When Film Found Footage Found New Faces
When the Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin trailer dropped, the anticipation did come with a hint of intrigue; who are these lesser-known actors taking on roles of what was once a horror culture phenomenon? This film was not just another addition; it was a reboot, splitting from the suburban hauntings of the previous films, and instead diving into an Amish community with secrets deeper than folklore. New actors, and a new mythos; a film made during the pandemic, became a turning point, not just for the franchise, but for the new cast who shaped for themselves a new legacy through the film.
A Story That hid Its Frights in Silence
A film with roots in true original horror, ‘Next of Kin’ takes us on an adventure with Margo, who, with her companions, tries to learn more about her family history in an isolated Amish town, where she comes to discover that isolation has its own terror. The film mirrors classic ‘Paranormal Activity’ with creepy shadowed night scenes, unexplained rituals, and whispers of rituals, but it stretches beyond ‘Paranormal Activity’ to true atmospheric horror, using silence, dimly lit jumping barns, and rural spookiness of the knowing silence of rural spaces to master the film.
Many employees and actors had the story in their workshops during COVID, and so their vision was to film it during their time during the pandemic. “The story hid its frights in silence” means that the frights that were masterfully used in the barn and the horror used dimly lit candle barns were frights that were masterfully tuned and pinpointed to silence. The Silence in rural spaces is an extra added horror. Many of the story and the vision of the film where true to the actors. Especially, Margo, played by Emily Bader, and her character, the self portrayed actress, seemed to fit perfectly during her time in the earth, having too, lost her sense of belonging having searched for an identity and wanting to perform her piece, a character in the movie. Of course, she did so while confronting her fear, which resulted in an astounding piece of art.
Actors Shifting Professions
While playing the role of Chris, Roland Buck III, encumbered by the duality of both the film and his work history, reflected on his career as an odd analogy. He was known previously as a Chicago Med actor and was attempting to find roles that would allow him to branch out of the medical drama genre. In this film, he was the emotional anchor, the friend that jokes during the danger and is the audience voice in the chaos. However, Buck was in the middle of another career oddity at the time, moving to a new genre and proving he was more than his previous work. Horror offered him a different palette to work with.
As for Dan Lippert, he was coming from a completely different area of performance, comedy. He had the task of attempting to combine comedy and horror simultaneously, which is quite a feat as he was Dale, the cameraman. He provides a good and necessary relief in a film that is overall quite heavy, and he was also expected to terrorize the audience with his performance. This role shifted a lot of the expected boundaries in his own work and overall, he had a more serious role than people expected. This role, he was not as a stereotypical comedian, and new opportunities opened up for him.
Having released the film, the three stars noticed the new tag on their resumes in horror, blessings, or curses, depending on the perspective, and as some directors began casting them in the genre, others in the more prestigious roles in serious drama. Classic film and television casting in Hollywood, or “typecasting,” is usually a two-edge sword, and with “Next of Kin,” they were left with the more positive edge.
What Happened When the Cameras Stop Rolling
The film was shot during one of the most emotionally challenging experiences of our lifetimes, the global pandemic. Because of the strict quarantine zones, both the cast and crew were isolated on self-contained sets, forging cast members unusual bonding experiences. In the absence of the normal external socializing options, cast members supported one another with performance energizing and emotional scaffolding.
This was the experience of Emily Bader, one of the cast members. Bader has stated the isolation imposed by the gears made the isolation they experienced as cast members during the shoot seem more real. Some crew members became onscreen as the silences of the shooting location, particularly the rural ones, were so uncomfortable. The cinematographers were none the wiser to of a host of peculiar, unidentifiable sounds in the fields of an unnamed animals.
Once, during a late-night shooting, a lighting rig malfunction, prompting a complete set blackout. Given the location, even the more seasoned crew members were surprised. The director jokingly said that the set accidents would account for the best scares. Still, items were shaken during this moment on set.
More script changes happened, more than the fans would realize. This rural ambiance brought about scene improvisations and changes to the shooting script as the action that played out in the real life setting were variable to the fictional scenes. The unpredictability was slightly enhanced by the rural setting and it did add to the ambiance for the found footage.
Aftermath: Fame, Fear, and New Beginnings
When the movie became available on streaming platforms, the public reaction garnered a mixture of curiosity and controversy. Some fans applauded the franchise for trying to reinvent itself, while others were more inclined to standard Paranormal Activity scares. Fundamentally, nearly everybody had the same opinion: the acting was commendable.
For her, the film was an enormous career catalyst. Before the film, casting agents would overlook her, but leading a major horror reboot brought her to the limelight. Subsequently, she was in several other projects, gaining the considerable momentum she had for a long time been seeking.
Roland Buck III was able to build upon his success due to the internet’s expansion. He received praise and critique from internet users analyzing his scenes. They began advocating for him to portray various characters in forthcoming sequels. He was embraced by the internet as a part of the horror film subculture, which, although small, is a very passionate community.
Dan Lippert was also able to maintain his versatility and newly acquired horror film credibility by securing a part in Next of Kin, which showcased his ability to act in a film from a darker genre.
There is a lot of history and intricacies in the production of films that not a lot of people are aware of.
Not many people know that the film’s barn was genuinely very old, to the point where parts of it were destabilized. The team had to add supports to certain areas of the structure before filming inside. Even after those supports were added, the structure was very creaky.
While filming a particular scene, the crew noted a sudden, inexplicable drop in temperature that was odd given the controlled conditions. The director attributed it to airflow from the barn’s open sections, but some cast members continue to joke about it, referring to it as “the night the barn breathed.”
There were also changes in the cast early in the development of the film. Due to travel restrictions, some of the actors originally attached to the film had to drop out, resulting in some last-minute replacements. Part of the reason the final trio of Bader, Buck, and Lippert were selected is because they were able to adapt to the demands of production in a pandemic.