FILM
Q&A with Actor Chad Connell
Actor discusses fi lms, queer fans, and different genres
BY GARY M. KRAMER
Chad Connell has only
a few scenes in out gay
director Pat Mills’ pulsepounding
new horror
fi lm, “The Retreat,” and he gets
to scream in two of them. Connell
plays Connor, a gay man who runs
a bed and breakfast with his boyfriend
Scott (Munro Chambers) in
the Canadian woods. But as the
guys share a kiss one night, Scott
hears something and heads out to
investigate. When Connor goes off
in search of Scott, he too disappears.
What evil lurks out there is revealed
when Connor’s friend Val
(Sarah Allen) comes to stay at the
B&B with her girlfriend Renee
(Tommie-Amber Pirie). Apparently,
some folks do not like queer couples
in their woods.
“The Retreat” is the second fi lm
Connell has made with Mills. The
actor appeared in “The Christmas
Setup,” a gay-themed holiday fi lm
Mills directed last year. (Connell
has made several holiday fi lms
over the years). He also starred
in the beguiling gay psychological
thriller, “Steel.” Connell, who lives
in New York with his husband and
dog, spoke with Gay City News
about his fears, his fi lms, and
making “The Retreat.”
KRAMER: Are you into camping
and rustic outdoorsy things,
or are you more of a city boy?
CONNELL: In real life, I grew up
going to the family cottage. I’m medium
outdoorsy. I can chop wood
and build an OK fi re to cook on.
Living in Manhattan, you need
to have some balance and escape
from city life.
KRAMER: What is the appeal
of playing in a horror fi lm? Do
you like the genre, or is it just
a change-up from movies like
“The Christmas Setup”?
CONNELL: I love horror fi lms.
Growing up, horror movies made
me want to pursue acting in a big
way — classics like “The Shining.”
I just saw “Possessor.” It’s amazing.
I love psychological horror. “The
Retreat” is a little more brutal.
“The Retreat” opens in select theaters and VOD May 21.
The horror is in what can happen
to you especially out in the woods
and if someone is hunting you for
who you are. I love fear in small
doses. Maybe it is because you are
able to control it — you can turn it
off, the movie ends.
KRAMER: Horror is an aboutface
from your holiday fi lms.
Can you talk about being the goto
guy for Christmas movies?
CONNELL: I have a quality people
like in those sorts of movies. I
always have the best time doing
them. I have been fortunate to work
with some unbelievable actors like
Mercedes Ruehl, Brook Shields,
and Fran Drescher, and you learn
a lot from those legends. I’m lucky
and fortunate.
I think people need a bit of escapism,
and they need to look at
people who have mild struggles
and make it through. That can
give them hope to make it through
their own struggles or to just
check out and enjoy. I know a lot
of people watch them in the background
while they wrap presents.
One of the benefi ts of “The Christmas
Setup” was that because
it was gay, we got support from
outside the general audience that
normally watches holiday fi lms.
PHOTO COURTESY OF QUIVER
A lot of people saw that these fi lms
can be good.
KRAMER: I’m curious about
your casting here, which is a victim
character, and a more sensitive
role. Would you enjoy being
the bad guy and being evil?
CONNELL: I would jump at any
opportunity to play the killer. That
scene in the barn — which was a
night of me screaming and crying
— I had no voice left at the end of it.
I had to do some ADR and because
of the pandemic, they found a way
for me to do ADR using an app on
my iPhone in my walk-in closet.
I was screaming at the top of my
lungs. I guarantee the neighbors
were calling the super.
KRAMER: “The Retreat” does
involve some horrifi c scenes,
like the barn scene you mentioned.
What can you say about
fi lming the torture sequences?
Are they fun to do?
CONNELL: To me, these are
more fun than sex scenes where
you’re uncomfortable. This is
equally choreographed, but its cathartic.
The running and screaming
and absolute fear — it’s a
universal emotion. We’ve all been
scared, and what do you do? You
hide it, and you put on this brave
face, whether its social anxiety,
or you’re walking alone at night.
Whereas in these moments as
an actor you get to explore what
it means to be fragile and scared
and at death’s door. When you’re
acting at nine or 10 on the scale,
there’s nothing else in your mind.
You can’t help to commit to fear
and dread. It’s hyper choreographed,
but there’s this also this
chaos in it that as an actor that’s
a fun place to be.
KRAMER: “The Retreat” pits
homophobes against innocent
queer characters. What are your
thoughts on this theme?
CONNELL: The world is a scary
place, and I think it’s important to
have the escapism of Christmas
movies, but it is also important for
us to face it in our artistic endeavors.
Film and TV has to show the
things that are happening in the
world and has to let people think
about fear that people have to go
through for their immutable characteristic.
KRAMER: You haven’t shied
away from gay roles. What observations
do you have about working
in queer projects and having
a gay fanbase?
CONNELL: The gay fanbase
is committed to their stars and
the people they watch and there’s
a reason for that — they want to
see themselves on screen and
represented. It’s special when you
can identify with someone. I have
gotten some really touching messages
about “Steel,” and it means
a lot to get those messages. I get a
lot of messages from people in the
Middle East, where it is not super
easy for them to be open about who
they are, and I think that’s kind of
heartbreaking.
KRAMER: What scares you in
real life?
CONNELL:I hate mice and rats.
I also don’t like being alone. I need
family, and my partner, and my
dog. Too much time spent alone is
a scary thing.
THE RETREAT | Directed by
Pat Mills | Opening May 21 in select
theaters and on VOD | Distributed
by Quiver Distribution
May 20 - June 2,30 2021 | GayCityNews.com
/GayCityNews.com
