Frankie Faison – The Grudge

By: Kelly Kearney

Q: You’re starring in The Grudge, a film that may seem familiar to some horror fans of the Ju-On universe and the earlier Grudge film, but this time things are a little different. This new film follows the same premise as the earlier two: a curse brought on by a tragic death that attaches itself to a host and consumes them with its fury, but with this new take, the curse is on the move from Japan to the United States and that’s where you come in. How exactly does your character fit into this newly born curse?

Frankie: Well, he’s a character whose wife has this dementia and they’re very much in love with each other. They’re an elderly couple that doesn’t want to live with this dementia and he’s tried putting her to sleep a couple of times and failed. I mean, they both agreed that they both would end her life, but he loves her so much that he doesn’t want to lose her. So, he finds out about this house that’s haunted and feels that if he loses her and she dies in this house she will always be with him. That’s how they get to this house and how things take off for them. It’s a true love story because there’s so much love between the two of them and they just do not want to have that as their end.

Q: When you took the role of Mr. Matheson, were you familiar with the earlier films, including Ju-On?

Frankie: No, I was not. Not at all.

Q: While the movie is set to be released in 2020, the film itself takes place in 2004 around the same time as Sarah Michelle Gellar’s version of the film takes place. Will there be moments where these two films overlap and will the fans will recognize it? 

Frankie: That’s a good question. I really don’t know. I think it’s inevitable in some ways that it will overlap, and the fans will recognize it, even if it’s just from the familiarity of the story itself. But other than that, I couldn’t say. I’m just not sure.

Q: Sam Raimi is the master of horror film and TV. If he’s at the helm, everyone knows it’s going to be a heart-stopping gruesome ride. What was it like working with him on this movie?

Frankie: Well, he wasn’t around., I never saw him. He wasn’t on set. He may have been on set the days when I wasn’t there because the way they shot this film, or each story, was almost like a separate film. So, my part, we shot for about…I’m not sure how long actually, but you never get to meet the other players if your storyline does not overlap into theirs. It was an interesting way to shoot it because it was almost episodic. Like little episodes.

Q: The Grudge universe is such a dark and terrifying premise, what were some lighter moments on set? Perhaps a fun behind the scenes story you can share with the fans? 

Frankie: Oh yeah, there were a lot of light moments. First of all, working with my two co-stars was just amazing because we were the older generations of the film, from about seventy-six to about seventy years, and we had a lot of lightness, a lot of light moments. We all hung out together and went out to restaurants and had dinner and drinks in the evening and just enjoyed ourselves. There wasn’t a heaviness involved in it except for the scenes themselves. They were pretty heavy because you’re dealing with death and killing yourself and also with house spirits and all that stuff. One of the lightest moments for me was the scene in which I had to die or should I say had to act dead and lie in a pool of blood for about a week. I was lying down on the floor and they just kept pumping blood with this fork sticking out of my neck. You just have to find humor in that stuff otherwise you would get depressed as I don’t know what! [laughing] Being in the house itself was also fun because it lends itself to the horror elements of the story. You definitely felt like it was another player in the story and a character all its own.

Q: How did you shake off a long day of filming this movie? 

Frankie: It wasn’t bad at all because it was beautiful there. We got to take walks and go over to a restaurant and have a drink in the evening and just hanging and chatting and getting to know each other. It was a lot of fun. We had so much to share, so many stories, because we’ve all been in this business for a long time. A lot of years together. I’m not going to tell you how many years! [laughs]

Q: What do you think it is this The Grudge film that will make it a fast horror movie fan favorite?

Frankie: Well, beats the heck out of me! From my perspective, just from the episode that I did, it’s a real character driven piece. You really get involved with these characters. The harm element is there because you’re doing a horror film, but when you see the love that exists between this man and his wife and how they’re trying to keep that love alive and keep it going even in death, it’s something that I think will touch fans a lot. Of course, all of a sudden out of that love you see the horror element come into existence. I think true horror fans need to cheer for someone, they need to be able to say, “I want to see this guy make it. I want to see this couple make it, even if I know they’re not going to make it.”

Q: You’ve had a long a diverse career but for me, you will always be Barney, Dr. Lecter’s kind hospital nurse/gatekeeper in the Silence of the Lambs franchise. You were the only actor to star in all of the films based on the books, all the way back to Manhunter. What is it about horror/suspense movies that attract you to that genre? 

Frankie: Nothing. [laughs] Nothing really attracts me to that genre. I never really thought of The Silence of the Lambs or any of the Hannibal Lecter movies as horror films. I thought of them as terrifying films, but the horror genre is more along the lines of The Grudge whereas the Hannibal Lecter films were just people who are horrible and did horrible things to each other. Not like this kind of horror movie where it comes from a kind of mysticism that exists outside of our human experiences, but with The Silence of the Lambs films it was all within our human experience. I’m not saying you know people like Hannibal Lecter, but you can imagine some people doing the horrible things that they do to people. You look at the news and you see it every day. It was a real honor to be in all of those films.

Q: Besides The Grudge that comes out in January, fans of the NBC family drama, “The Village.” Were you sad to see that show go? What or whom will you miss most from your time in that Brooklyn apartment building?

Frankie: Every single person. That was such a complete and wonderful experience and the cast was amazing, the writers were amazing, the producers were amazing, everything about it was fantastic. It was such a beautifully portrayed series and it just broke my heart to see it come to an end because there were stories, good stories, that could have been told and that should have been told but will never be. They’ll never come to fruition and it really did break my heart. Every time I think about that series, I’m just…I’ve been in this business a long time and I know things come and go, but that one really affected me. It was tough. I thought it was a brilliant show and a brilliant concept because it was so diverse. It had so many walks of life, and you knew people like these people who were in this building. I was sad to see it go.

Q: What’s next for you, Frankie? Are you working on any other projects the fans can look out for? 

Frankie: Yep, I have a few films coming out. I have this film called Fatherhood, which comes out in July with Kevin Hart at the helm. It’s a nice family drama comedy kind of thing. I did a movie called The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain and for me it was one of the most difficult characters and films I’ve ever done. It was kind of a documentary type story that deals with the senior citizen, a Vietnam veteran, a person that is suffering from PTSD. It’s a true story that happened in White Plains, New York and it’s based on this guy who had one of those life alert support chains and it goes off in his sleep. The first people to come help him were these renegade cops and it’s like a two-hour fight at the door because they want to come in, but he doesn’t want to let them in. It’s a horrifying story with another black person having an encounter with the police that did not turn out well and physically it was exhausting work. I’m very proud of it. We are still looking for a distributor for it, but I’m looking forward to that film

Q: Any chance we might see you pop up in the Coming to America sequel that’s in the works?

Frankie: Well, you know, no. [laughs] That film is done, and I didn’t get the call! I have so many fans of the landlord out there that have asked how they could do it without me and that’s it’s right there. It’s like with “The Village,” in a way, because it’s such a popular character. Listen, I’m not the kind of actor that’s going to knock on people’s doors. There should have been some respect to the character I played, the landlord. When the call didn’t come, I was thinking, “Did I die? Did they think I died?” [laughs] Hey, that’s show business. You just move on. I wish them well, but I know a lot of people out there wanted to see the landlord and they’ll be disappointed not to see him in that film.

Q: What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and the work you do

Frankie: First of all, I’d like to say thank you and let them know how much respect and appreciation I have for them being a fan. I would like them to know that I will always continue to give honest and true performances in film, television and theater. Whatever I do they can always expect me to give over one hundred and fifty percent in my work and I look forward to continuing the journey as long as it lasts.