Emma Caulfield Stakes her claim on the big screen in Darkness Falls (by Tara Di Lullo)

As her character on UPN’s hugely popular series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Emma Caulfield (29) has slayed vampires and demons, wreaked vengeance on countless humans and staved off apocalypse after apocalypse. Now, the actress jumps into a new and dangerous arena just as fraught with challenges and dire consequences – the big screen. After a successful decade of television work (Beverly Hills 90210, General Hospital, and Silk Stalkings) including her five seasons as ex-vengeance demon Anya on Buffy, Emma is starring in her first film - the creepy thriller, Darkness Falls.

Shot primarily in Australia, the movie nonetheless centers on the sleepy New England town of Darkness Falls, which is harboring a hundred year old secret shame. In the early 1800’s, the reclusive widow Matilda Dixon was considered a harmless woman who took a shine to the children of the community. They would offer her their baby teeth in exchange for cakes and treats thus earning her the nickname of “The Tooth Fairy.” That is until two children turned up missing and the townspeople, spurred by distrust and rage, savagely murdered Matilda. As her body burned, the missing children appeared having only been lost in the woods. Since then, legend tells of “The Tooth Fairy” haunting the dark places of the town killing anyone who sees her.

Emma plays Caitlin 'Cat' Greene, a young woman from the town who fights to protect her younger brother (Lee Cormie) from the “The Tooth Fairy” who is menacing him when he sleeps. Caitlin’s former beau Kyle (played by newcomer Chaney Kley) who was also plagued by “The Tooth Fairy” in his youth, returns to town to help stop the evil specter from taking any more victims.

Emma and I talked last month by phone from LA, as she was finishing up filming Buffy before the holiday break. Spirited, funny and refreshingly candid, Caulfield talked about her role in Darkness Falls, her role as Anya on Buffy and the challenges of balancing her artistic and professional soul.

For many of the members of the Darkness Falls cast and crew including director Jonathan Liebsman and co-stars Chaney Kley & Lee Cormie and yourself, this was a first major film experience.  What kind of challenges did that present for you?

I wouldn’t say it was challenging, so much. There’s really not a huge difference between the mediums [of TV and film] except for the amount of time that you are allotted to actually do a scene. I’ve been in the business in one form or another for awhile so I was pretty comfortable. I suppose the time difference was the most challenging aspect of shooting the film concurrently with shooting Buffy.

That’s a huge challenge considering the distance alone. How did that work out for you?

I went back and forth twice. Then, I went east for three-week intervals. I would shoot my stuff at Buffy and then run off and get on a plane to Australia and then come back and pick right up shooting Buffy with the second unit. We shoot far enough in advance [on Buffy] that I could pick my stuff up later so luckily I didn’t have to miss any episodes. The beginning of the shoot was very difficult. I had horrible jet lag but you get used to it. It was hard but by the second time it was easier. It was well worth it.

You shot the film mostly in Australia even though the film takes place in New England. How was it working Down Under?

I absolutely obsessively love that country. It’s amazing. It’s well worth the travel. I could see myself having a place there – ideally I can see myself doing that someday.

How was it working with Lee and Chaney?

Chaney was pretty new to the business entirely so he was trying to find his way and he did it completely fantastically. He was just lovely. Lee had done a few commercials in Australia so he was pretty new to the business as well as one would be considering he is eight. [Chuckles] I was definitely the veteran coming into the film. It was a group effort to get it made.

Your character, Caitlin, is a reluctant heroine who rises to the occasion in the film. Was it important to you that she not be portrayed as the typical horror film damsel in distress?

Oh, very much. I had no interest in being your basic vanilla girl. I’ve been lucky enough that I haven’t had to play that [in my career.] I certainly don’t play it on Buffy and Caitlin’s definitely not that girl. She is a heroine and reluctant in the sense that she doesn’t believe what is going on at first but once she does, she’s right there in the mix. She can handle herself. [Chuckles].

Did you enjoy the physicality of the role?

It was so much fun. I don’t get a chance to do many of my own stunts on Buffy – none of us do. We have amazing stunt people who make us all look really believable and really good. So when [the producers of Darkness Falls] actually said I could do as much of my own stunt work as I wanted, I was totally elated and had so much fun doing it. I went back to the hotel every night with bruises and cuts so it was like being a little kid again.

Buffy has thriller and horror elements depending on the episode and Darkness Falls is a full-out thriller, do you particularly like the genre?

I definitely gravitate towards quality genre projects and genre of any kind whether it’s science fiction, horror or really anything. I’m just drawn to quality. I don’t think Darkness Falls is horror; there isn’t any gore by any stretch of the imagination.

Speaking of which, director Jonathan Liebsman really has made a film that is throwback to the more suspenseful days of horror/thriller films.

