I think young people are capable of loving older characters and vice versa. You look at a show like “Game of Thrones” where they have characters of all ages and the audience loved all of them. I’m always shocked that film doesn’t embrace the truth of what it is to get older, which is where we’re all going anyway. It’s sadly rare and was a welcome thing to get to play. It’s one of the things that attracted me to the script and this character embodied all of those things. If we could see role models around us who, as they age, are healthy, vital, sexual, interesting, evolved, curious and very much alive, then it’s not such a fearsome thing. And I can’t speak to where it comes from, but it definitely has to change, especially in a society where we remain healthy and happy for much longer.īarbara Hershey: I think probably all of the -isms are born of fear. There are definitely barriers that are placed on women as they get older. We always seem to praise very, very young women, and you can see it in Hollywood over the age of 35, it becomes much harder to get certain roles. Why do you think that is?ĪC: I’m not sure, but I think it’s particularly true for women. Of all the -isms, ageism often goes unchecked in our society today. If we had better role models, it would make it a lot easier to see yourself in their place. I wanted to have a character amazing, charismatic, sexy, badass and funny most of the women of a certain age. Like suddenly they turn into these crumpet-making, cookie-baking, cute little people who are not who we are right now. The other thing is that we always seem to treat older people in movies and media in general like they’re a different type of person. And the way that I tend to channel difficult emotions - because I’m such a horror fan and because that’s the way that I write - is to come up with supernatural stories. I think going into a nursing home and seeing the reality of aging - you confront your own mortality in some ways. The first was seeing people in my family end up in nursing homes. What made you want to write a horror film centered around an older woman? Where did the initial seed of the idea come from?Īxelle Carolyn: A bunch of different elements. (Kevin Estrada / Amazon Content Services) It was a learning curve, but I’m very grateful I got to make this movie without changing the nature of it.” I’ve done a lot of independent films I have not worked on anything that could be considered studio level, so that was my first experience navigating diplomacy and the different expectations that companies might have for your movie. “There’s certain expectations that are placed on it that the movie kind of has to conform to. “It started out much more of a drama, but you kind of have to fit into a certain model with the movies we’re making here,” said Carolyn. “That’s something that they’re doing with their ever-growing power and I applaud that.” “I like that they’re supporting and giving young filmmakers like Axelle a chance,” said Hershey. “The Manor,” along with the other three films in this slate of Blumhouse films - “Madres,” “Black as Night” and “Bingo Hell” - was made on a shoestring budget as part of the production company’s mission to uplift emerging filmmakers from diverse backgrounds. A lot of places really liked the script but then wanted us to replace it with a mental institution or change it somehow so that we would get away from the subject matter.” “It’s incredibly difficult to get a movie made if your lead is a woman in her 70s. “It was a really hard script to find a home for because we’re talking about ageism,” said Carolyn. The gothic horror, written and directed by Carolyn, is one of four films released in the second installment of Amazon Studios and Blumhouse Television’s “ Welcome to the Blumhouse” anthology, now streaming on Prime Video. The film stars Oscar nominee Barbara Hershey as Judith Albright, a woman who recently suffered a mild stroke and is moved into a nursing home whose residents are being targeted by a supernatural force. Spoiler alert: The following story includes a discussion of the ending of Amazon Studios’ “Welcome to the Blumhouse” installment “The Manor.” There will be another warning before that section.Īxelle Carolyn’s “The Manor” is the rare horror movie to feature a protagonist over the age of 60.
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