Geek Vibes Interview With Jonathan Tufvesson Talking ‘THEY TALK’

In the new horror release THEY TALK, sound engineer Alex accidentally records sinister voices while shooting a documentary. The voices do not sound human, and they appear to be trying to warn him about someone, or something. His search for their meaning will bring back mysterious people and events from his past. A threatening, black, and gloomy wave starts to haunt him.

We spoke to star Jonathan Tufvesson about getting involved in this contemporary BLOW-OUT.

GVN: Where are you writing from, sir?

Jonathan: Right now I’m in Oslo, Norway. Two days ago I was in southern Sweden filming a Music Video for a melodic death metal band. It releases briefly after They Talk.  

How long ago did you shoot the film?

We filmed it amidst the Covid pandemic in 2021. Pre-production started in Naples at the end of February, I have fond memories of doing rehearsals in a basement, hotel rooms and wherever we could find space. Then we traveled to the mountains of Calabria, Italy filming through all of March until the start of April. 

What interested you about it?

Everything! There are many aspects here but I’ll always remember the first time and moment I read the script. There was a heavy vibrant air of mystery and suspense surrounding the whole production and the script. The gravity of it pulled me in. I knew Alex was written for me and that this was meant to be. It’s my first leading role in a feature film of this magnitude. I’m feeling blessed, happy and grateful for the experience.  

Did you know the filmmaker previously?

None of them. And these are all raw talented and brilliant people, filmmakers that deserve to have more light shine upon them. Every single person on this team helped to elevate my performance. Checkout IMDb for full cast and crew.

Did you have a backstory for your character, even one you created that wasn’t on the page?

Always. I had many months to prepare Alex so I wrote an extensive backstory in line with the original script. First answering and asking a lot of basic questions like: Who am I? Where do I come from? Where am I going? and so on. The more detailed the better. When his life line became more clear to me, his; story, goals, ambitions, traumas, fears, memories. A new wave of inspiration struck while visiting the grave of a deceased friend of mine (on which the character is partly based). I found inspiration in Japanese animated series, various music and other mystery films. You do whatever you can to transform mind, soul and body into the character and the universe we meet him in. Alex is a loner and introvert guy with a marbled mind who’s weighted by his fragmented past. The film reflects this as well. When we meet him here his whole world is about to be consumed in mystery and nightmares.

And in what ways could you relate to him?

In short, we’re both humble, committed and in search of various truths. We make a living out of film and rather face our fears than flee from them. 

Would you react the same way in the same situation, you think?

Haha!! I’d probably shit myself. 

Are you a fan of horror movies like this yourself?

I love them! Mystery, horror, suspense, the supernatural. They Talk is different in its unique style I’d say. It’s a supercool and ambitious film full of soul and demons. 

Is there a favorite moment in the movie?

There are too many. There are favorite moments in all the individual scenes with the many different characters we meet. Then there are those moments when Alex is alone, the film is shorter than the original script so we lost a favorite sequence of mine in the edit when he escapes Rogers cabin into the woods. Haunted by voices, it’s raining, mud, night, cold soaking wet, scared to death. We did a segment of advanced camera choreography until he faints. That’s when he first loses his mind. To be more specific here I’d have to spoil pieces of the film, and I want to leave it up to the audience to fill in the gaps. 

THEY TALK is now available on digital from Uncork’d Entertainment