It takes a resilient person to survive in a tough-as-nails city like New York…especially when they’re being hunted by a vengeful rat. This is the predicament of Selena (Allison Pittel, Stream 2024) in the new horror comedy Screamboat, which hit theaters last month. As if moving to the Big Apple from the Midwest to pursue a career as a designer wasn’t nerve-wracking enough, Selena must now unite with unlikely strangers on the Staten Island Ferry to battle the small but murderous Steamboat Willie (David Howard Thornton, Terrifier 2016).
From the mind of director and writer Steven LaMorte [read our interview with him here], who is also the brains behind The Mean One, Screamboat takes Walt Disney’s beloved 1928 cartoon starring Mickey Mouse in a fresh and terrifyingly hilarious direction. And Allison Pittel is thrilled to be part of it.
Ahead of the film’s May 2 release on digital, Blu-ray and DVD, PopHorror caught up with Pittel, who detailed her history of working with the creative team behind Screamboat, the parallels between Selena and herself, how the film tells a “different” kind of New York story and more.
PopHorror: Obviously you’re no stranger to this little family of independent filmmakers, as you were also involved in Stream. How did you come to be part of Screamboat?
Allison Pittel: I had worked with Fuzz on the Lens, who had produced Screamboat. I’d worked with them a few times on different projects and I got a call from Mike Leavy, who was one of the producers for Screamboat. He essentially sent me this audition for Screamboat and was like, “Can you get this in as soon as possible?” So I did it and I didn’t hear for a few weeks, and then I got a call from Marcus Slabine, he’s the associate producer, really late one night. He was like, “Hey, remember that audition you sent in a few weeks ago? Well, can you come in and do a chemistry read tomorrow?” So I went to Staten Island and I did a chemistry read with Amy [Schumacher] and then they hired me that day. We did it on the Staten Island Ferry. They had already gotten the boat and everything, so we got to do the chemistry read right on set. And then Steven was like, “Hey, I’d love to offer you the job.” So that was how it happened, and it was really great to work with everyone again in that capacity.
PopHorror: What was it about this movie and your character that made you want to audition?
Allison Pittel: I love working with Fuzz, that’s No. 1. Anything they do, I’m so totally geeked to participate in it if possible. I think their work is really fun and I knew the set was going to be a lot of fun. I really did find it very humorous and kind of twisted and fun and interesting, and it was different from the other IP movies that I had seen or heard about it. I was like, “This is cool.” And David Howard Thornton is attached to it, and I know he does amazing physical work with the characters that he does. So the people involved really sold me on it, but also just a really fun horror comedy is always going to be interesting to me, so that’s why I was very excited to do it.
And Selena, I really love her. She’s from the Midwest, she moved to New York to pursue her dream of becoming a designer. It paralleled a lot of my own life. I moved to New York from a Midwestern town to pursue acting, and I really saw myself in her. She’s someone who, it’s not easy for her. She’s not living the dream. She’s bartending and living on Staten Island. It’s not easy to chase your dreams and she really showcases that. I think that’s really cool. And throughout the film, you learn that she is resilient and she does have what it takes, even though she has a lot of self doubt in the beginning. That’s what being a New Yorker is. It’s not always this big success story right away. Sometimes it’s about how many times can you come back after you’ve been punched down or kicked down? How many times can you keep going? It’s not a story about a girl who gets to be a designer after overcoming obstacles. It’s a different kind of New Yorker story. It’s a story about a New Yorker who has to basically create these relationships and communities very quickly with people she wouldn’t normally interact with, and essentially survive the experience of being in New York. I think that’s a very cool New York story.
PopHorror: Definitely! So you’re familiar with that tough-as-nails city culture then?
Allison Pittel: Yes! I don’t think it’s made me any tougher. [laughs] I don’t know if I’m any savvier for being a New Yorker. I’m extremely trusting and open and it’s gotten me into a few pickles. But it’s definitely a place that really allows for lots of different types of personalities to thrive. So that’s why I love New York. It’s unapologetic. It’s a hustle city, but it doesn’t have to be. You can definitely find your solace and your peace and your communities. It’s a wonderful city.
PopHorror: Are you still there? Or are you on the West Coast now?
Allison Pittel: I’m on the West Coast now, I just moved to the West Coast two months ago.
PopHorror: In the movie, I loved the relationship between your character and EMT Amber, played by Amy Schumacher (The Mean One 2022). There’s a really cool arc there. In the beginning, you’re not that close and Amber is a bit tough on Selena. But in the end, you’re the two final girls and there’s a sense of camaraderie. You survive so much. What was it like bringing that dynamic to life on screen?
Allison Pittel: I think her and I hit it off pretty early in the chemistry read. We shot on the Staten Island Ferry, we did all of our night shoots for the most part. We were there for weeks. Sometimes it was really cold, sometimes it was really hot. It was really on the Staten Island Ferry, so I think that helped bring the circumstances to life. And Amy’s really funny and witty, which her character also is. So those moments of humor really came to life as we got to know each other. And with Jesse Posey (Teen Wolf: The Movie 2023), the three of us kind of became this group and we got really close. Amy, Steven and I, we all still talk. Jesse and I are in a group chat together. We all became really good friends through the course of it. So I think just naturally, we bonded and it shone through in the film.
