However, the rehearsal goes off the rails when cheerleaders start going missing one by one.
Is there a murderer stalking the team?
Kerri Medders:I’m very OG.
I love Kirsten Dunst, and I always loved [the original “Bring It On”].
But I couldn’t believe how smart [the first movie] was and how funny.
It was important to me to pay homage to that.
Kerri, you have such an exciting role in this film.
What drew you to your character?
Medders:Oh my gosh, I love Abby.
I love her arc.
Her arc is really cool.
What was it like combining all of that choreography to make a slasher?
We worked withTony Gonzalez, who’s one of the best choreographers I have ever come in contact with.
We were also working with our stunt coordinator,Kristen Sawatzky.
That was important to us all the way through.
Medders:It was so much fun.
I’m not going to lie.
Do you have any favorite memories from making this movie?
Lam:Of our four weeks of shooting, three weeks were night shoots.
You’re just going through the motions and you’re trying to stay conscious.
The cast were always doing something, including some TikTok dances and stuff.
They were constantly practicing but also doing sit-ups and TikTok dances in between scenes.
That’s what I remember.
Medders:I definitely wasn’t doing the TikTok dances.
I remember everyone else doing it.
I was the watcher.
I was like, “Wow, this is so Abby of me.”
But it was funny.
‘Fangirling’ over Missi Pyle
Missi Pyle is so funny in this movie as the school principal.
What was it like working with her?
Medders:I love her.
She is such a ball of energy.
Lam:She’s so tall!
She’s very tall and funny and gracious.
She was not self-conscious.
Here’s a beautiful woman who is not afraid.
it’s possible for you to put her in weird angles.
I had “A Clockwork Orange” angles going up her, and she wasn’t self-conscious.
Again, that’s such a trust thing.
I’m really grateful, and she’s lovely and funny, so that helps.
There are so many installments in the “Bring It On” franchise.
Now that it’s gone in a horror direction, might there be more scary movies in the franchise?
How do you both feel about the idea of possibly making more of these in the future?
Lam:I would love to do another horror installment of it.
But if they go Christmas, I’m out.
Sorry, I can’t.
The whole Diablo squad doing Christmas that would be …
Lam:Yeah, with their ugly sweaters.
That is the bridge too far for me.
Medders:A “Krampus” vibe.
I do love Christmas horror movies that could be a compromise.
Lam:That I could manage.
If they’re being tormented by Krampus, I’m there.
Finding the fun in horror
Karen, you direct a lot of horror movies.
What drew you to the horror genre?
Lam:It’s because I don’t like people to like me all that much.
I do, but it’s not important to me to actually have that.
I’ve always been that girl.
Not being a witch has been a failure in my whole life.
I don’t actually have superpowers; I can’t float.
I can’t hex anyone.
This is the consolation prize, my career.
I also love female revenge that’s a huge component of what it is.
Do you both have favorite horror movies?
Medders:“Ready or Not” by Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin.
I love that film so much.
I remember watching it right before I did this film, and I was inspired.
It’s so gory and it’s so good.
I’m geeking out over that film.
It’s my comfort film.
Lam:I love Asian horror.
Takashi Miike’s “Audition” has always been a favorite.
I think it’s a comedy no one else thinks it is a comedy.
I’m like, “I know you, I get you.”
That’s where I am.
You’re the person cackling in the cinema at all the scary moments when everyone else is terrified.
I relate to that.
I was like, “That’s so fun, I get you.”
We had to be careful about how much violence and how much blood we could actually show.
It forced us all to be a lot more creative.
you could’t lean into the violence or lean into the gore the way we normally do.
We had to do a lot of things clean.
Then it’s like, “How much blood?”
It’s like, “Release the kraken” how much blood can you actually release at this point?
you’re free to’t rely on your tropes of hosing it down [with blood].
What advice would you give to apprehensive viewers?
Lam:We went for fun death and not for death-death.
We didn’t go “Serbian Tale.”
Basically, we went Halloween special compared to something really gory or violent.
Medders:I personally think that the deaths are fun.
They make me giggle a little bit.
Maybe that’s me being a horror freak.
Did you have any problems filming this movie with the pandemic still going on?
Lam:I don’t think Kerri ever saw my face, for one thing.
Medders:I didn’t.
We had all these COVID protocols around that.
I’ve never had so many people sticking Q-tips up my nose.
Three months, it was a lot it was pretty invasive.
I found out I’m ticklish in my nose.
But in this case, I literally had to go over and talk to people to give instruction.
What’s next for you both?
Lam:I’m actually back in the writing room.
I’m working on a new television mini-series [and] television series ideas.
I’m in development at this point.
Medders:I’m in a just-released psychological thriller called"Jane" on Creator+.
Horror fans are going to love this episode.
Watch out for that.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
