For someone who doesn’t like watching horror movies, Gillian Jacobs sure is in a lot of them! In fact, in just one year she’s adding four horror titles to the filmography. There’s Come Play which dropped back in October of 2020 and now she's got the three Fear Street movies hitting Netflix.
Leigh Janiak’s Fear Street trilogy puts the focus on the rivalry between the towns of Shadyside and Sunnyvale. Sunnyvalers are living the good life in a town of prosperity and zero crime. Meanwhile, just 30 minutes away, the Shadysiders seem doomed in every sense, especially when you factor in the town’s history of birthing serial killers.
In celebration of the launch of the first Fear Street film, Fear Street 1994, I got the chance to chat with Jacobs and co-star Darrell Britt-Gibson and it turned out to be a very special moment for Britt-Gibson. This is when he first got to learn about the horror delight that is Bad Milo.
Here’s what Jacobs said when asked what she looks for in a horror script as someone who’d rather not watch horror films. (And yes, I might have name dropped Bad Milo in the process).
“I think it has to feel slightly different from what I’ve done in the past, so this is very different from Bad Milo … a character that feels like a challenge or distinct in some way. I’m gonna have to explain Bad Milo to them. [Laughs] And also something that feels different in terms of the character and different slightly in terms of the genre. That’s what I’m looking for.”
Then the time came. Britt-Gibson insisted on getting a Bad Milo description and Jacobs delivered:
“It’s a monster that comes out of my husband’s butt and kills people that are messing with him.”
From there we actually managed to pull it together and highlight the fact that Britt-Gibson has had the opportunity to work with a slew of incredible directors over the years. There’s Judas and the Black Messiah director Shaka King, Just Mercy’s Destin Daniel Cretton and Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri’s Martin McDonagh, just to name a few. And now, on top of that, he’s adding Fear Street director Leigh Janiak to the list. They're all directors with unique styles and approaches to their work, but Britt-Gibson did highlight one invaluable trait they all share:
“I have been so blessed to work with the directors I have, but the shared trait is that they create a community. They really are about everybody having a voice … It feels like you’re a part of a team and they’re so incredible. I don’t know how I got so lucky. Every one of them that you’re speaking of is truly a big part of my life now, and Leigh is no exception to that because she’s just phenomenal. I would tell any actor who’s watching this, if you get the opportunity to work with her, run towards it.”
Be sure to catch Jacobs and Britt-Gibson in Fear Street on Netflix beginning with Fear Street 1994, which is available right now. You will have to wait until Friday, July 9th to catch the next installment, Fear Street 1978, but do you know what’d be a great way to pass the time? Watching Bad Milo! In all seriousness, that movie is a wacky genre delight that’s available to stream on Prime Video.