The most dreadful, life-altering situations often arise from unsuspecting circumstances that initially offer a false sense of security. That’s certainly the case for up-and-coming scream queen Lauren LaVera’s protagonist in the new suspense thriller, ‘Twisted.’ To survive the escalating tension she unexpectedly finds herself in, the sly heroine must confront not only the forces working against her, but also the lingering shadows of her past mistakes.

Horror veteran Darren Lynn Bousman (the ‘Saw’ series, ‘The Devil’s Carnival‘ series) directed ‘Twisted.’ Jonathan Bernstein and James Greer wrote the script for the new horror movie. The drama stars Djimon Hounsou (‘A Quiet Place’ series, ‘The Vatican Tapes‘), Lauren LaVera (the ‘Terrifier‘ series), Mia Healey, Neal McDonough (‘Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City‘) and Alicia Witt (‘Urban Legend,’ ‘Longlegs’).

‘Twisted’ follows con artists Paloma and Smith (LaVera and Healey), a millennial couple who have been making large sums of money by renting out expensive houses and apartments they don’t actually own. During their latest scheme, which involves brilliant neuroscientist Dr. Kezian (Hounsou) – who finds his latest breakthrough stifled by scientific regulations – Paloma is attacked by a potential mark and left near dead. To her surprise, Kezian sets out to save her, but ultimately proves he only does so in order to fulfill his own hidden agenda.

Republic Pictures is distributing ‘Twisted’ today, Friday, February 6 on Digital. In honor of the film’s release, Bousman and LaVera generously took the time to talk about helming and starring in the thriller during an exclusive interview over Zoom.

Film Factual (FF): Darren, you directed the new horror suspense thriller, ‘Twisted.’ What was it about the script that inspired you to helm the movie?

Darren Lynn Bousman (DLB): To me, it was just an interesting take on a horror film. it didn’t start off as a horror film; it became one. I think that it happened so subtly that I didn’t even realize it had happened when I was reading the script.

So you start off reading this fun, kind of quirky crime thriller, and then it became something much darker over the course of the movie. I just really responded to that challenge of having a genre flip mid-movie, and really liked it.

FF: Lauren, you play Paloma in the drama. Why were you drawn to the screenplay as an actress? Why were you interested in starring in the film?

Lauren LaVera (LL): Well, firstly, when Darren approached me with the role, I hadn’t read the script yet. But I was already really gung-ho about working with him. I’ve been a fan of his work for a long time. He’s a filmmaker with an artistic vision that he really stands by, and he has a unique kind of niche in how he tells stories. I really respect that as an artist. So I wanted to work with someone with that kind of vision.

I then read the script and really fell in love with Paloma’s sense of humor. I love how vastly different she is from the roles I’ve played in the past. As an actor, I’ve been passing a lot on roles that are very similar to roles I’ve played in the past.

I don’t want to become stagnant as an artist. I want to continue to grow and find new ways to be versatile. I think Paloma really gave me that opportunity.

It was also therapeutic to play a woman who was so free and uninhibited. She also didn’t apologize for her presence. I think it also helped me grow as a person.

FF: Speaking of the humor that’s featured in ‘Twisted,’ how did you both balance the story’s wit with its horror elements?

DLB: For me, I think that was one of the challenges and things that excited me about the movie. It wasn’t as morose and dark as the ‘Saw’ movies were. I think that disarms the audience because nothing violent or shocking happens during the movie’s first 30 minutes.

You’re then suddenly looking at these two characters who are suddenly putting these crimes on. So that disarms the audience when the story turns, and it turns quickly. They won’t expect that turn. I think the humor adds a lot into that, which was a big thing for me.

LL: It’s interesting; I don’t think I approach humor in being too aware of it when I’m in a scene. I think – and this might just be me, but I know a lot of actors who do feel the same way – that if I try to be funny, it never lands. For me, it was just a matter of trying to play it as truthfully as possible.

So I think the reason why it’s funny is that the writing’s funny. I did a few of my own things, and was excited to see that a few of them made it into the film. But that’s because the groundwork was already laid in the script.

I think it’s also a matter of editing. So I really feel that that aspect is out of my hands. I just try to play the moments a truthfully as possible, and it’s up to the rest of the crew to make it all come together.

FF: Speaking of adding your own ideas to the story, Lauren, how did you both approach infusing those impromptu moments into the movie’s story?

LL: Darren is so great that he really advocates for play. He really lets actors try what they want. If something doesn’t work, than he’s honest about it. That’s really so freeing because you want to get the best take and do service to the material.

