The Pope’s Exorcist Star Alex Essoe Talks About Her Life in Horror: ‘I’ve Never Been Good With Slashers’

As reported by Entertainment Weekly, star Alex Essoe recently reflected on her career in horror entertainment. The actor has appeared in a number of horror projects, including Starry Eyes and Mike Flanagan’s The Shining sequel Doctor Sleep, as well as three of Flanagan’s television shows, The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, and The Midnight Club. Still, despite having a lengthy horror resume, Essoe noted that she’s not a fan of certain genres of horror.

“I like some types of horror movies. I’ve never been good with slashers and campy gratuitous stuff. There are some exceptions, but it’s really hard for me to watch people die for no reason. I always think, ‘Oh my god, these people have a family, and dreams, and loved ones, and they’re being killed just because they had sex!’ I don’t begrudge people for liking those movies at all, it’s just hard for me. Even the horror I have done, I’ve tried to go for more alternative things, alternative themes, something that has an idea behind it.”

While reflecting on her work in Starry Eyes, Essoe said, “It’s still something that I’m incredibly proud of, not just because of the work I got to do, which was great, but I just loved the themes of it so much. It was so crazy how ahead of its time it was. I’m really proud of it for that, as well.”

The actor then spoke about her role in 2015’s Tales of Halloween. She stated, “I was so happy that I got to meet Stuart Gordon before he passed, which was very sad, because he’s one of my favorite directors. He also comes from the theater, like myself. It was really nice to be able to talk to him on that level. Also, Dolls is one of my favorite horror movies, maybe ever, so I got to geek out about that.”

RELATED: Alex Essoe Talks The Haunting of Bly Manor and Mike Flanagan’s Midnight Mass [Exclusive]

Alex Essoe Said Working With Mike Flanagan on Doctor Sleep ‘Was a Total Pinch Myself Moment’

As for Doctor Sleep, the star said, “It was a total pinch myself moment, because The Shining is one of my favorite Kubrick films. And Mike, being so respectful of source material and fans, it was very important for him to recreate the interior of the Overlook exactly, with the same materials, and the same color palette, and the same everything.”

“It really was amazing to be able to walk through the Overlook Hotel, and go in to Room 237 and that bathroom, and I had a whiskey in the Gold Room, and I threw a tennis ball against the side of the Colorado Lounge. Even on my off days, I would go and hang out on set. I have my own filmmaking aspirations, so I’d shadow Mike and just observe. The cast was incredible too. It really was a masterclass in filmmaking, being there, and watching it all go down.”

The actor also talked about 2020’s Death of Me, saying, “Darren Bousman is a hilarious and wonderful human being. He’s so funny, I hope I get to work with him on something else. We shot in Thailand, which, I’m not going to lie, is just an amazing perk — incredibly warm people, beautiful, I could live there tomorrow. And I got to work with Maggie Q, who is such a force of nature. I’ve never met anyone who has their s— together so much. It was inspiring. Because I’m a mess! It’s like, I’m an artist! There’s a reason I don’t work in an office! I learned a lot working with her.”

Essoe then spoke about her other collaborations with Flanagan, noting the challenges he presents.

“Mike always gives me something challenging to do. He always gives me something outside of my comfort zone and something that I haven’t explored before. I find myself incredibly flattered by that, that he would trust me with these characters that are so off the beaten path and are such a challenge. I definitely feel like I have grown as an actor, having worked with him.”

Essoe finished by discussing her most recent project, The Pope’s Exorcist.

“I didn’t know that he was the lead in the movie until after I got the job. I had no idea. It was quite the surprise. I don’t know if ‘unnerving’ is necessarily the word but it is surreal, certainly, because Russell Crowe is very much the type of actor that I aspire to be. He really is a true artist and a true master and there really aren’t a lot like him. We played tennis and, on the last day, we all got little trophies that he had made. It was really cool.”