How ‘Agatha All Along’ Crafted Those Terrifying Trials
Director Rachel Goldberg breaks down a few of the Marvel Television series’ key influences — including 'Suspiria,' 'The Craft,' and Nancy Meyers.
Walking the Witches’ Road is a dangerous journey. Marvel Television’s Agatha All Along follows Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) and her ragtag coven as they brave a series of witchy trials, each one more dangerous than the last. Director Rachel Goldberg helmed episodes 3, 4, and 5, and she worked closely with series creator Jac Schaeffer to make each trial feel like a distinct treasure trove of shocking moments and playful pop culture references.
“That was part of the fun!” Goldberg tells Marvel.com. “Part of what made me really excited about this show was that every episode and trial would have a different look and feel. I got to play in lots of different sandboxes, and a lot of it was just pulling tons of references.”
The first trial places the coven in a lavish beach house, and Goldberg collaborated with production designer John Collins and costume designer Daniel Selon to evoke a “Nancy Meyers, grandma chic, Big Little Lies” vibe. But despite the seemingly idyllic setting, the tension ratchets up as the room begins to flood and the witches age unnaturally.
“The flood and the prosthetics, we did it all practically,” Goldberg explains. “For the flood, we had to shoot everything else first because once we did the flood, we were going to destroy the set. And we had to keep the water warm, so you’ll notice that once the flood starts, we never show the side where all of our heat tanks were.”
For the second trial, Goldberg traded water for fire, shooting the elaborate, 1970s-inspired musical number where Ali Ahn’s Alice Wu-Gulliver leads the coven in song to battle a demonic curse. For color inspiration, she looked to vintage horror classics like Rosemary’s Baby, Carrie, and Suspiria.
“We used real fire!” Goldberg says. “We worked very closely with our stunt team and our special effects team, who are at the top of their game. We had to be very careful: All of the barriers that surround [the actors] create the circle, and we could light them all on fire, but we couldn’t do them all at the same time because it would put them in danger. So, we had to plan very, very carefully.”
Still, all that planning allowed for some improvisation. Goldberg points to one of her favorite gags from the scene, where Patti LuPone’s Lilia Calderu keeps switching out her musical instruments.
“We thought it’d be really fun if every time we cut to her, she has a different instrument,” Goldberg says with a laugh. “Then, when the creature exploded and she put the tambourine on her head, that was all [Patti].”
The third trial alludes to even more classic horror films, including Poltergeist and The Exorcist, as well as beloved witchy flicks like Hocus Pocus and The Craft. The goal, Goldberg says, was to make the trial feel like the best “horror sleepover you can imagine.”
One of Goldberg’s favorite moments to shoot was in episode 4, when the coven summons a green witch and Aubrey Plaza’s Rio clambers out of the ground. Taking inspiration from visual artist Bill Viola, Goldberg shot parts of the scene in reverse, first pouring dirt on Plaza and then reversing the footage. She and Plaza also brainstormed ideas of how to make Rio’s entrance as dramatic as possible — like how Rio drops into a deep, demonic voice to explain that she’s not just a green witch; she’s the green witch.
“She was like, ‘Hey Rachel, do you think it’d be cool if I go Michael Keaton Beetlejuice on this moment?’” Goldberg recalls with a laugh. “I was like, ‘Yes please! I want nothing more in the world than for you to do that!’”
Agatha All Along is now streaming on Disney+.
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