Florence Pugh only regrets making one movie – and it’s this ’80s-set Netflix horror

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Florence Pugh has talked about a Netflix horror film set in the 1980s that she likely regrets being a part of.

The 2018 film Malevolent stars Florence Pugh as Angela, who, with her brother Jackson (Ben Lloyd-Hughes), pretends to be a paranormal investigator. They make a living by scamming people who think their houses are haunted.

I always thought these investigators were pretty grounded, dismissing anything supernatural as nonsense. But then one case came along that totally threw them for a loop. It made them start to wonder if all the creepy stuff they’d been ignoring was actually real, and it completely changed everything for them.

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The film received generally mixed reviews from both critics and audiences, earning a 54% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which suggests a fairly neutral reception.

Florence Pugh, the film’s lead actress, also voiced her disapproval of the horror movie, revealing in an interview with Louis Theroux that she’s never even seen it.

Theroux expressed his love for horror movies, mentioning he’d even watched Malevolent simply because he wanted to, not for any professional reason. Pugh responded that she hadn’t seen the film since she acted in it.

“It’s probably the one movie that I wish I never did. I think everybody has one of those movies,” she continued.

She explained that she regretted doing the film because it wasn’t what she expected. She’d taken the role when she was younger and needed the money, and while it seemed like a good opportunity at the time, the actual experience turned out to be disappointing.

During the podcast, Florence Pugh discussed how playing Dani in the horror movie Midsommar deeply affected her, even using the word “fd up.” She also revealed that she actively controlled her feelings to deliver her performance.

I’m so excited to talk about Ari Aster’s incredible film! It centers around Dani and her boyfriend, Christian, played by Jack Reynor, as they join a group of friends for a trip to a tiny village in Sweden to visit their friend, Pelle (Vilhelm Blomgren).

During her time there, Dani confronts difficult truths about her fading relationship with Christian, a painful recent loss, and the unsettling origins of the cult, as their trip takes a disturbingly violent turn.

Florence Pugh described her role in Midsommar, explaining that her character, Dani, was going through a really difficult time and was constantly on the verge of falling apart emotionally.

I had no prior experience with such intense emotions, either personally or through anyone I knew. I’d never witnessed grief or mental health struggles presented in such a raw and demanding way, especially not in the context of the story I was working on.

To prepare for the role, I really pushed myself emotionally. At first, I focused on the feeling of hearing about a sibling’s death. As filming went on, I had to visualize more difficult images, like coffins. By the end, it felt like I was attending the funeral of my entire family.

She explained that she was asked to do something she didn’t know how to achieve. It wasn’t simply about showing sadness; she needed to convincingly portray pain.

Honestly, I’d never tried anything remotely like that before, but I figured, why not? It felt like the perfect chance to jump in and see what happened. I really pushed myself – maybe too hard, actually. I used to be the type to really suffer for it, but thankfully, those days are over.

She explained that she deeply immersed herself in the role, even to the point of feeling like she had to actively control her own emotions to deliver the powerful performance. She also found it difficult to distinguish between her own identity and that of her character, Dani, during filming.

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2025-11-18 01:50