Communion Coffee

from trying to do justice to Lila’s story,” Fisher said. “With [Lila] having been a survivor of a school shooting, that’s totally something that I wanted to give nuance and I did a lot of research on how people deal with trauma, and that's how I crafted her into a dimensional person. A lot of people who deal with trauma are funny, and kind destiny where there can only be one person [to survive], and to me, Melody felt like that choice- and it was interesting to me that Lila ended up being the survivor.”

While it’s natural to root for the protagonists, some people tend to gravitate towards the antagonists and their “misunderstood” natures. However, Garcia said producer Fede Álvarez and original co-writer Kim Hinkle advised against focusing on the iconic antagonist Leatherface too much, and he emphasized the importance of balancing out the scenes that draw sympathy to horror icons.

BEN NGUYEN Managing Editor

While travelling down Route 75, you might spot a sign for Communion Coffee on Exit 24. With both good food and ample working space, the diner offers more than just coffee—but how good is it for getting your fix?

Walking into the store, nearly a quarter of its real estate is taken up by a dedicated mer- of jerks, which they’re totally allowed to be.”

The “final girl'' is a common story in the horror genre (slasher films especially) where the lone survivor is typically a woman who confronts the killer and eventually shares her story. Fisher expresses the issues with the “final girl” trope, such as its predictability, and how this film subverts it.

“Being the final girl, I didn’t want to fall into those tropes if I could help it, because it really is a total tossup at the end who is going to survive,” Fisher said. “I feel like there is some sort of cosmic chandise space. Jackets, hoodies, mugs, water bottles and notebooks are the first thing you’ll see before getting to take a look at the menu. The whole vibe is of a high-end spot that’s supposed to be visited for the sake of going, a place to be attached to and eventually buy some of the branded materials and other minorly useful items seemingly targeted at the “working entrepreneur” customer.

The issue for me, then, is the coffee and their hours. A regular iced vanilla latte cost me $6.50. Ouch! On top of that, the actual amount of coffee wasn’t particularly more than a Starbucks grande, making the surcharge for an iced drink- maybe it’s the extra ounces of milk?- sting a bit more. The hot lattes are regularly priced, but I’m also just not a particular fan of the blend that Communion uses. Maybe it would be better black, but the flavor doesn’t mix well with their vanilla additive like some other blends

“There is a tendency to want to humanize the villain, and see him in a different light,” Garcia said. “But we also want to make sure he is still the monster in the film. He is a terrible person, obviously, has a very unfortunate childhood and upbringing, so we can’t fully blame him for his actions. He’s still monstrous and he’s kind of an allegory for the worse and most violent parts of humankind. So, I didn’t want to humanize him too much, make it too sympathetic. But there are always going to be people in the audience cheering on Leatherface, as it’s a part of the fun.”

He also discussed the differences of remaking a low-budget original with modern technology, as the initial “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” relied heavily upon practical effects in order to film many gruesome scenes.

“The fun thing about the original is that it's known for being very gory, but it's really more psychological,” Garcia said. “A lot of the gore isn’t really on screen, it's suggested through clever tricks and editing, and a lot of that is because of the time…There’s a shot in the original film where Leatherface falls and the chainsaw falls on his thigh and cuts into his thigh and the way they did that was put a

SEE CONVERSATION, PAGE 8 do. And when the only flavor options are vanilla, lavender and honey, it feels worse and worse to go for just a drink.

In contrast, the food is great! I tried the Horchata French Toast and a “Choriqueso” burger, which ran for a standard $10-12 per dish. The horchata butter that comes with the French toast is light and pairs well with the mixture of strawberries, bananas and syrup. The combination of chorizo and queso didn’t spill out of the burger and was perfect with the additional jalapenos. So, the food’s great, but there’s just one problem for me: they close at 2 p.m. (3 p.m. on weekends)!. For any normal human, that may be good enough for a breakfast and lunch place. It just stings that food so good is only available for such a short time compared to most other restaurants and cafés.