Halloween Kills Director Shares History of Casting Andi Matichak

On Friday night, Halloween Kills had its U.S. premiere at Beyond Fest in Los Angeles, and director David Gordon Green and producer Jason Blum took the stage after the film for a Q&A. The creatives answered some questions from fans on social media, and one of the movie’s stars submitted a question of their own. “How freaking cool is Andi Matichak?,” the actor who plays Allyson, Laurie Strode’s (Jamie Lee Curtis) granddaughter, jokingly wrote. This led to Green sharing the story of how Matichak landed the role. 

“It’s really fun. I was working with Andi, who plays Allyson in the movie… I had auditioned her for a project a year… In the early stages of Jason and I talking about making this come together, and audition her for something,” Green explained. “And the audition went something like this, ‘You’re not right for this. Let’s hang on to you for Halloween.’ And then literally a year later we’d… I’d never even met her, but I’d just seen an audition tape. And something about that struck me in a way, that she felt of the lore and the legacy that was right for this. And so it was awesome to see her interpretation of the character when it came fully realized. To realize that there is some sort of cosmic energy that can plant seeds early in the game, in a different process, in another arena entirely, and then come to fruition in here. So it’s wonderful working with her.”

Earlier this year, Matichak was asked by WeWatchedAMovie which Halloween film was more physically demanding, Matichak confirmed, “Kills. I just ran around a bunch in the first one, in Halloween, I ran around in the woods, there were a lot of running scenes that got cut where I’m just jogging around the block.”

During the Beyond Fest Q&A, Green also talked about what it was like working with Curtis on the new trilogy. 

“It’s amazing. I mean, a title like this is obviously very intimidating. And as, before the show, that provocative letter was exposed. But it was like a physical feeling because of what the original film meant to me in my childhood. And it disturbed the f*ck out of me. And I wanted to make sure that I did something that was appreciative of that heritage, but also had my own signature because I want that as well. And then having a collaboration of Jamie Lee, which is amazing, and a wonderful… As you saw on screen, and on stage, compelling force of nature. Charming, fun, motivational, brave. And John Carpenter who’s very challenging, and supportive, and inspiring in so many ways. And so having those legacy realities, with their voices in the mix, just made it a pleasure.”

Halloween Kills hits theaters and Peacock on October 15th.