q: Don't you have to cover it up for films?

Scout:  That's why I got it here (left wrist) because when I did Halloween, it covers really easily and when I did Runaways, they just put a bracelet over it.

Q: Tell us about Runaways.

Scout:  It was great.  It was a fun experience. I auditioned for it like a year ago for Joan Jett and they offered it to Kristen Stewart who is amazing.  She's an amazing girl all around.  Then I went out for the drummer because I play drums but that just didn't fit.  I tried my hardest to get it and then they offered me the bass player which I don't play bass so I had to pick that up. Then they come up to me and they're like 'You look like Lita Ford.  You act like Lita Ford.  Will you be Lita Ford?' 'Are you serious? Lead guitarist in two weeks? Okay, cool.'  I'm not gonna turn that down so I just worked really, really hard.  All of us girls worked really, really hard.  We had band practice. We hung out after set and just kind of worked the scenes.  It was really nice because I felt like I was in a real band and I really miss it.  I really do because I miss performing and getting with my girls.

Q: What is Lita like?

Scout:  Lita is wild.  She's very wild. She's a very determined girl. She was the one who was really focused on the work rather than the fans and the praise.  She was the one who was really dedicated to her work and she was very stubborn and sometimes, she had a tough side and all the girls knew that.  She was a tough girl so it was pretty interesting.  Totally opposite from Laurie Strode, playing the tough girl that was in control.  Yeah, Lita was definitely a fun character to play.

Q: Are you thinking about doing your own rock and roll album?

Scout:  Yeah.  I've been thinking about that a lot lately, especially because I learned guitar and I love writing and I love the whole music scene and I love just having band practice. So, yeah, I've actually been thinking about forming a band.

Q: Could Rob help?

Scout:  Yeah!  Hey, Rob! Forgot to tell you...

Q: What was working with Rob like? Was there any levity on the set?

Scout:  I can't describe him in one word.  I honestly can't.  He's an amazing, amazing director and he is an amazing person.  Working with him, I just felt so comfortable being around him, especially in the emotional scenes.  I feel like I can voice my opinion and he'll actually listen to me rather than most directors.  I'm twenty.  He's been in this world longer than me.  Most directors will be like 'I know what I'm talking about, little girl, step aside.' Not Rob.  I feel equal to him and we just kind of get each other.  We really do and there's a trust that we have for each other.  That's very rare to find between an actor and a director. Usually, actors think they're above directors and directors think they're above actors. It's not like that at all between me and Rob.  And, on the set, especially doing the emotional stuff, he was very understanding.  He would make sure that I was comfortable with what I was doing and leave me alone.  It was nice, because he worked with me the first time so he knew 'Oh, you're going to be in the corner crying before we roll? I get that. Scout, were you preparing?  I'm used to that.'  So, we're like used to each other so it was good.

Q: The dialogue between you girls sounds natural and real. Was any of that ad-libbed?

Scout: Yeah, all the stuff at the Bands and Jam was all us so you kind of know what we're like at parties. My dancing is completely like that too.

Q: What did you think of the Rocky Horror outfit you wore?

Scout: Amazing, it was great the first week.  Then I was like 'Oh, I have to put everything on together and the wig and eyelashes, okay great.' I'm over it.

Q: Was there a scene that we would think is absolutely horrific that was actually fun to shoot?

Scout: Oh, a lot of it. A lot of it was just really fun. I know it's supposed to be scary but we laughed a lot on set.  When we're doing something really intense, Rob has his i-phone and he's blasting "Runaways".  That's when I was auditioning for Runaways so he was setting the mood.  Or he's blasting rap, old school rap.  It's nice.  I was screaming and crying and when it's done there's some rap to listen to over by video village.

Q: Were you hurt making the film?

Scout:  I got a lot of bruises during this one.  The ending scene when I'm in the ward, all those bruises on my leg were real. It was awful.  My body was aching so much but hey, that's what you get for wearing a dress and running away from a mass murderer.

Q: What is Tyler really like?

Scout: He's very intimidating and makes you feel really small. No, he's a teddy bear.  Don't tell him I said that because he got really pissed off the last time I said that, but he's a really gentle person.  He really is.  I roomed with him and his wife and his kids for the last week. I kind of felt like his daughter.  'Hi dad.  Good morning.  How are you? You're grumpy.  Okay.  Are you ready for work?  I'll see you on set.' It was good.  We would see each other in the morning, at night, in between.  It was great.

Q: Why do you think teens and 20-somethings just flock to horror films?

Scout: Everybody loves to be scared. Everybody likes to rebel against their parents.  Especially me, with the horror movies, my parents were like 'No.' Well, not my parents.  My parents were totally for it but a lot of my friends' parents were like ‘No.’  You cannot see that.  It's nudity.  It's killing.  It's a really bad movie'. But it makes you feel so good.  You feel like you're rebelling. Plus, I like to get scared.  That's always fun.

Q: So you liked horror films when you were eight and nine?

Scout: Loved them.  Really loved them.  My dad's a mortician so I grew up in the real scene.  Forget horror movies.  But I loved them and my mom loves horror movies so I was raised watching them and I have a bunch of skulls and a Chucky (doll) and Freddie.  Seriously, if you were to go to my house, you would probably get freaked out.

Q: What was your favorite horror film when you were growing up?

Scout: Honestly, I was a fan of Chucky. I am obsessed. 

Q: You were working with Brad (Dourif) who was the voice.

Scout: I know. How awful is this?  I didn't know that Brad did the voice of Chucky while filming the first Halloween then someone told me at the premiere and I was like 'Ooooo. No way!' I was goo goo eyed.

Q: So did you have a discussion about Chucky on this film?

Scout:  No. But he did say that he would sign a Chucky doll of mine which is great. I'm going to bring that tonight.

Q: Did he do the voice for you?

Scout: No. I cannot do that.  That doll scares me. You have no idea.  I'm terrified.

Q: What music are you into?

Scout:  I like Alpine Trio.  I love soft rock, hard rock, old rock, Blondie. Actually Rob gave me a couple of Blondie records. I like Madonna.  Right now, on the Runaways set with my best friend Michael, we are obsessed with Miley Cyrus, "Party in the USA". (laughs). It's good dance stuff.  Me, Kristen, Dakota and my best friend, we're obsessed with that song. That's my little downfall but mostly rock, yeah.

“Halloween II” opens in theaters on August 28th.