I do a lot of journaling and prep, and Darren was so perceptive to all the ideas that I brought to the film. He wasn’t just like that with me; he was also like that with the other actors who worked on the film, and I’m sure the other crew members, as well. He was able to juggle so much.

It was amazing that he was so receptive to everyone’s ideas. That gave me the freedom and confidence to be able to play on set. A lot of the feedback was positive, so I felt really good about it

DLB: My philosophy as a director is that I surround myself with people who are smarter and better than me. I then just kind of sit back and let them do their job.

I think that as a director, you should let the talent or the cinematographer or the editor come up with their own ideas because they’re artists, as well. If they had an idea that wasn’t written, or something better than I had planned, then we went with that.

I luckily had a good enough relationship with all of them that if I didn’t like something or it didn’t work, I could also articulate that.

But I like to create as open an environment as possible for ideas because some of my best ideas were not mine at all – they were from other people. But it doesn’t matter where a good idea comes from. In the very end, if it makes the film better, then that’s all that matters

So much of the ‘Saw’ movies didn’t come from me at all. It was Kevin Greutert, the editor (of ‘Saw II,’ ‘Saw III,’ ‘Saw IV,’ ‘Saw V’ and ‘Jigsaw’), or the cinematographer. So that’s kind of my role – to let them do what they do, and hopefully mold that into something that’s cohesive and not fractured and made up of 50 people’s vision. But I have a vision, and as long as their ideas coincides with it, I let them go free.

FF: Speaking of the cinematography for ‘Twisted,’ how did you work with the camera crew to visually shoot the feature?

DLB: I worked with Bella Gonzales, who was amazing. It was my first time working with her, and she was young and hungry, and she thought outside of the box. I think that’s what you need in a movie like this.

You can’t be relegated to doing things the way that they’ve always been done. You also can’t do things the way that a lot of people who have made a lot of movies would normally want to do them.

But Bella came in and had this punk rock attitude. She became my biggest ally on set. That’s what you need in a cinematographer because she is my right hand in this movie.

She is also the eye of the film. I told her what I wanted, and it was her job to get it. So, it could not have been a more collaborative process working with Bella Gonzales.

FF: The thriller features an ensemble cast that includes Djimon Hounsou and Neal McDonough. What were both of your experience like in getting to work with the rest of the cast to develop their characters?

DLB: It was great. I think that we had a great cast on this film. I was a fan of every single one of them before we began filming. Sometimes when I work with actors, I may not know their work, and I’ve only seen their auditions. But in the case of this movie, I was a fan of all of them.

I was a huge fan of Lauren’s work in the ‘Terrifier’ franchise coming into this film.

Neal McDonough has been such a strong presence in so many TV shows that I watch. In fact, the year prior to I cast him, he was the lead of that season of ‘Yellowstone’ (Season 2), which is one of my favorite shows.

There’s a reason why Djimon Hounsou’s been nominated for numerous Academy Awards. (The actor was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his roles in ‘In America’ and ‘Blood Diamond’). He’s such a great actor.

The guy who played Trace is a rapper named Prof. I was a huge fan of his music before I cast him in the film.

I was able to work with people who I actually respected and who I was a fan of before making this film. So, when you have something like that, the magic on screen is easier to come by because I was aware of them and their abilities.

LL: I wholeheartedly echo all of Darren’s sentiments. Having this kind of cast and crew on set elevates

you as an artist. Again, I feel like if anything I did looked good in the film, I think it was really because of the people around me.

FF: The houses and apartments were a central aspect of the story. What were your experiences like in creating the locations’ production design and shooting the drama in real places?

LL: I wanted to buy one of the houses!

DLB: I almost did buy one of the houses! (Bousman laughs.) I fell in love with the first house in the movie that Lauren’s character is trying to sell, and it was also for sale in real life. But alas, I’m still in Los Angeles.

It was good for me because anytime that I can leave my backyard and go somewhere else, it puts me more in a focus. We shot this movie in Connecticut, and we were very fortunate to be there when the leaves were changing – it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. I’m not used to that. So, getting to be there while the leaves were changing was just amazing.

But that’s not without its challenges because we did not build much. Most of the locations were all practical.

But as a filmmaker, when you have a limited amount of time and resources, doing location moves can be challenging. Having to move locations and do company moves takes away time of shooting.

That being said, I think that our little modest budget looks bigger than the limited amount of money that we actually had to film the movie. That’s a testament to the production designer (Anthony Stabley) as well as the cinematographer.

LL: It reminded me how much I really want to buy my forever home. But just being in these locations for even just the movie was amazing. Darren had brilliant ideas about the locations, which helped in our performances. These houses are just so beautiful, and overall, I enjoyed being in the real locations.