Death Of Me takes it its title very literally, when vacationing couple Christine (Maggie Q) and Neil Oliver (Luke Hemsworth) wake up with a video that shows one murdering the other. The horror film, which is out in theaters and available on VOD, takes place in Thailand and makes use of director Darren Lynn Bousman’s genre expertise.
Hemsworth spoke with Screen Rant about the experience of filming in Thailand and the process of making onscreen magic with costar Maggie Q.
Can you talk to me about the Neil and Christine relationship in the film?
Luke Hemsworth: Neil and Christine, I think it's a relationship that is probably on the way out maybe, or just lacking a little bit of pizzazz. I feel like they were together for a long time, they've been trying for kids and haven't had kids, and I think that has driven a wedge between them. And it's consequently opened up a whole world of hurt for her when everything kicks off the other direction again.
They still love each other, but they get in the way of each other a little bit, too.
This was shot in beautiful Thailand, if I'm not mistaken. How long were you there?
Luke Hemsworth: I think we were there for about four weeks, maybe a little bit less. It was a super quick, very ambitious schedule. There were lots of crazy days on location, and it was shot super quick. So it was a pretty grueling shoot, and without Maggie Q's inherent toughness and professionalism, I don't think we would have gotten there at all. She was just incredible.
The Thai people as well, were also so beautiful. Their English is far better than my Thai - I do like Mai Tais, though - and to their credit, they were able to do everything that we demanded of them with a smile on their face. So, it was pretty incredible. That said, there was a lot of language barriers shooting in another country and a lot of cultural differences, which obviously tend to impact a lot of scenes. You have to be very sensitive of that, but I really enjoyed it. Thailand was so beautiful.
When you first read this script, what was your initial reaction? Because even watching it, I couldn't imagine how it would feel to read it for the first time.
Luke Hemsworth: Yeah, it was great. I always find that if you get through a script in one sitting, it's a good sign. It usually takes a couple of reads for my filmic brain to turn on. I try to read it as an observer, as I would a book; very critical and trying to get those character feelings.
Then I went and met Darren Lynn Bousman, the director, and I just found him to be a very interesting guy. That was sort of what sealed the deal for me. I connected with him as a person and as a filmmaker. I really enjoyed working with him and bringing that vision together.
But I always feel it's hard on the first read; it takes a couple for me to really get a good grip on it. Even when you hear changes in the edits, I don't really know if there's ever a good answer. But you sort of go with your gut feeling, and I had a good feeling about this. It was stuff that I hadn't seen, and obviously Maggie was a big plus for me. Yeah, it was kind of a no brainer after that.
I've never seen anything like this film, in terms of how the curse plays out. Do you know if this is rooted in Thai history, was it created specifically for the film?
Luke Hemsworth: Yeah, I think it's a bit of both. I think there are some ritualistic elements which were definitely tied in, which are really Thai. I think they're quite a superstitious people, as well. Those elements are, I think, what lend credibility and make it feel real. If you were making those things up, it just doesn't have the flesh and doesn't have the depth.
I know Darren was very precise about what he included and what he made up, and what direction he gave. He was steeped in the occult, and has been for a long time. He would constantly be showing me creepy little pictures and stuff that he'd found or that he'd taken, to lend a mood to any given moment. It's all good stuff to draw from.
As Christine goes on her journey trying to discover things, where does Neil fit in?
Luke Hemsworth: I think what we come to realize is that nothing we're seeing is to be trusted. And that, in a lot of ways, they're constantly in this fugue state. If you pay attention, you'll see that there are little nods to what they're eating and what they're drinking, and that sort of goes a long way to explaining what's just happened to them.
I think, ultimately, he loves Christine and he's trying to do the right thing. But obviously, their journeys never seem to marry up. I think that was also an attractive part for me; the heroes are unconventional. Neil's a bit of an antihero, and we keep waiting for him to step up. Whether it's his own lack of ability or it's something to do with what the locals are doing to them, or substances he's taking, he's unable to capitalize and become what we all want him to be.
You both turned out phenomenal performances, but I've never seen Maggie Q in this type of role. Can you talk to me about working with her and what she brought to the role?
Luke Hemsworth: Oh, yeah. She's amazing. I had such a good time working with Maggie. We were allies, united against a common enemy. But she's opinionated, she's driven, she's a worker, she's fantastically talented. And I think that without her and without that anchor of her performance - there needed to be a quality of toughness to this character. She's not just getting batted around and blown by the wind; she actually has something to say, and she has the ability to fight for it.
And I think that's Maggie too. A lot of it is her force of will. I called her the force of nature, actually, while we were on there, because she just had the ability to turn that set around. When things weren't happening, she very quietly put her foot down and everything would start happening again, the way it needed to happen. And I could just stand by him and watch her and lend my full support, which was really cool. It was cool to watch her take control of that role.
Can you talk to me about the collaboration process of working with the director, and the vision he had for the character?
Luke Hemsworth: He was great, and we obviously went back and forth beforehand with a lot of ideas about who this character is - who Neil is and what drives him. He kind of just let me find Neil as we went along.
I think the glasses was a touch that I just thought of while flying there. I was sending him pictures in the airport, "What about these ones? What about these?" I was trying on Neil's glasses in the sunglasses store in the airport in Los Angeles. Something just seemed to fit, and that felt right. It was little bits and pieces like that, which he was very open to.
But then once we were there, we didn't really have time to experiment anymore. We were all business once we were shooting because the schedule was so tight. You just let go, and you have to trust that he knows what you're doing, and he has your interests at heart. But it was also stressful, as there's a bit of fear and uncertainty, which I think works for the film. We're a fish out of water, and I think sometimes on set it felt like that. Because obviously, I'm a stupid Australian loudmouth.
I know you made a cameo on Thor: Ragnarok. Have you ever thought about playing another superhero?
Luke Hemsworth: I would love to. I grew up with them. I learned to draw through comic books, copying comic books since I was about 10 years old. Spawn was a big one for; I really loved Todd McFarlane's Spawn. And then Batman - I would have fought Rob Pattinson for those gauntlets. And Wolverine! I'm like, "Come on, just pass them on, mare. Let's give it to another Aussie." I'll have to grow some chest hair, but I'm ready for Wolverine.