By DAKOTA DAHL
Even if you don’t know his name, you definitely know Lochlyn Munro’s face. Sure, some highfalutin college types will remind you that he was in Oscars favorite Unforgiven, but for the true connoisseur, he’ll always be remembered as Deputy Scott Stubbs in Freddy vs. Jason and Ryan Phillipe stand-in Greg in Scary Movie. Back in the horror genre with his new film INITIATION, Lochlyn was kind enough to take time out his awesomely busy schedule (more on that below) to tell us about his character, Bruce Van Horn.
What attracted you to the script of INITIATION?
I guess one thing is, I’m a fan of horror films, you know, growing up with the classics like Friday the 13th and all of those. There’s now many adding in the social media aspect, which is something that wasn’t around when I first started watching horror films. I thought John and Brian’s approach to the story was pretty interesting as well. I think they’re really, really cool young creative minds. I really enjoyed my days on set, collaborating to create Ben Horn, and I enjoyed really enjoyed collaborating with the other actors. They put together a really talented group of people to play these characters.
You’ve got a pretty impressive filmography of horror films, comedy films, and horror-comedy films. What do you think it takes to be a successful actor in these blended genres?
I love all genres as you know. I guess a lot of it is always sort of what the first thing you look for is story. I think that I’ve been very fortunate to be able to be able to crack all this. It actually took me quite a while. I think my first horror film was Freddy vs. Jason, so, that’s kind of interesting [with] the comedy aspect. I love doing comedy, but I also love when I get to read a script like The Shawshank Redemption, putting it down on my kitchen table or just going, “Oh my gosh.” It’s exciting for me to be able to get a chance to play all of those different types of stories and genres.
Did you have any inspirations that helped influence Bruce Van Horn?
Gosh, you know, I think what you do is you just try to create a good dimension, a little backstory. I think the thing with Van Horn is that he was trying to balance protecting his students and protecting the integrity of his school, maybe for different ulterior motives – making sure that there’s no problem with funding for his school. He’s trying to balance the business and the human side of the situation, and that’s sort of the approach I took. I think what was interesting is [that] it created a suspense that maybe Van Horn was part of the situation. You just try and find a little bit of backstory, and you try and find motive and, you know, you see what works.
Without giving too much away, what’s your favorite scene in INITIATION, and why?
Well, I don’t want to give away the scene. Working with my friend, Jon Huertas is always fun and exciting. Once people see the film, then they’ll be able to figure that one out!
As someone with children, how do you feel about your kids growing up in a world of social media and cyberbullying?
My gosh. That’s definitely a part of my kids’ world. It’s exciting and scary all at the same time. I find it very exciting, even for myself and my generation, to be able to have information at our fingertips. I put a lot of trust in my kids; my wife and I are very open to discussing things that they see or get involved in [on] social media. But I always try to count on my kids, especially with Instagram and Twitter, to not define themselves by their social media. Don’t define yourself by if someone clicks like or not. That’s sort of my biggest goal is that they don’t do that. And [that] they use their common sense on, you know, what is right and what is wrong. We just keep communication very open about so-called devices. You just try to be involved. You have to know what they’re doing, what they’re watching, and you know, but also give them a bit of freedom and let them know that you trust them.
What steps do you think society can take to combat issues like cyberbullying and slut-shaming?
Man, you know, what’s a really good question. I don’t really know. I think that people just need to step back, try to use some common sense, and understand, that the reality of the situation and the responsibility of it all. That’s a tough one. That’s a hard question to answer.
As always, what future projects can we look forward to seeing you in?
Well you know, right now, Dakota, I’m doing a really fun project for HBO MAX with James Gunn based on the John Cena’s character from the new Suicide Squad movie coming out in the summer.
Peacemaker?
Yeah. I started shooting that in January, and we will be finishing up in the second week in July. It’s just been awesome so far to work with a guy like James Gunn. Very, very collaborative, smart, funny, and creative. The cast he put together for this show is just amazing. So, Peacemaker comes out in January of 2022 I believe. I think that people who love the DC world is going to love this!
I look forward to seeing you in it. Am I allowed to publish those details?
Yeah, I believe so. I don’t think I gave too much away. Other than the fact that I just told everyone James Gunn is a genius, but, you know, would he mind that? I don’t think so!
INITIATION is available now in theaters, on VOD and Digital.
