Heather Graham and Myha’la, two of the stars of They Will Kill You, now meet at the same crossroads: fearless storytelling. Graham, whose career stretches from cult classics to mainstream hits, brings veteran presence, while Myha’la continues to establish herself as one of the most exciting rising actresses of this chaotic era. Together, they help power one of the most unpredictable multi-genre films in recent memory.
READ ALSO: Zazie Beetz & Patricia Arquette Break Down Deeper Meanings In “They Will Kill You”
They Will Kill You follows a woman searching for her missing sister who finds herself pulled into a mysterious, murderous cult, forcing her to confront danger, loyalty and the true meaning of family. The film blends horror, action, dark humor and emotional storytelling into a ride that feels built for both movie lovers and the blerd community alike. The movie premiered at SXSW in Austin to the glee of the crowd in attendance.
Chuck “Jigsaw” Creekmur, also present for the festivities, caught up with the two stars to discuss what drew them to the film, the challenges of acting in genre movies and why the story’s emotional core makes it relatable far beyond its action-packed, horror-filled surface.
Chuck “Jigsaw” Creekmur: Hey guys, how you doing?
Heather Graham: Hi, Chuck.
Myha’la: Good. How are you?
Chuck Creekmur: It’s an honor to be sitting in front of you. I’m a big fan of both of you.
Heather Graham: Thank you.
Chuck Creekmur: Could you tell me what drew each of you to this movie? I mean, it’s incredibly crazy. I was like, what is going on? Even just seeing the trailer.
Myha’la: Us too. I mean, I was reading that script thinking, “Oh my gosh, where are we going? How did we get here? How are we going to pull it all together?” Karill was just really joyfully going through different genres and I thought that was really exciting and cool. I love that it centered two young women and their love story as sisters. I thought it was really badass. I knew that all of the action sequences were going to be really awesome. And then of course meeting him and seeing how enthusiastic and passionate he is—that made it an easy sell for me to want to work with him. And of course, all the crazy actors attached already.
Heather Graham: Yeah, the script was really original and unique. When I read it, I just thought, I’ve never read anything like this before. The way he mixed horror and comedy and action. And I also just wanted to do action sequences.
Chuck Creekmur: You did. And your eye is a co-star.
Heather Graham: I know! I’m proud of my eye. My eye is great. She deserves top billing. She was really fab.
Chuck Creekmur: Absolutely. Did this require anything from you on a deeper level as far as your acting chops? Did you have to dig deep?
Myha’la: I actually find genre films more challenging because, aside from the emotional work that you do anyway, you also have to superimpose all this stuff that’s not real around you. So it’s another level of “fake” that you have to work beyond to still make it feel real. I do find that to be a challenge. But it’s a good one. It’s a good challenge, and I think when it works, it really pays off.
Heather Graham: For me, I felt like I had to justify why I’m in this cult. Because obviously when you’re reading it, you’re like, why are these people in this cult? So I had to find a reason I could believe in that would make me say, “Okay, that’s why I’m here.”
Chuck Creekmur: As a guy, this is a female-led movie and I didn’t even think twice about it. I didn’t notice it. How was it for you, or how do you feel about this being such a strong but also emotional roller coaster?
Heather Graham: It’s cool. It was written by two men, which I think is amazing. Two men created all these incredible female characters. So it’s a great collaboration between male and female.
Myha’la: Yeah, I love that you said that. I think there’s a misconception that if you don’t look like the person you’re watching, you can’t relate. But really this is a sibling love story. If you’ve ever had a sibling, you can relate. It doesn’t matter what gender they are.
I also think there’s something to be said about the approach to writing. They’re writing a story about two people who care about each other in this environment. It’s not like their hardship is specifically because they’re women—that’s not the reason its difficult. And it’s not unrelatable.
I’m really happy you said that. I didn’t really notice it either while we were doing it. I’m not like, “Oh I have to do this because of my gender.” That’s not important. I hope people notice that just because it’s women doing the thing doesn’t mean it isn’t broadly relatable to everyone.
Chuck Creekmur: Yeah, I think they will. Thanks a lot. I appreciate you.
Heather Graham & Myha’la: Thank you.