Ezra Dewey stars as Kevin in the horror film The Boy Behind the Door
Synopsis: A night of unimaginable terror awaits twelve-year-old Bobby (Lonnie Chavis) and his best friend, Kevin, when they are abducted on their way home from school. Managing to escape his confines, Bobby navigates the dark halls, praying his presence goes unnoticed as he avoids his captor at every turn. Even worse is the arrival of another stranger, whose mysterious arrangement with the kidnapper spells certain doom for Kevin. With no means of calling for help and miles of dark country in every direction, Bobby embarks on a rescue mission, determined to get himself and Kevin out alive…or die trying.
Check out my interview with Ezra!
Congratulations on The Boy Behind The Door. How would you describe this movie?
Ezra: I would describe it as, obviously, it’s a thriller, it’s pretty eerie and creepy, you know? But I would describe it as more of a journey of two friends who are fighting for their lives and trying to survive and how the bond between them strengthens as they’re going through this terrible situation.
You look really young in this movie, when did you film this?
Ezra: A couple years ago actually, but the thing was, they were working on two movies pretty much because, before this we were filming The Djinn. While we filmed that, we took a pause to film this one. So yeah, it was about two years ago. It took a while because they were doing like two things at once.
How old were you when you filmed it?
Ezra: I was 13.
Your character Kevin goes through quite a lot. How did you prepare to play him?
Ezra: Well, it was a lot, when I would go into the scenes, I’d kind of have to think about pretty bad things to try and get myself into the character. I just tried to study how to portray sadness and horror and stuff like that. But I mostly just thought of pretty bad things to try and scare myself.
What was it like filming the scenes where you had to have the shock collar?
Ezra: It was actually pretty fun. I know that’s kind of weird, but it was actually kind of fun because it was very physical. It was kind of tiring because of all the straining and I had to be careful to not trip or fall down the stairs or anything like that. But it was pretty cool, it was very long and tiring, because of all the straining and coughing, but it was a pretty good scene. I liked that one.
What was it like working with Lonnie?
Ezra: Oh, he’s super cool. He’s a blast to have around. And it was nice like you know having another kid on set so we could, in between takes, joke around and stuff like that. It was nice having someone my age. But yeah, he’s a super cool kid and I would definitely work with him again. He’s awesome.
What was it like working with David and Justin? They not only directed the film, they also wrote it.
Ezra: They’re two amazing directors. They make it super easy to understand their notes to know what they want and they give you the clearest directions. They’re super helpful with their guidance. They’re just awesome. They’re really nice people and they’re really good at what they do.
What would you say was your favorite part of filming this movie?
Ezra: My favorite part was the scene in the woods where she’s trying to kill us with the axe or whatever. It’s like a whole game of hide and seek in the woods. That was definitely my favorite part.
Were there any scenes that you found particularly challenging to film?
Ezra: The scene that was pretty challenging was the one where I’m in the attic and I’m knocked out on the bed and when I wake up, I’m like all scared and crying and stuff, that was pretty traumatizing. It was hard to get that emotion out for some reason. But yeah, that one was that one I think was the hardest for me, to be all chained up and stuff like that.
The Boy Behind The Door is now available o
