Private Propertys Ashley Benson & Shiloh Fernandez Discuss Fatal Attractions

Private Property’s Ashley Benson & Shiloh Fernandez Discuss Fatal Attractions

Private Property’s Ashley Benson and Shiloh Fernandez break down their new thriller, playing cat and mouse games, and female empowerment.

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Private Propertys Ashley Benson & Shiloh Fernandez Discuss Fatal Attractions

Never talk to strangers. That comes across loud and clear in Private Property. The neo-noir thriller follows Kathryn (Ashley Benson), a struggling and lonely actress stuck in an unhappy marriage to a rich and successful Hollywood producer. When her attractive new gardener, Ben (Shiloh Fernandez), shows up out of the blue after her previous one mysteriously disappeared, the two hit it off. They chat, tease, and even share a kiss. Flirtation quickly turns to obsession, and as Ben and Ed (Frank Whaley), posing as an eccentric millionaire that recently relocated next door, move in for the kill, Kathryn must rely on her wits if she hopes to survive.

Ashley Benson and Shiloh Fernandez recently spoke with CBR about heightened circumstances, cat and mouse games, and why Kathryn is no damsel in distress.

Private Propertys Ashley Benson & Shiloh Fernandez Discuss Fatal Attractions

CBR: A lot of the projects you both have starred in can get pretty intense. So, what’s the fun of performing in a movie like this — a thriller with such heightened circumstances?

Ashley Benson: For me, it’s the whole experience. It’s always fun when you take on a movie that requires more than just playing your average ordinary character, where you can have intense scenes and show a lot of emotion and put yourself at a higher stake while filming. Definitely, with this movie, it was challenging. It’s fun to be challenged in that way and dive into the scariness of it all and the unknowingness. We did this on a really low budget, and we had a very small crew. Everyone was working very hard together to make an incredible film. For me, it was such a blast. It was challenging, for sure, but that’s the fun of being an actor.

Shiloh Fernandez: I think in this movie, in particular, there’s something very real about it, and yet they are pretty heightened circumstances. I think this is the best performance of Ashley’s life. I may be biased, but to see this gradual change in her that her character makes, this ownership of herself… Of course, we are making a movie, so the timeline is shortened. It is super fun to play in reality and to crank it up a little bit and heighten it a little bit and try to make things feel real and, at the same time, scary and intense.

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Ashley, we see this growth in Kathryn as the movie progresses. On the surface, she seems to have everything: money, a gorgeous home, a husband. Why do you believe Ben views her as an easy target?

Benson: Underneath all that, she’s a vulnerable woman. She’s alone half the time in her house. She wants to be this actress. Her husband is this very successful producer. She lives in Los Angeles and just doesn’t feel like she has anything going for her besides cleaning the house and studying lines but never getting the roles that she wants.

When she essentially meets Ben and there’s a connection there, it goes both ways. He’s an attractive guy. He charms her a bit, and she becomes vulnerable in that state. If you look at the difference between her husband and that relationship, it’s boring. It’s stoic. He doesn’t really pay attention. She’s just kind of there. It’s like talking to a wall. Ben gives her attention, makes eye contact, and makes her feel special. You can feel that as a woman. It’s easy for me to completely go with that story and have him charm her and get what he wants at the end.

At the same time, they are both flirting with each other. They kiss. How much do you think they are both playing each other? Is there a cat and mouse game between the two of them?

Fernandez: I love that you saw that. The fact that this film ends as it does, my character has probably never been stopped in his tracks so much as he is with Kathryn. A conversation we had with the director is that everyone is acting in this film. Ashley plays an actress. My character pretends to be somebody that he’s not… Maybe my character has done this before, but when he meets Kathryn, whatever she’s doing, it allures him enough to falter, to mess up in some way and allow this thing to conclude the way that it does.

Shiloh, what do you feel was Ben’s point of return? At what point was he all in and couldn’t turn back?

Fernandez: I don’t want to give too much away, but I think, at one moment, he believes that they are in love. He’s fooled himself into thinking that. As Ashley explained, Kathryn was lonely and wanted a friend. She left her whole life in New York, so she’s sort of vulnerable in this place. Ben really wanted her to give herself over to him. When that doesn’t happen, things happen that you can’t take back.

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Ashley, it was great to see that Kathryn was more than capable of taking care of herself. She proves very resourceful in the end and makes some smart decisions. How satisfying was that for you?

Benson: I always love anything that has a powerful female as a lead. Kathryn really progressed from the beginning of the movie towards the end. You see a very big change in her. She finds self-confidence. She finds that power within her. She always had it, but she kind of got stomped down a bit because she was living this life and not getting the attention or love she deserved. As Kathryn goes down this path, she becomes confident in herself, and she knows how to protect herself and deal with things and be the strong woman that she always had been. Finally, she allows herself to embrace that. I was very satisfied.

How rewarding was it that Kathryn saves the day, too, and not her husband?

Benson: I love the ending. I think it’s so powerful. She stood her ground, but it was very nice that she won and saved the day.

Shiloh, you also have Torn Hearts in the pipeline. How would you compare the tone between Private Property and Torn Hearts?

Fernandez: Torn Hearts is a Blumhouse movie, but I am not in any of the madness. My character is a country star, and I meet these two girls. I send them to Katey Sagal’s house, where all the madness happens. Then, I’m in the end of the movie. I’m away from all of that, which is awesome. I’ve had enough of that with Evil Dead. I had to sing and play guitar in Torn Hearts. I love doing that for fun, but to bring that to the screen was a scary, scary challenge. There’s a poster right here of A Thing Called Love, which is a River Phoenix movie about young singers in Nashville, so it was a dream come true to play that particular part.

Private Property hits theaters May 13.

Link Source : https://www.cbr.com/private-property-ashley-benson-shiloh-fernandez-interview/

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