During the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, the main characters of the supernatural horror thriller “Went Up the Hill,” played by Jack (Dacre Montgomery) and Jill (Vicky Krieps), spoke about the challenges they faced during filming. They revealed that shooting some scenes was particularly tough due to the extreme cold, with some instances of equipment freezing.
Dacre Montgomery shared that during a scene, the tip of his pen froze while he was painting, likening the situation to a scene from “The Day After Tomorrow.” He described the freezing temperatures and how it made the experience feel incredibly real. Vicky Krieps added that they were so cold during filming that they couldn’t even talk properly, showing just how challenging the conditions were.
The actors also shared details about the plot of the movie. In the film, Jack, played by Montgomery, visits a remote area in New Zealand to attend his estranged mother’s funeral. There, he meets Jill, his mother’s former spouse, and experiences the presence of his mother’s spirit inhabiting both Jack and Jill. They also discussed the practical challenges of filming in such frigid conditions. Despite wearing a wetsuit under his costume, Montgomery remarked that the cold was still unbearable.
They described how the practical elements of the film were done in a dirt pit near the house, with a constructed plexiglass frame and portions of ice and a blue screen to depict the freezing lake. Montgomery, originally from Australia, expressed his disbelief at the extreme cold, emphasizing that he had never experienced such temperatures before.
These detailed insights into the challenging filming conditions and the actors’ personal experiences during the making of “Went Up the Hill” provide a deeper understanding of the dedication and effort that went into creating this supernatural, horror thriller.
