PREY Exclusive Interview With Logan Miller About Starring In Blumhouse's Latest Demonic Horror Thriller

Franck Khalfoun's demonic horror thriller Prey is now available on Digital HD everywhere, including iTunes and Vudu, and ahead of its release, I was granted an exclusive opportunity to sit down with star Logan Miller to discuss arguably his most challenging role to date, the difficulties he faced filming deep in the Malaysian jungles, working with co-star Kristine Froseth, his appearance on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and more. 

The film follows Toby Burns (Miller), who shortly after his father is tragically killed in a carjacking, is enrolled in a 'Lost and Found' program, in which he is expected to spend three days and three nights on a remote jungle island. However, Toby soon discovers that this 'uninhabited' island isn't exactly uninhabited when he meets a mysterious girl named Madeleine (Kristine Froseth), who has seemingly been trapped on the island as well. The pair must then partner up when she reveals that they aren't safe and that time is running out because someone or something bloodthirsty lurks in the jungle, seeking to make them their prey.

The following interview contains *MAJOR SPOILERS* from Prey, so proceed with caution.

ROHAN: Of all the films I’ve seen this year, this one takes one of the biggest 180s from how it starts to how it finishes. What was your initial reaction to the big demonic twist?

LOGAN: We're always looking for something new and fresh in filmmaking right now and I think having a big twist in this unexpected way is a fun way to kind of mess with the genre a little bit.

I was very interested in this experience, more so just because we were gonna be actually shooting in the jungles of Malaysia and I thought I would probably never get an opportunity like that again to be actually trudging through the jungles for Blumhouse, so I just I took it.

ROHAN: This film does a really great job at keeping the audience guessing until the very end and I was honestly surprised by how the film came to a close. Was this always the original ending in the script or were there also other versions that you workshopped or shot before deciding on this one?

LOGAN: Yes, there were multiple different endings. We, as most films, went through a long, extensive period of editing and reshoots and stuff - this project was actually three years in the making. It's been a while since we actually shot this movie, so I've been anticipatingly waiting to see this film and now, you see the final product is coming out soon.

ROHAN: There’s a moment during the finale where - *spoiler alert* - you’re fighting off Kristine’s character and it starts to look like the demon is being transferred over to you. That was the ending I expected with you becoming the new demon and heading back to the world, but that wasn’t the case. Did you guys ever explore that possibility?

LOGAN: Yeah, there were a couple of different endings, and one of them was possibly I was going to survive, possibly Kristine was going to survive, but ultimately, the demon wins.

ROHAN: Did Kristine ever get in the demon suit or was it mostly just a stunt double?

LOGAN: Well, it's a bit of both. I mean, once the demon gets to its full form, it doesn't look too much like Kristine anymore, so yes, we did have a double at that point.

ROHAN: The first half of this film really draws a lot of inspiration from similar island films like Cast Away or Blue Lagoon and stuff like The Most Dangerous Game. Did you look to any of those stories/films when you were working on developing your character?

LOGAN: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, it does feel a lot like Blue Lagoon kind of meets Fatal Attraction and The Exorcist almost. I watched that documentary Heart of Darkness to see what it was like to actually film in the jungles. This one obviously wasn't as much on the same grandiose scale as Apocalypse Now, but the jungle is the jungle and it's going to eat you up no matter what. Watched Burden of Dreams with Werner Herzog to see how he thinks that the jungle is chaotic and very violent. I found that to be very true.

ROHAN: Oh I can imagine, how long were you filming in Malaysia, in the jungles?

LOGAN: About two months.

ROHAN: You’ve been apart of some pretty large ensembles - Love, Simon, Escape Room, Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse - but in this film, it’s basically just you alone for most of the runtime and you have to carry the film.

What was that experience like? Just playing off yourself?

LOGAN: You get to explore a lot more internally and try to project that onto the screen and it's interesting because I didn't want to be the actor that has to verbalize everything that he's doing while doing it by himself, being able to kind of portray that without having to speak it is a very interesting challenge. It was a fun, fun experience for having to learn how to do that.

ROHAN: You’ve done a lot of young adult movies and this film is a big departure from most of your other work. Is the horror genre something you could see yourself exploring further or is there another genre that piques your interest more?

LOGAN: I like to keep it fresh and new. The horror genre is doing that a lot right now and I need intense variety in my life, in my films all the time that I work on. So, I just try to look for something that I would want to watch, whether it be some of these teen dramas or comedies or horror films. I happen to have a very expansive palette, so I want that within my career.

ROHAN: Yeah, you do a really great job of finding different kinds of roles. I didn’t even realize this till I saw your IMDb, but you were on the most recent season of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, in one of the funniest episodes. How was that? Working with that cast?

LOGAN: Got to hang out and look at porno mags with Danny DeVito in the woods, so that was a dream come true, I must say.

ROHAN: You’re also the voice of Nova in the Ultimate Spider-Man animated series and the Guardians of the Galaxy animated series, so I’m assuming you’re a pretty big Marvel fan.

Nova is a character that hasn’t been cast yet - is that someone, if the opportunity presented itself, you would want to play in a live-action movie or is there another hero or villain that you might have your eye on?

LOGAN: I absolutely would play the live-action version of Nova if they presented that to me. You know, being able to be a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe would be another dream come true. I'm in it, the greater Marvel universe, a little bit, in a small way with the animated series, but yeah, if they don't cast me for Nova, then we're going to have a problem. *laughs*

ROHAN: You were also in another genre film earlier this year with Escape Room, which was a pleasant surprise, and I’ve noticed that you do have a fairly good track record when it comes to picking scripts.

What typically attracts you to a script when you’re deciding on your next project, like what absolutely makes you want to audition for something?

LOGAN: Well, uniqueness in the storytelling. There's a lot of scripts that, kind of, go by the book a lot and I just want some voice and some pure creativity instead of just a run of the mill story to try to make some money. I'm interested in the movies that are going to try to captivate and whether that be a drama or just like a fun blockbuster as well. I think some of these genre-esque movies, while they can be a little campy, can also be so much fun and a thrill ride along the way. So, I just look for some uniqueness.

ROHAN: I had a good time with Escape Room earlier this year, actually spoke to Deborah Ann Woll around the time of its release. I believe they’re doing a second one, have you heard anything about it yet or is it still a ways away? You did survive in that one.

LOGAN: I did survive and it turns out I'm going to be popping right back into those rooms. We are doing a sequel. We start at the end of October and it'll probably be out sometime at the end of next year.

This horror-thriller from Blumhouse & Hyde Park with Director Franck Khalfoun follows Toby Burns (Logan Miller), a millennial coldly floating through life and disconnected from his family. After his father is tragically killed in a carjacking, Toby is left stricken with guilt. He is begrudgingly enrolled in a 'Lost and Found' program, in which he will spend three days and three nights on a remote jungle island. Toby soon finds that this 'uninhabited' island is not so lonely when he meets a mysterious girl named Madeleine (Kristine Froseth). It soon becomes clear that neither of them are safe here and time is running out. Someone or something bloodthirsty lurks in the jungle, and Toby must find a way off this island before becoming its prey…