Natalie Burn, who has appeared in films such as The Expendables III, Awaken, and The Lagoon, took the time out of her busy schedule to talk with me about her role in the film The Executioners (review).
The Executioners follows four female friends who go on a retreat to a secluded lakeside cabin. Soon the women realize that they are not alone. When masked intruders invade the cabin the women are thrown into a fight for survival.
I’ll be honest, I found The Executioners very hard to watch due to the violence depicted towards the female cast (multiple rapes), so when I was given the chance to ask Natalie about the film I took it. I wanted to know what she went through as an actress during filming.
Horror Fuel: “One of your most recent film roles was in ‘The Executioners’, what initially drew you to the script?”
Natalie Burn: “I was lucky enough to be one of the first ones to read the script. I know the writer-director, Giorgio Serafini and he sent me the script. I got to pick which role I wanted to play and when I read the script, I liked the whole power game that it has, empowering women. I like the turnaround that the women take over. Originally, the director wanted me to play the lead role, Bella, but I was so infatuated with Kay, the character that I play, and this what I wanted to put myself through to understand her. It’s a different character than I would normally be cast as. I had the luxury of choosing, so I was grateful to take on Kay, and to play her.”
Horror Fuel: “Some of the scenes were pretty hard to watch. Did they have an effect on you during filming?”
Natalie Burn: “I was lucky that I knew the director and trusted him a lot. When you do those type of scenes I think it was very important to have a closed-off set. You have to trust your director, trust your actors. I knew that if I was uncomfortable with something or if one of the girls were, that the director would be on our side. It wasn’t hard while we were filming, but when we went back to the monitors to watch it was hard for us to watch. We also understood that that was the whole purpose of it. We knew that we had to go all the way or it would just look flakey. When it benefits the film and is in the script, that was my take on it. My character didn’t have to go through parts that the other girls had to go through. I knew my part might have been easier. I don’t know. When it comes to Kay, I liked the character so much that I was okay with it, not necessarily me, Natalie, was okay with the circumstances. It’s not even the kind of movie that I would normally watch. I’m not okay with those kinds of films, I don’t watch them. I didn’t mind portraying the character, I thought it was a story that needed to be told.”
Horror Fuel: “How do you think female viewers will react?”
Natalie Burn: “I’m hoping positively because the women in this film are shown that they are strong, that they can take care of themselves. They stand up for themselves, so I hope with the situation going on all around the world right now, that even though the movie is very brutal and harsh and they’ll have difficult scenes to watch through that they will want to watch the whole movie. You start rooting for the team, these girls. I feel like it’s empowering. I hope that the audience understands that’s why we made the movie.”
Horror Fuel: “The ending seems like it was left open. Is there a sequel in the works?”
Natalie Burn: “It was the director’s choice to leave it like that. I think he prefers to have films without the ending on the nose. sometimes it’s fun to leave it up to the audience and see where their imagination goes.”
Horror Fuel: “Are you working on anything else right now?”
Natalie Burn: “I have a really fun movie that I’m working on through my company called Born to Burn Films, It’s called ‘The Bayou’. We are currently in pre-production. I just got an amazing cast on board, but I can’t say who they are yet. I’m really excited. We get to shoot this Summer in Louisianna. Peter Iliff wrote it, he also wrote ‘Point Break’. Its budget is much bigger than what I’ve done before. I’m working on it as both a producer and an actress. I’m just really proud that we’ll be shooting this summer.
The other movie is called ‘The Lagoon’. This movie I’m also producing and starring in through my other company Seventh Heaven Productions. That’s the movie that we will be shooting in September in Puerto Rico. I actually co-wrote the story after I visited Puerto Rico right before the hurricane hit. It gave me the inspiration to write it. I felt like it was important to tell the story. It also touches the cancer aspect, the lung cancer of the lead girl. The story came to me because of my good friend, who I was very close to, passed away recently of cancer. I felt it would be a good way to bring her into this world. It has a really cool story about a young woman doctor who goes to Puerto Rico and buys this lagoon in the middle of this forest and it produces this fungus and you can turn it into possibly a cure for cancer. I feel very connected to it.
Horror Fuel: “Tell us about your experience in ‘The Expendables III’ ?”
Natalie Burn: “I think the main thing I want to say about that is that I was very honored to be there. As a child growing up, I watched all those stars, like Schwarzenegger and Antonio Banderas and others that were on set. For me, it was just amazing that I got to meet everyone on one set. It was a lot of different energy. Every single person had a different way of pursuing their characters. It was amazing to watch and see what I could take in and use in my own career. Me being one of the only females (it was me and Ronda Rousey) I felt very special. They took very good care of us. The Expendables has every single 90’s action star. What else would you want if you’re a person who loves action movies?”
Horror Fuel: “I’m a big fan of the franchise.”
For more on Natalie Burn and her films please follow her Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The Executioners is now out on DVD, VOD, and Digital, from Lionsgate.