Yes! Jonathan is the sole reason for my doing the project. I saw a short film of his called Genesis and Catastrophe that blew me away. It was so dark and visceral and thought provoking. So, when I heard he was doing the film, I said ‘Ok, where do I sign on?’ I knew that anything he was going to bring to the picture was going to be great.

Sometimes actually working with someone you admire can be a completely different experience. Did he live up to your expectations? What made him special to work with?

He is just so untouched by everything. He is completely new to the business – this is his first film. He was looking at everything through virgin eyes. Sometimes, he would have a communication breakdown with his accent; he has a heavy South African accent. So it was a challenge to sometimes understand what he was looking for but it didn’t take too long. After awhile, I began to understand Liebsman-speak. We got to the point as he would prattle on about ‘uhm…I think I’d like you to look and maybe this and do…’ and I’d just look at him and say ‘More scared?’ and he would light up and say ‘Yeah!’ [Laughs]

I adore him. I can’t wait to work with him again!

The legendary FX guru, Stan Winston brings the villainous spirit of Matilda to life for the film. How much of Matilda did you get to see and work against while shooting?

I had nothing to work off. I never did so I was literally acting to nothing. [Laughs]

It made it interesting because when I saw the final product and they had inserted the elements, it was very interesting, to say the least. There was me with this thing on screen and I could finally say ‘Oh, that’s what it was!’ There was no way to even really imagine it because how can you imagine something that is going to come out of Stan’s genius. What he created is really creepy looking, it’s going to scare people.

I read you have a degree in psychology and this film deals with the dilemma of what is real and what is imagined in the psyche. Was that fun to delve into?

I don’t have a degree in psychology. I attempted to acquire that numerous times and each time dropped out for work so I don’t actually have the degree. Sadly, it will plague me until whenever. But I learned enough to get a background and it’s been helpful in all aspects of what I do. It’s in every acting job I’ve had and there is a fine line to the art of understanding human beings and probably one I will never master. I’ve spent years doing it in an imaginary way.

Is there a scene in the film that you are particularly proud of?

The scene with the cat is my favorite. We barely got that scene off because we ran over that day so we were going to scrap it. I was leaving to go back to LA and there was just no time but I really wanted to get the scene. I knew it would be great. So, we threw it together and we got it off in one take and it just worked. I just loved that moment. It was an unexpected scare and it was a tension release - a very much needed audience breather moment.

What are your favorite scary films?

Oh, as for thrillers: Silence of the Lambs, which is my all-time favorite film or The Others, which I loved. As for action horror films maybe Aliens and Alien; I could watch them over and over. I’m a big fan of being scared – I like being scared. I like being involved in a film that will make audiences scared, that intrigues me.

Is the studio talking sequel yet?

I am already attached to a sequel. They have me if they want to make another one.

Switching gears to your TV gig, you’ve said in interviews that this is going to be your last season of Buffy regardless of whether it continues or not. Do you still feel the same?  

Yeah, I’m definitely ready. I am absolutely leaving at the end of the season. It’s just time. I’ve given this analogy of feeling like being a senior in high school; as much as I loved being a senior in high school, I’m really looking forward to being a freshman. That’s really where my head is except I’ve spent two years being a senior. [Laughs] I’ve been here going on my fifth year and it’s definitely time. You know, there’s really only so much you can do with a character and hopefully, I’ve kept [Anya] fresh. That becomes the big challenge in and of itself beyond complementing and enhancing the writing. At this point, the challenge really isn’t being a good actor but how to make her interesting. When it really becomes so much about that and you are really grappling with trying to keep things fresh, then it’s time to look at that and move on.

You were supposed to only be a one-episode character and here you are 4 seasons later. What’s been the biggest pleasure for you as an actress playing Anya?

Probably the singing and the dancing.

After the much acclaimed musical episode last season Once More with Feeling, you were the only cast member to get an extra song in this season’s episode “Selfless”?

Yeah, they spoiled me. That episode…that’s one of those experiences that will be very hard to rival in any venue whether I’m on stage or film or another show. Playing Anya, just that alone, I’ve raised the bar for myself. Having an episode like that where I was able to do everything: singing, dancing, speaking Swedish, swordplay!

Did you actually speak Swedish in that episode?

It was Swedish! [The producers] have always trusted me every time they’ve decided to raise the bar for her. It’s confidence inspiring that the writers and producers believe enough in her and in me that I can somehow pull it off. When I don’t feel that I can, they’ll come in and say ‘Yes, you can’ and push me farther. That’s really, hopefully, what this business is about as an actor – pushing your boundaries and being scared. I haven’t been scared in awhile so that was nice.

With Anya you get a chance to show off your exceptional comedic timing. You make the line delivery look so simple but actors always say comedy is terribly hard. Did you always know comedy was your forte?

