Rebecca Hall wants to make audiences 'squirm' with horror-thriller Resurrection

Tim Roth had a strong reaction when he first read the script for horror-thriller Resurrection (out July 29). "It was definitely a holy s--- moment," says the Reservoir Dogs and The Incredible Hulk actor. "You know: What is this? I had no idea what to make of it. I was traveling with my son at the time, and I gave it to him to read, and he said, 'You're doing it.' So, I said, 'Okay, I'm doing it.' Two of my sons were the same. I was like, 'Okay, I've got no say in this at all!'"

Resurrection stars Rebecca Hall as a single mother whose life is upended when a figure from her past, portrayed by Roth, re-enters her life.

"There is something very particularly rigorous about her, almost to the point of being obsessive," says Hall, whose previous acting credits include The Night House and Godzilla vs. Kong. "You are forced to be with her while something from her past potentially unravels her."

Although most of the intense indie is planted in psychological-thriller territory, the final act visits the land of horror in ways we won't spoil here, but are as unexpected as they are unforgettable.

"I thought it was outrageous," says Hall of the screenplay's conclusion. "I found myself going: What the actual you know are we dealing with? Really? Oh, you're going to go there? Okay!"

Resurrection was written and directed by Andrew Semans (2012's Nancy, Please). The filmmaker began working on the script around seven years ago and was partly inspired by a bad relationship a friend was enduring.

"I was trying to come up with some kind of basic conflict that's really elemental," says Semans. "I thought, What is more primal or elemental than a parent protecting their child from a dangerous predator? As I was trying to build a story in my mind, these other themes of victimization, coercion, manipulation, gaslighting, abuse, started to find their way into the script, sadly, as a result of a relationship I was witnessing. A friend of mine was in a very unfortunate situation with a very toxic individual, and I was witnessing this first-hand and doing my best to understand it, get my mind around what was happening. What I was learning was influencing the script in a significant way."

In 2019, Semans' screenplay made Hollywood's Black List, the annual round-up of admired but unproduced scripts. However, the director reveals that it was Hall's interest in playing the lead role that really helped turn Resurrection into a go.

"It's an unusual movie, and I did not have a long track record as a writer-director," says the filmmaker. "I think people just saw it as a real gamble, something that could be great but also could be a disaster. It really wasn't until Rebecca came onboard that we started to get some real traction. People could start to see how this would really work with Rebecca in the lead role, because she's such an extraordinary performer."

Roth's enthusiasm for the project was fueled not just by his offsprings' conviction he should do it, but by his longtime habit of working with young directors.

"I worked with Quentin [Tarantino] when he was [a first-time director]," says the British actor. I worked with James Gray. I try and do the ones that keep the lights on and then also pay for the ones that you do for love. So you keep both doors open if possible. I'm lucky it's worked out. Andrew's going to go far — it's just a fact."

Semans shot the film in upstate New York last summer. On one potentially testing day, Hall was required to shoot a lengthy one-take monologue in which her character details her history with the character played by Roth.

"Andrew had said to me, 'I would rather not cut away from your face at all, if possible and just sit on it for the full seven, eight minutes in a close-up,'" says Hall with a laugh. "I was like, Okay, that is truly the scariest thing that any actor can be told."

"She came in as she always did, completely prepared," recalls Semans. "It was simply a matter of setting up the camera, and saying 'Action,' and she did the rest. We did two takes, that was it. The first take was extraordinary and the second take was equally extraordinary, albeit different. The whole thing must have taken half an hour to do."

The principals all recall much laughter despite, or maybe because of, the dark subject matter. Roth compares director Semans to Tarantino for the amount the filmmaker guffaws during shooting.

"At the end of the take, that's the first thing you heard," says the actor. "The joy of watching it take shape was pretty extraordinary for him."

Resurrection premiered at this year's Sundance Festival and was subsequently bought by IFC and Shudder. It seems like a fair bet that there won't be too much laughter among audiences when the movie goes before audiences. And that's fine by Hall.

"I've only ever seen it on my TV at home," says the actress. "I'm desperate to see it with an audience. I just want to see some people squirming. Does that make me a terrible person?"

Resurrectionwill be released in theaters July 29th and on-demand Aug. 5. The film will premiere on Shudder in November.

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