‘The Strangers: Chapter 2’ Star Madelaine Petsch Put in the Work for EP Title: “It Was Not a Vanity Credit”

We’ve all watched the credits to a movie and passed some degree of judgment when the star of the movie is also listed as a producer of some sort. We’ll sometimes jump to the conclusion that it must be a vanity credit, one that was offered as sweetener in order to close an actor’s deal. But in the case of Madelaine Petsch’s The Strangers trilogy, her executive producer title is well-merited.

Opening Sept. 26 in movie theaters, The Strangers: Chapters 2 once again chronicles Petsch’s Maya as she’s pursued across a small Oregon town by the titular serial killers. Petsch, along with director Renny Harlin and producer Courtney Solomon, managed to shoot an entire trilogy in just 52 days. That figure ultimately changed once they addressed fan criticism of Chapter 1, adding three-to-four weeks of additional filming on Chapter 2 and 3. But throughout each phase of photography, Petsch imposed her will in order to better the product on the screen.

“I did not have the credit at first. I came on set and said, ‘Hey guys, would you be willing to listen to [some script thoughts]?’” Petsch tells The Hollywood Reporter. “And that ultimately became [producer] Courtney Solomon and I editing the script every day after set, going through shot lists with Renny [Harlin] and being more sewn into the fabric of the story in a producorial way. So they offered me the EP credit; it was not a vanity credit that I got.”

Petsch adds that vanity credits are often a necessity for smaller productions.

“Usually, they’ll do that to pay actors less money because they don’t have a lot of money,” Petsch says. “They’ll be like, ‘We’ll give you an EP credit, which will help you, but it’s a vanity credit.’ So I got offered this credit because I was actually doing the work.”

Below, during a recent conversation with THR, Petsch also previews the concluding chapter of her Strangers trilogy and why she hopes it’ll break the fall release pattern of Chapter 1 and 2.

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When we spoke last year for The Strangers: Chapter 1, I asked you what scene will likely linger for years to come, and you said you’d tell me after I saw Chapter II. Was it the wild boar sequence?

That’s the one!

I have a feeling that the boar sequence is really important to Maya’s overall arc. Am I correct or incorrect to draw that conclusion?

Yeah, you’re very, very, very, very correct in that conclusion.

What struck me most about Chapter 2 is how little dialogue there is. It’s partly the nature of Maya being alone and on the run from silent attackers. Does no dialogue make your job all the more difficult, since you have to sell each moment physically?

There’s pros and cons to it. It definitely is more challenging because you just don’t really do it that often in this industry. You either have a scene partner to do no dialogue off of, giving you something to react to, or you’ve got dialogue to rely on. I would say there’s probably an hour of this film with no dialogue in it, and it’s just a different challenge that’s not done very often. So there’s definitely pros and cons to both, and it’s really fun to flex that muscle.

For example, there’s an interesting moment where she silently takes inventory of her wounds and scars in front of a mirror. What was on your mind in that moment?

It’s the first time that Maya sees herself and sees the physical manifestation of everything she’s been through. It’s the moment where it all hits her. It’s like, “This is my reality now.” When you’re in this state of fight or flight, and survival, you’re not really thinking, “I can’t believe this is happening to me.” You’re just thinking, “I’ve got to survive.” So in that moment when she stops and catches herself in the mirror, she’s taking inventory of every single attack and every single thing she’s been through in the last 24-to-48 hours that has changed her innately as a human being. And ultimately, I think she is, in real time, saying goodbye to that final piece of humanity.

Lionsgate released a clip of the morgue scene where Maya encounters her deceased fiancé (Froy Gutierrez’s Ryan). Was that dummy Froy? Or real Froy?

Real Froy! He’s very good at being still. It wasn’t as weird as you might think. It really didn’t affect us at all. When you’re shooting a movie like this, that’s the least of your concerns.

You told me previously that you helped punch up the 278-page script for all three chapters and suggested scenes like the shower scene in Chapter 1. Was that your way of making the most of your EP credit?

I actually did not have the credit at first. I was asked to be an actor in the film, and I wholeheartedly said yes. I then came on set and said, “Hey guys, I have some script thoughts. Would you be willing to listen to them?” And that ultimately became [producer] Courtney Solomon and I editing the script every day after set, going through shot lists with Renny [Harlin] and being more sewn into the fabric of the story in a producorial way. So they offered me the EP credit; it was not a vanity credit that I got. Usually, they’ll do that to pay actors less money because they don’t have a lot of money. They’ll be like, “We’ll give you an EP credit, which will help you, but it’s a vanity credit.” So I got offered this credit because I was actually doing the work.

The financial success of Chapter 1 afforded you and your team 23-to-28 days of additional photography. Are you glad that you got to go back and fine tune Chapter 2 and 3?

Absolutely. It made both films amazing and way stronger. Chapter 2 had 8 days [of additional photography] and Chapter 3 had 15.

There’s a trailer for Chapter 3 in the mid-credits of Chapter 2, and there’s a very tantalizing glimpse at what’s to come. What’s your best elevator pitch for Chapter 3?

Chapter 3 is a face-off between the two main characters where you start struggling with the idea of who the protagonist is and who the antagonist really is.

The trailer has a moment where my jaw dropped about what was revealed, but then I noticed a little detail that made me second-guess what I saw. So I’m very curious how everything is going to shake out.

It’s so funny because somebody else brought that moment up and didn’t notice that, so I was like, “Go back and watch her wrists again.”

Do you expect Chapter 3 to follow the fall release pattern of Chapter 1 and 2?

If it [goes] our way, then hopefully it’ll be sooner. That would be the goal. It is basically done. But it’s about whatever Lionsgate feels and what fits into their release schedule the best. It’s also about what other movies are already releasing during those weekends, so that’s up to the Lionsgate Gods. All I know is that we are done, and we are ready to show it as soon as possible.

At the Chapter 1 premiere, your former Riverdale castmates, Lili Reinhart and Camila Mendes, showed up to support you, and I thought that was a really lovely gesture. It’s so easy to lose track of friends as time passes, so did the three of you make a pact to not let that happen?

Those two girls are still my absolute best friends in the whole world. It can go one of two ways when you shoot a show like that, and it went the right way with us. We all came up together in a really intense environment, having shot up to a world that we’d never been in before: fame and a successful TV show. We had each other to constantly lean on in any scenario. We still call each other to be like, “I am doing this movie. Have you heard of this director?” And someone will say, “Oh, I met with him.” And someone will ask, “What was your experience like?” We’re a unit. No matter what we do or where we are, we always support each other. It’s rare in Hollywood to find people who don’t feel competitive with you and support you so unabashedly, so I’m really lucky to have found my people.

You also starred in and EP’d a romcom that’s coming out on Oct. 8. Was Maintenance Required meant to be a palate cleanser after all the fictional trauma you endured in your Strangers trilogy?

(Laughs.) It was not meant to be a palate cleanser. I like variety. Variety is the spice of life. I think actors want to do everything, at least I do. So I love the idea of being in an Amazon romcom where I get to play a mechanic and do something completely different. As an artist, it was just fun, and I think it’ll be fun for audiences. I never knew they were going to come out this close together, to be honest. But I think it’ll be fun for audiences to be able to go see me in this horror film —and go through the PTSD of it —before coming home to cuddle up and watch something that’s sweet and cozy.

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The Strangers: Chapter 2 opens Sept. 26 in movie theaters.