Exclusive Interview: Lauren-Marie Taylor

It’s not often that we get time to speak with figures from the golden age of horror, so when we do, we can’t help but get carried away. Today, we have the distinct pleasure of presenting an exclusive interview with a beloved icon of the genre, Lauren-Marie Taylor. Best known for her unforgettable role as Vickie in the cult classic Friday the 13th Part 2, Taylor has etched her name into the annals of horror history by being part of one of the most important slashers of the 80s.

More recently, she has made a return to horror in the critically acclaimed film, In a Violent Nature, which hit UK screens just last week. Taylor’s return to the genre has rekindled the interest and excitement of classic horror fans from all over. We were lucky enough to get an extensive slot of time with Lauren-Marie – and too much content to cram into one feature. This two-part interview takes you on a journey through her illustrious career, beginning with her experiences on the set of Friday the 13th Part 2 and exploring the other notable roles she embraced during the 1980s.

In this first part, we delve into her memories and insights from her time as Vickie, shedding light on the behind-the-scenes moments and the impact the film has had on her life and career. Join us as Lauren-Marie Taylor shares her stories from the golden era of slasher films, offering a nostalgic glimpse into the world of life as a young female actress in the 1980s.

Stay tuned for the second part, where we continue our conversation with Taylor, exploring her more recent projects and her triumphant return to the genre with In a Violent Nature. For now, let’s step back in time and relive the thrills and chills of the 80s horror scene with one of its most enduring stars.

Lauren-Marie Taylor interview

Love Horror: What started you on your journey into acting?

Lauren-Marie Taylor: “I fell into it, when they needed a girl to be burned at the stake for one of the plays at my brother’s school, which was next door to mine. It was an all boys school.

“So I just had to be burned at the stake and scream. And I kind of enjoyed it. Soon after, I got the chance to try out for Twelfth Night, and I got the role of viola. And I was just a freshman when I did that. I was in my first year, in high school.

“Then I started doing the musicals because I knew I could sing because I sang at church – you know, everybody says that in America, but it’s true – you sing at church!

“I started auditioning for musicals, and that’s where I got scouted. I was in a production of Oklahoma! With another actress, Ally Sheedy, and I had the comic role. She had the sad, romantic lead, and her manager who came to see the show. Afterwards she came up to me and she said ‘have you ever thought about doing TV commercials? You have a really good All-American look.’

“She said it would be a good way to make money for college, so I was sold! And a few months later, I had a three year deal with Burger King to do all of their commercials, including jingles. That paid for college.”

So how did you come to be involved in Friday the 13th Part 2?

“I had done a little role in the movie Manhattan. And Woody Allen picks everybody from their photographs, and he needed some students to be hanging around outside the Dalton School for the scene where he meets Mariel Hemingway and picks her up. My photo got picked, so I’m a little featured there with another guy, funny enough, from the same agency.

“There I got a taste of how movies worked, you know, different from TV commercials, because I had only been doing TV commercials and some stage work. It’s a completely different vibe on a movie set. So I liked that.

“I then auditioned for Blue Lagoon, Amadeus, Ordinary People. And I got to the point where I’d actually met each director. So I got really far in the audition process. And when this [Friday the 13th Part 2] came along, I was like, oh, it’s just another audition.

“I went in and they were looking for again, All-American Girl Next door, a little bit on the geeky side. The casting director knew me from TV commercials. And when I went in, I read the scene, I screamed a few times and they got the call the next day saying ‘pack your bags, you’re going to camp.’”

Did you know it was a horror film at that point?

“Oh, yeah. But it wasn’t called Friday the 13th part 2. It was actually called Jason. So the producers and the director had us go to a screening room in New York City to the screening of Friday the 13th.

“I was blown away. I was like, ‘oh my God, do they really kill you in these movies?’ I really thought that they killed you and I considered not doing it. Imagine that. Because I was so scared that they actually killed you, because it looked so real. So I found that very intriguing about the whole horror industry.”

So apart from trying to avoid being killed, how did you prepare for the role of Vickie?

“Well, it’s weird because I had never gone to camp. So I knew nothing about the whole being a camp counselor. Back then, there was no YouTube video on what’s it like to be a counselor in training? So we just had to go there and just it was really about immersing ourselves into the universe of being at summer camp.

“That was the only preparation I had, just being a part of it, and doing it and doing the activities that the camp provided, because it was a working camp that we were working at and filming at and sleeping at.

