Caddo Lake released on MAX today, starring Dylan O’Brien and Eliza Scanlen. The thriller follows the disappearance of 8-year-old Anna, and the search for her.
We got the chance to talk to Dylan about what drew him to the story, what surprised him the most, as well as filming some of the underwater scenes.
You can read our full review of the film, here.
Editor’s Note: Please note that the interview contains spoilers. Read at your own risk. This interview was edited for length and clarity.
Read our interview with Dylan below!
Nerds and Beyond: You’ve done a variety of projects and you’re no stranger to thrillers. What drew you specifically to Caddo Lake and the role of Paris?
Dylan O’Brien: I really loved Celine [Held] and Logan [George], the filmmakers. I was such a fan of theirs … they had a series of shorts that they had done that I had seen. I was like, I need to meet the people who made these. And then the first time I opened the project, I saw the lake. There was this footage that they had attached that they shot with their DP on the lake, and it was stunning. I just sort of was immediately in and that’s kind of the definition of cinematic, right? It was like seeing the setting, and the environment and hearing these sounds, I was like, “I’m already in, so I want to now see what the story is.”
And then I just really fell in love with the grounded nature in which the characters were written in the text. And, I was very compelled by the mystery and the tracking of where [and] how it builds, and where the story goes. Then once the genre element is implemented, I’m like in love with that contrast of the sort of authenticity and the honesty of this family drama unfolding. I’m kind of a geek about that type of ordinary person thrust into an extraordinary circumstance. Such a heightened element makes me giddy as a viewer, you know? So, yeah I was just totally in for all those reasons.
Nerds and Beyond: There are a lot of thrilling twists as the audience starts to piece together the story. Is there a moment you read in the script that surprised you the most?
Dylan O’Brien: It took a couple reads for me to really get every link, and I mean … all of it. The whole thing surprised me. Once you kind of see where it’s going, the moment when he is carrying Anna and lets her go … saves her, lets her go, and the moment that he realizes that he just carried his mother is such an extraordinarily emotional moment, that I was so connected to this character. Just on this read and let alone on the shoot, and yeah, you just believe in something when you do.
Nerds and Beyond: What was the process like filming all of those water scenes?
Dylan O’Brien: There’s a lot that goes into it. We had a lot of boats, but at the end of the day, it is you in control of the boat, and our DP and operator is with us on the boat. You’re trying to act and navigate, and it’s tough, so… as many hours as we could get practicing to really have a handle on the boat without it being too top of brain, like more of a second nature thing, so you can think about everything else that you have to be thinking about.
But yeah, safety first, and the underwater car scene was so scary for me. I had a really hard time with that, and had such a tremendous relief when I finally started doing it. I mean, in terms of how it was done. It’s a giant pool, and it’s like sort of a rig with the truck angled down diagonally under the water, and everything is telling your brain to not go under the water and close the door and fasten your seat belt, as you’re like, on this oxygen tank. It’s like, really freaky. I had trouble with that, but once I did it once, it was sort of a relief. And I was able to do it the rest of the night, and I felt good after.
Caddo Lake is streaming on MAX now.
