#Showbiz: Dark twist to a classic

SHE’S only going to be 18 on Feb 13 but Sophia Lillis has already made a big impact on moviegoers worldwide.

The American actress from New York City turned heads with her portrayal of Beverly Marsh in the recent big screen Stephen King adaptations of It.

After the horror films — It (2017) and last year’s sequel It 2 — Lillis had also starred in the acclaimed HBO drama series Sharp Objects, where she played the younger version of Amy Adams’ character.

Not wanting to break her momentum, the young actress now takes on the lead role in the unnerving new psychological thriller, Gretel & Hansel.

Blowing the dust off the Brothers Grimm classic, the new film from writer-director Osgood Perkins (of I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives In The House fame), features Lillis and newcomer Sammy Leaky going up against Alice Krige’s (Carnival Row, Star Trek: First Contact) mysterious witch after taking one very wrong turn in the woods.

As psychological thrillers go, Lillis’ latest work is an emphasis on old-school, slow-burn tension – here playing a young survivor whose perception of her off-kilter world seamlessly segues between reality and fantasy, fable and nightmare, imagination and hallucination.

If Gretel & Hansel is any indication, we can expect much more from Lillis in the years to come.

Below, she talks about the new film and her career so far.

Read the rest of the intervie at the New Straits Times website.