‘Don’t Breathe’ Cast, Updates: Jane Levy’s Fear was Real while Filming Horror-Thriller; Sony Uses Snapchat to Promote Film

‘Don’t Breathe’ actress Jane Levy was intentionally scared off in real life during filming of the psychological thriller. Meanwhile, Sony pushes its marketing on a whole level by using Snapchat for promotional purposes.

According to an interview on Entertainment Weekly, director Fede Alvarez admitted that the scenes featuring an extremely horrified Jane Levy were real.

Alvarez said, “I think Jane arrived on set and five minutes later she realized, ‘This might have been a mistake,’… A lot of that suffering you see onscreen is real. This movie was very hard to make on the actors.”

He continued, “On Evil Dead, it was more the physicality of it all, like being covered in blood every day, and makeup, and all that. On this one, this was a bit more the psychological torment of what’s going on and what she was going to be put through. You have to make sure that the actors are not too relaxed or not too comfortable. You misdirect the actor, you tell them, ‘You’re gonna walk down this hallway, and the guy’s going to come from the left, and you prepare for that.’ But, at the last second, you change it, and make him come from the right. You get great reactions out of them. Then they just scream at you but that doesn’t matter.”

Levy plays Rocky, one of the three friends who decide to rob a blind man’s home one night. She is joined by Dylan Minnette and Daniel Zovatto, who play Alex and Money respectively.

Alvarez praised Levy’s performance on the film saying, “But I think Jane did a fantastic job. I have a tremendous amount of respect for her work. I think she’s brilliant in the film, and she never fakes a single emotion, she’s really going for it, and she gave 100 percent every day on set.” The filmmaker and his lead star first worked together in the supernatural horror film ‘Evil Dead’ released in 2013.

Meanwhile, Sony Pictures took marketing on a new level by incorporating a chilling 360-degree video ad on Snapchat as part of the film’s promotional campaign. According to Variety, the 10-second Snapchat video ad was created by L.A.-based digital creative agency AvatrLabs.  Senior VP of international digital marketing at Sony Pictures Entertainment Aaron Wahle said, “It’s not just about one-sheets and trailers anymore, but about creating incredible experiences.” 

The Snapchat video allows users to “swipe up” to see the full 360 video of the film through a web page within the app. 

‘Don’t Breathe’ is an upcoming horror and thriller scheduled to be released in the United States on August 26, 2016. It is produced by Ghost House Pictures, Good Universe, Screen Gems and Stage 6 Films. It is distributed by Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Releasing in the United States.