Escape the Field, a new thriller drama, follows the lives of six individuals as they wake up and realize they’re in the middle of an unending cornfield. Soon, they realize there’s a much darker force at play and the group is pushed to their limits in an effort to survive.

Jordan Claire Robbins, the Umbrella Academy star who plays Sam, recently sat down to discuss her character and the joys of playing pranks on co-stars with uInterview founder Erik Meers.

“It’s about finding out who’s on your side and who’s not,” Robbins said, summarizing the movie. “Sam has to learn to trust and let people in and to face the things she’s been avoiding her whole life.”

Despite not knowing who’s trustworthy, the situation brings Robbins’ character, Sam, to make a connection with Theo Rossi‘s character, Tyler, in the film.

“It goes against her nature, and everyone’s nature in this situation, to trust these strangers, but it’s also a necessity to survive,” Robbins said. “[Same and Tyler] sort of develop a friendship and a bond that carries throughout the film. All these things are going on around them and they’re just kind of rolling with it, but I think they start to care about each other. I saw Sam realizing there’s another way to live. To her, letting someone in and building a relationship becomes about saving everyone else … Realizing he [Tyler] has a daughter, that they have a tight bond and maybe seeing life beyond this field if they can get out together.”

While the movie was serious and even frightening at times, off-set was the complete opposite. Robbins spoke highly of her co-stars, though she shared a prank that may have been a bit frightening for one of them.

“I had so much fun on this film,” the actress said. “Off-camera, we had a lot of fun with each other. That’s the stuff I really remember. The bonding, the playing pranks on each other … Theo and I were shooting this scene after hours in the corn and we somehow got on the topic of how awkward it is when a bunch of people sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to you, and you’re waiting for the song to end. We were like, ‘How funny would it be to prank someone where it’s not their birthday, but everyone’s singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to them?’ We were like, ‘Tahirah [Sharif], it has to be Tahirah,’ because she has the greatest sense of humor and greatest laugh. We arranged for this giant cake with her headshot printed on it to be made. It said, ‘Happy Birthday Tahirah! We appreciate you!’ I spent hours going back and forth with the cake company and started spreading the word that it was her birthday even though her birthday was four months prior or something. When we broke for lunch one day, everyone came out, everyone was singing to her and she was horrified. Theo and I were crying and laughing when we thought of the idea. It was definitely sleep deprivation, but I still think about it and burst out laughing. She hates us for it, but she loved it.”

Escape the Field is out in select theaters now.

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