Justin Long and Kate Bosworth have started a new Halloween custom. Long, 44, tells PEOPLE, “We’ve been doing a horror movie every night for October, leading up to Halloween,” “So we’ve done Don’t Look Now and The Exorcist and classics.”
In reality, the pair, who initially became connected in March before going Instagram official in May, have been depending on film recommendations from their Barbarian director, Zach Cregger. (Bosworth, 39, makes a brief but notable appearance in the film, which is now available to watch on HBO Max.)
“We love what Zach did with this movie and his taste,” Long says. As a result, we now have complete faith in his taste in horror films. He tweeted a list of films, so we’ve seen Saint Maud and Audition, as well as a slew of others on his list, like The Evil Dead. Tonight is the premiere of Nightmare on Elm Street! ”
Long has even admitted to seeing his own 2009 horror flick Drag Me to Hell with Bosworth, with whom he just co-starred in Neil LaBute’s thriller House of Darkness.
“We just love horror,” he says. “What you can achieve with that genre is truly unlimited. That’s what we’ve truly enjoyed about it, I believe. ”
Long has been labeled a “scream queen” by fans on Twitter for his notable performances in a variety of horror films over the years, including Jeepers Creepers (2001) and Tusk (2001). (2014).
“Yeah, I just saw that,” he admits. It’s quite flattering. I just finished seeing Halloween Ends, and there has never been a more iconic scream queen than Jamie Lee Curtis. Being ranked first in that area is quite gratifying. ”
“As an audience member, I love horror movies,” the actor says. “So maybe subconsciously I gravitate toward them because of that.”
Long tells PEOPLE that in the case of Barbarian, it all came down to how his character, an actor facing severe charges, was written.
He describes the experience as “exciting.” “It was a fantastic opportunity to play someone terrible and damaged. And to see the humanity in that person without condoning their actions. That individual exists in the world, and that person has methods to rationalize their actions and live with themselves. ”
Long continues, “I thought that was quite clever and insightful writing. I believe it’s vital to be able to recognize such folks in real life, but also, I suppose, in our art. ”
The Barbarian is now available on HBO Max, as well as for rent and purchase digitally.
