Having seen plenty of teen-oriented horror films, de Ravin was surprised by the complexity of the characters in the HILLS screenplay. “Most horror films don’t really bother with any depth or having strong characters so this was really different,” she says. “I was interested in Brenda right away because she’s not a typical wishy-washy teenage girl character. She’s strong, she’s a real survivor and she plays a big role in fighting for her family in the end. She might start out as the typical rebel but during the film, she’s forced to grow up in a big way.”
As for why young people gravitate towards the scariest of movies, de Ravin has her own theories. “I think human beings are drawn to extreme emotions, kind of like an exotic amusement park ride,” she says. “If you can get your heart beating fast, if you can get pulled out of your normal every day life and into this other reality, it makes everything seem more exciting. And even if it scares you to death, you want to do it anyway.”
Rounding out the Carters is the youngest family member and only son, Bobby, a pre-pubescent prankster who turns deadly serious with his own clever plans when his family vacation takes a decidedly nasty turn. The filmmakers auditioned dozens of young actors for the part, looking for a kid who had that special mix of being totally normal and something special. “When Dan Byrd came in he was obviously Bobby,” says Alexandre Aja. “He wasn’t a geek or a jock, just a very realistic, smart, likeable kid.”
Despite his young age, Byrd was no stranger to horror films, having previously starred in SALEM’S LOT, and had gone after the role with excitement. “A good horror movie is always entertaining. People really love that sort of edge-of-your-seat experience and I knew this would be the ultimate in scary,” he says.
But Byrd also had to face the challenge of playing a mere child who is forced to deal with devastating loss and a gruesome chain of events that threaten his own existence. Relating strongly to Bobby, he felt he was up to the task.
“Bobby starts out as your typical American suburban kid, but he’s forced to grow up a lot sooner then he had originally planned,” says Byrd. “What’s really interesting is that the events in the film provoke a different reaction from each of the Carter family members -- and for Bobby what comes out is this kind of deep rage. He wants his vengeance and that drives him more and more as things get worse and worse. It was an interesting thing to play.”
Close relationships with Ted Levine, Kathleen Quinlan, Aaron Stanford, Vinessa Shaw and Emilie De Ravin helped Byrd tremendously. “You’ve got to have that chemistry to seem like a family on screen,” he notes, “and we were really lucky because we all clicked right from the get-go. They’re all such nice people and very giving actors and it was great to play scenes with people who you can play off of and experiment with to see what works the best.”
To strengthen those underlying bonds between each of the Carter family members, Aja made sure that all six of the actors arrived early to the Morocco set to spend time together off-camera.
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