Interview: Sawyer Jones & Malcolm Fuller Discuss New Horror Film ‘Bloat’

BLOAT, now available on digital and on-demand, is a screenlife horror movie that is both frustrating as it is intriguing. Not only does it feature veteran talents such as Ben McKenzie and Bojana Novakovic but it also has a promising young cast. In a recent interview with Jaylan Salah from Geek Vibes Nation, child actors Malcolm Fuller and Sawyer Jones discuss difficult scenes, the excitement of shooting horror movies, and being chronically online.

Geek Vibes Nation (Jaylan Salah): How did you react to the script?

Sawyer Jones: When I originally got [the script] I thought it was awesome and how fun it would be to act in this film because it has a unique [premise] and a unique monster that I don’t think has been done before in movies. [What attracted me was that it was] the found footage genre so I envisioned a cool experience, especially since we were going to film in Japan. The script was also well written and I dove into it.

Malcolm Fuller: First of all, I love horror and the script impressed me. Second of all, found footage and screenlife [genre films] are super cool. This [genre] makes everything feel as if it is happening in real time. Also when I found out that we were filming in Japan I was excited because I never traveled out of the country before.

GVN: Is it an enjoyable experience shooting a horror movie?

SJ: It’s fun to film horror movies and it’s not necessarily scary when you’re on set. You see all the enjoyable [behind the scenes] stuff and you perform differently especially because there are things that might not normally happen in everyday life. It’s a very entertaining genre to work on. 

MF: It’s interesting to see everything that goes on behind the scenes. You don’t know how many people are right off the edge of the camera [working their magic]. I feel that [shooting horror movies] is a different kind of fun than watching them because you get to live the experience.

GVN: How did you collaborate with the director and cinematographer to establish the unique angles of the shots, especially the ones done through the mobile phone scenes?

MF: I had to hold the camera myself whether it was a phone or a laptop camera in several scenes. It was weird at first because I had never done that before during filming, but I worked with Pablo [Absento, the director] and the cinematographer beforehand. They explained to me how they wanted me to frame [the shot] like this and what the best way to hold [the camera] was. I had to get used to it but it was interesting and fun to do it.

SJ: Our director, Pablo, and all the people on set had a solid vision of how they wanted it to be. I was very open to direction and everything flowed smoothly. I believe it worked out very well in the end. 

GVN: What was it like working with Ben McKenzie and Bojana Novakovic?

SJ: It was awesome. All the actors were super nice, cool, and easy to talk to. I got to know them very well off set and we had so much fun. We went around Japan together, and because of that friendly spirit and the kindness that they showed me, I felt at ease during filming. I was able to play them off well since they were my [film] parents. 

MF: Getting to know your fellow actors off-screen makes a difference in how well you interact with them on screen because you start to develop a vibe. That worked out perfectly with Bojana and Ben even though Ben was on FaceTime or Zoom half the time. He was acting [remotely] the whole time, but we still pulled that off when it came to the interaction [with him].

GVN: How do you think this movie comments on our lives being confined to screens and having a chronically online presence?

SJ: The concept here works perfectly since we’re being over-camera with other people. It’s not the same way as acting off them [in real life]. I think about it as meeting someone in person and talking to them over a screen. It’s never the same. [Our film] shows that human connection is important in person. 

MF: For one, if Jack [Ben McKenzie] had been in Japan with this family, he could have helped Kyle [Sawyer Jones] and Hannah [Bojana Novakovic]. The film shows us just how chronically online and electronically connected we all are, and how, as a viewer, you are watching an entire part of our lives [as the characters] completely online, whether through Find My iPhone, FaceTime, or texting. It shows how much of our lives are projected online, and that’s interesting. 

GVN: Which were the most difficult scenes for both of you to shoot? 

SJ: I had this scene by a cold lake. It was raining and I was wearing clothes, so my shoes and socks got soaked. I was supposed to swim out in the lake as the drone would be lowered, and I would try to grab onto the drone at the precise time. So I had to swim fast but not too fast or I’d pass the drone. I had to feel it out while swimming in my clothes [soaked cold] and trying to catch the camera at the right time. It was challenging but also delightful, and one of the most fun scenes I’ve ever filmed.

MF: I filmed one scene in New York —the funeral for my mom— and I had to do a eulogy. That scene was challenging because of the difficulty of getting in contact with that emotion and then having to get it out. I had to do what it took to convince myself [as if] my mom was dead and that was a tough place to go. Also, every scene where I was talking to Jack [Ben] through a screen was a weird one to act. 

GVN: When you are acting out those scenes, are you talking to someone on the screen, or is it blank? 

MF: A lot of the time, Ben would be on Zoom right there next to the camera, and definitely made it easier than if he wasn’t there. 

SJ: And when he wasn’t on Zoom, we would read [our lines] through with the actors beforehand so we would get the idea of how [the scene should flow]. This helped us understand how to do it and make everything fit together naturally.

Bloat is currently available on Digital platforms courtesy of Lionsgate.