Thank you. I’ve always loved comedy and wanted to do it. It definitely had been something I’d wanted to focus on prior to Buffy. Up until the show, it was very difficult for me to break down the casting directors doors in terms of half hour comedies. They had it in their heads that I was a dramatic actress and that I wasn’t funny. I was told that – ‘She isn’t funny and she can’t do comedy.’ I was told that repeatedly. I knew that was wrong. I’m not saying I’m brilliant but I know what my abilities are and I knew that I could do it. I would have to say the projects that I was reading for the most part weren’t really funny in their nature and were trying to be funny and I think that is inherently unfunny. [Laughs]

What makes Anya so funny is that she is never trying to go for a joke. Anya’s ability to endear herself to people comes from the fact that she just doesn’t edit herself. Plus, the writing is just amazing. I know that what I do for her and hopefully I bring it justice, but they write her so well that I think anybody could say those lines and be funny. The way they write her is how I view comedy. She’s very true and you play her straight. I think anytime you play anything straight it inevitably ends up being funnier than if you set out to find the joke. She just is the joke.

With the immense success of the show, self-described shy Emma now has a lot of fans clamoring to meet you? Has the show changed your personal life? Is it disconcerting for you?

You know, I’m honestly rarely ever recognized. Seriously. It goes back to my own mother not being able to recognize me in a line-up of one. [Laughs] She will pass by me if we are supposed to meet in a mall, she’ll walk right past me! I don’t know what it is about me. I really have the ability to be a chameleon and blend in with the woodwork. I’ll be out with Aly Hannigan (Willow on Buffy) shopping or whatever and fans of the show will come up and say ‘Oh, we love Willow!’ I’m so used to it, I just laugh and go about my business. Then Aly will turn to me and say ‘Well, she’s on the show!’ The fans will ask me who I am then get excited when I tell them. They always say I look so different. I don’t think I do but I guess I do. So, my anonymity is very much intact and I don’t know if the film will change that but for the time being I have been very fortunate. If I go to something fan related like a Buffy autograph signing, that’s very surreal because I’m not used to it. Suddenly, I’m seeing thousands of people who know everything about my life! Otherwise, if anyone comes up to me, I’m usually mistaken for Kate Beckinsale (Pearl Harbor) and I used to get Alyssa Milano when I had dark hair.

Your roots are in theater and you’ve said that you would like to go back but would you ever want to do a TV series again?

I love theater but it would have to be somewhat of a lucrative venture for me because I own a home now and I have a mortgage. [Laughs] While theater feeds the soul, it doesn’t feed the pocketbook. If the right thing came along, I would do it in a minute. I would prefer to do that right away before another film or TV show. I really have been missing theater but I think I need to stick to the other venues.

As for doing another TV show, at the end of the day I really just want to do good work and I’ve been very spoiled by the quality of Buffy. I wouldn’t just want to do another show. Hopefully, I’ll be lucky enough to continue with the same level of quality on my next project.

Despite the huge fan base and cult status of Buffy over the last seven years, the show continues to be the “bastard step child” when it comes to Emmy award recognition. Does that make the cast angry?

I wouldn’t presume to speak for the cast but I’ve always been outspoken about my disappointment with the Emmy board. I don’t understand how anyone can watch the show and not want to honor it. I think that is the point – the people on the Emmy board don’t watch the show and if they did they would honor it. The show is appreciated and honored by the people who really matter, which first and foremost are the fans but even beyond that, is the critical recognition since its debut. It’s on virtually every critics top ten and has been time and again. And each time the show is snubbed, there is usually a flurry of press that comes around the next day saying ‘What were they thinking!’ That’s nice and vindicating. We really are appreciated by those that matter but that being said it would be nice to be recognized by the only award that TV really has. But regardless, I think that history will be kind to the show.

It must be really satisfying to know you’ve contributed to something that will stand the test of time?

Oh, yeah! I’m a part of major pop culture and that transcends a paycheck, time, everything. I’ve been blessed. I was a fan of the show before I was on it and to actually have made my living and made a major elevation in my career doing something that I respect so much has been…I don’t even have words for it.

You’ve said you can see a time when you leave the acting behind and maybe work with animals. Could you honestly do that and still creatively be happy?

Let’s put it this way, I’m never going to be satisfied by just wearing one hat. For the time being, what I’m doing is fine. Where I’m going to be in ten years, I don’t know but I don’t want to be doing just this. That’s probably more of an accurate statement than saying, ‘I want to leave and go do blah, blah, blah.’ I just know that I’ll need change. Just being an actor just flat out doesn’t feed my soul enough. There are things that I really want to do with my life and getting that next part may be essential but it’s not the end all-be all. It’s fun and it’s a job but at the end of the day it’s still just “what I do.”  I don’t mean to sound ungrateful but my experience has been, the less I want something the easier it comes. I don’t know if that is true for everyone but in my world, it’s been that way. It’s not to say I’m not ambitious, I am. I will fight for projects I want because as much as this is a nine to five for me, it’s still my career and I need to nurture it so that it takes on multiple levels and helps me grow as a person and an artist.