You've seen Lauren Cohan kick butt as Maggie on The Walking Dead. Now the New Jersey–born, Britain-raised star is fighting for her life in the new horror film The Boy.
Lauren plays Greta, a woman who accepts a job as a nanny but soon discovers that she is in charge of watching a doll. As you can imagine, doll + scary house = not a walk in the park.
Since Lauren is now an expert on all things ~spooky~, here are her tips on how to survive your very own scary movie.
1. Always carry a weapon.
Nunchucks. Brass knuckles.
2. Don't open any doors.
Pick the room you wanna be in and just be there. But pick a good room ’cause you'll be there for a while... Don't go up to any creepy doors with a really creepy sound.
3. Have a safe room.
And don't forget the code to your safe room. Write it down!
4. Have lots of pets.
A big cat that it sits on top of the fridge, so it can jump down on unsuspecting bad guys. Unless of course the culprit is a big cat, then you need a big dog.
5. Have an exit strategy.
You know, it's like having a maternity bag by the door — you have the bag with your change of clothes; you have your horror movie bag by the door.
6. Learn how to run really quickly.
And be better at looking in front of you than behind you so you don't trip.
7. Don't take a shower.
Don't bathe. Then hope that it also helps to deter people from you, because clean people are really, really vulnerable.
8. Know your neighbors.
And have alarm buttons in every room. Have a loudspeaker in case you're trapped in a small [room] and no one hears you banging on the window.
9. Don't go in attics or basements.
Don't go in children's rooms!
10. Don't go playing with creepy dolls.
If a doll comes to life, decide that it's a bad place to be. If [the doll] writes you notes and calls you "mummy," leave. If he cries when you get a new boyfriend, leave. Quickly. If you get a boyfriend, tell that person you're suspicious of the doll that you're babysitting and you need help. Just trust your gut — trust your gut that living dolls are bad.
11. Learn how to compress yourself.
So you can be really flat and just hide under the covers and look like there is no person [there], ’cause people always look under the bed but they very rarely look in the bed. Statistics!
12. Make a pillowsuit.
Make a suit for yourself that's full of pillows that you wrap in so [the antagonists] go, "Oh, that's just a pile of pillows, she's not there!" Then have the pillows have jets in them so you can airlift from the bedroom that you get trapped in.
13. Create a lot of trapdoors.
Create a booby trap around your bed!
14. Have some fake fireplaces.
These should all be in your protocol for nanny jobs. Fake fireplaces that you can hide in.
15. Practice a lot of opera.
So you can hold your breath and so you can scream.
16. If you leave, write a note.
Take extra batteries for your walkie-talkie, always have a cell phone. Don't be in a place where there's no cell phone signal. If you get a job offer and there's no [cell] tower near the house, just leave right away. Bring three Mophies* — all different colors so you remember which one's charged.
*rechargeable battery case
17. Have the keys to your car.
Only buy cars that have codes — [or] superglue the key into the ignition. And keep petrol tanks everywhere!
18. No creepy houses.
I think generally, don't live in creepy houses. Just live in really new apartments that don't make any noises. Maybe the best advice is to live on a boat with a big cat like Life of Pi. You can wear the pillowsuit! If you wore the pillowsuit constantly, no one would bother you!
19. Don't be afraid to be afraid.
Overall, just live in a constant state of doubt, cynicism, and fear. And expect the worst from everything and everyone. This is the only way to survive. Just kidding!
Make sure to watch Lauren in The Boy, in theaters now!