PopHorror: And what was it like working with David Howard Thornton in a giant rat costume?
Allison Pittel: What’s funny about that is, we were not on set together often. I’ve known David for a few years now just through Fuzz on the Lens, but we actually worked with a puppet on set that was created by Quantum. And then David got the same costume which matched the puppet, he shot that mostly in LA and then with forced perspective, the two things were stitched together. It was really challenging, especially for him, because he did it all on his own and interacted with LED screens. And the rest of the cast in New York had this puppet to interact with. It was interesting to see it all come together literally at the premiere screening that we did in Vegas. That was the first time we actually saw David act in this film because we were filming separate. So that was crazy.
PopHorror: Which scene was your favorite to film that you’re excited for the fans to see?
Allison Pittel: I really loved the scene that’s the climax of the movie that takes place on the upper level of the Staten Island Ferry. It’s a kind of big stunt for me that I did, and that was a lot of fun to shoot. I had never worked with wires before like that. It was physically really demanding, but it was awesome. It was a really fun day, everyone was excited about it because it was a big stunt day. Even some of the cast came to set who weren’t on schedule that day. I don’t want to give too much away, but it’s right at the end of the film, it’s sort of the big moment. It’s a Lion King reference if you put it together. I’m excited for people to see it. It’s this cool moment with David because he’s so wonderful and has such beautiful facial expressions that are so animated. It’s just really cool watching him have this internal debate, his character.
PopHorror: There’s so many cool Disney references throughout the film. Are you a Disney fan?
Allison Pittel: I do love Disney. My very first film I think I ever saw that I remember is Lion King, and that really made me fall in love with Disney as a whole, especially the ’90s cartoons like Beauty and the Beast, Pocahontas, Hercules, all of those. I also, when I was younger, would dress up as Belle and walk around and recite the lines to the movie. That was also my first kind of performance thing that I ever did or got into, Beauty and the Beast was my inspiration. Now, I haven’t seen a Disney movie in quite some time. But think everyone grew up with Disney in some capacity and some degree. It’s part of your memories in childhood.
PopHorror: You had so many funny scenes with the crew of drunk Disney princesses. What was it like shooting with them?
Allison Pittel: Oh, my God, they’re so hilarious. They’re brilliant and such amazing physical comedic actors. They were such a blast to work with, especially when we were filming in the Staten Island Ferry terminal one of the days, and that was at like four in the morning. And it was still active and open to the public, so we were dealing with the public coming in and out and some of them were looking around, just all types of different people. And these crazy girls with these costumes are suddenly storming up the stairs and the pedestrians are just like, “What the heck is going on?” That was hilarious to watch and to film. Jesse, he was fantastic. On that day especially, he was really feeding into the energy with those girls. So yeah, they were amazing to work with and they’re so talented.
PopHorror: Screamboat has been out for a bit now and the reviews are coming in. It seems to be doing better among general audiences than with critics. Do you have anything to say to those negative reviewers? I feel like some people are taking it more seriously than it’s meant to be.
Allison Pittel: Yeah, you have to have fun with it. You have to not take it too seriously. It’s there to make you laugh. It’s there to have a good time. It’s fun to watch in a group. It’s just meant to be fun and silly and have creative kills. The actors get to play a little bit within that world. That is not everyone’s cup of tea and that’s okay. No shade at all to the negative reviews because it’s not everyone’s thing and I understand that.
PopHorror: Is there anything upcoming for you that you’re able to speak about?
Allison Pittel: At this time, I’m working on a couple of projects, short films with a few people. One here and one in New York in the summer. Not in the horror genre, in more the drama, which is interesting. I find drama and horror very similar, there’s just a shade of difference, I think, with one, and it’s the kills and twists in horror are different. But the emotional stakes are very much the same in both horror and drama. But I’m excited for a different type of relationship with a character. But I will keep everyone posted if it’s where they live and if they are part of the festival circuit.
PopHorror: And I always love to ask, are you a fan of horror? If so, what’s your favorite movie?
Allison Pittel: Yes! I love horror. I grew up on it. My birthday’s on Nov. 1, so I’d always have a Halloween-themed party and we’d watch old black and white horror movies. I have to go with Jaws. I watched it very, very young and it was a movie that informed me of how good horror could be about characters and about relationships and about amazing scripts and acting. It was a relationship-driven piece more than it was a scary movie-driven piece, and I always loved that. It’s very near and dear to me. And a million others are so good that have come out. I’m loving what I’ve been seeing in the last 10 years, like Get Out was brilliant, Talk to Me, Babadook, It Follows. There are so many great ones that have come out in the past eight years. There’s this resurgence of amazing, incredible horror, which is so exciting to see. But I have to go with Jaws as the OG favorite.
PopHorror: As someone who has joined the Final Girl crew, do you have a favorite Final Girl?
Allison Pittel: That is a tough one! Right now, I’m loving [Lauren] LaVera. I think it’s just amazing what that franchise has done. She is part of something really awesome, which is this phenomenon, this new type of filmmaking. The zeitgeist of all that is so cool. She’s got a killer costume and badass energy, and I’m really vibing with her right now for sure.
Thanks for speaking with us, Allison! Screamboat is available on digital, Blu-ray and DVD May 2.