“But in terms of the character, I really saw her as so kind hearted. Vickie is just such a kind hearted girl. She’s all-American, and she’s not the sexy one, but she’s trying so hard to lure this guy in – Thomas McBride’s character in.

“To make her slightly awkward was a choice that I made, because I wasn’t awkward the way Vickie is, but I was awkward being in the camp situation, so I just use that feeling to make Vickie a little bit awkward.”

I think a lot of people that watch Vickie and will see a bit of their younger selves in her character, that awkwardness, the nerves.
In the scenes when there isn’t something terrible happening, the characters seem very close and relaxed. Was it like that when you weren’t shooting?

“Very much so. We were all hanging out because don’t forget, we all lived at the camp. I think the only people who didn’t were the directors and the producers. So we did just hang out. I’ve got some pictures in my personal photo albums of us all just hanging out, waiting for this scene or waiting for the camera change. You know, different angles, different setups, waiting for somebody to get killed.”

Why do you think the Friday the 13th franchise endured when many other slashers of the time fell by the wayside?

“The whole reveal of Jason in part two is big. It’s the first time you really see him. In part one he just jumps out of the water, grabs Alice, but he looks like a polliwog. You can’t really tell that he’s a child or whatever. But in part two he’s menacing.

“That’s the beginning of Jason being menacing. It started with the end of part one, but then it went full force. And I think that’s what makes part two special, is that it introduces him as this threat. A person getting revenge for mommy because she got revenge for him. For him drowning. So that’s what makes part two so different for me, because it puts the franchise into gear.

“And that’s why I think it endures. I haven’t seen all of the renditions like ‘Jason go to outer space’ because I didn’t enjoy them.
When they’re on, I’ll sit there and I’ll watch it, and then I’ll just find myself looking up recipes on my phone and it doesn’t keep your attention at all.”

Was there any point when you were filming part two where you thought ‘wait a minute, this is going to be a film that will be significant?’

“No, not at all. Not at all. We were squirreled away up in Connecticut in this, you know, old camp, minimal budget. Shoestring budget, small crew. I had no idea. And even after that, I thought Neighbors would be huge. You know, John Belushi’s last movie? I thought that would be much bigger and have more lasting power than Friday the 13th.

“And even when I was on the soap opera all those years, I did a lot of appearances for the network, sent out to shake hands with a lot of people and represent the network in various situations, parties across the country, premiere parties, things like that.

“Never in 12 years did Friday the 13th come up at an appearance. It was the most bizarre thing. And now you think about conventions, most of the traffic that I get is obviously Friday the 13th. But now I’m getting attention for Neighbors and Girls Night Out and Loving.”

After the film came out and had been in cinemas, did you get many people recognising you in the street?

“Not really. Once in a while you get somebody who would do sort of a double-take, but because cable was really not a big thing back then and there was no internet. Obviously, once it was out of the theaters, it was gone until they showed it on TV. So people didn’t have the opportunity to see this movie again and again.

“So I wasn’t recognised so much for Friday the 13th. But I was busy working, doing commercials and jumping from movie to movie and then the soap opera. Once I was on the soap opera, then all hell broke loose.

“I mean, I couldn’t go Christmas shopping without claiming I was my twin sister – and I don’t have a twin sister!

“When the blockbuster videos came and Hollywood video, then those VHS’s were going home, that’s when I started to see a shift, Loving and Friday the 13th fans.”

In recent years, people have become more aware of the sort of things that were happening to young actresses behind the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. What was it like for you to be an actress in the 1980s?

“I’ve always had positive experiences with all the filming. You know, everybody asks about the, what was it like on the set of Neighbors because John Belushi died of a drug overdose, but it wasn’t like that on set at all. It was a very professional set. The only negativity that really hit me happened with a lot of women during the 80s and 90s, and that was about our weight. People would say things like ‘you need to lose weight.’

“I remember after I had my first child, I went back to work after being on maternity leave for eight weeks. I didn’t gain a whole lot of weight because I kept running when I was pregnant and I was in good shape. I gained just the right amount of weight – 27 pounds – enough for me, enough for a very healthy baby. And I went back and the producer called me into the office during a love scene and I was wearing a negligee. This female producer said to me “when do you think you’re going to get rid of the baby fat?” And I looked at her said, “I’ll get rid of my baby weight when he gets rid of his love handles” (gesturing to my co star).

“But I was so shocked. And when I look at pictures of me when I was on that soap opera. I was probably 20 pounds lighter than I am today.”

Look out for part two of this interview later this week. You can see Lauren-Marie Taylor in In a Violent Nature in cinemas now.