Caleb McLaughlin is continuing his tenure in the horror genre with the new Audible original series, Sacrilege: Curse of the Mbirwi. After making guest appearances on a variety of TV shows, McLaughlin memorably broke out on screen as Lucas in Netflix horror film The Deliverance.

Written, directed and executive produced by Nyasha Hatendi, Sacrilege: Curse of the Mbirwi stars McLaughlin as Dashon Wallace, a 17-year-old who, with his family, ventures to a luxury safari in Zimbabwe, Africa from their home in Detroit, Michigan. While on the trip, Dashon inadvertently desecrates a sacred burial ground, making him and his family the target of the eponymous ancient shape-shifting spirit who protects the local community from foreigners. Alongside McLaughlin, some of Sacrilege's ensemble cast includes The Leftovers' Kevin Carroll, Christina Elmore, Jessica Mikayla, Tongayi Chirisa, Charmaine Bingwa, Denise Khumalo and Sibongile Mlambo.

In honor of the series' premiere, ScreenRant interviewed Caleb McLaughlin to discuss Sacrilege: Curse of the Mbirwi. The executive producer and star discussed what drew him to the project, how it takes its horror to a new level, the deeper message behind it, and the unique challenge of voicework. McLaughlin also shared his thoughts on saying farewell to Stranger Things after nearly a decade on the Netflix hit show.

Sacrilege Is Taking Its Horror Concept "To The Next Level"

Its Story Also Holds A Deep Personal Layer For McLaughlin

In reflecting on first being brought the material for the series, McLaughlin recalls being "so immersed" from just the first page of Sacrilege: Curse of the Mbirwi before meeting with Hatendi. Once he subsequently went into his conversations with the creator/director, McLaughlin found it was "a match made in heaven" between his creative desires and Hatendi's "creativity and his approach". In particular, one prospect that stood out to the Stranger Things vet about starring in the series was a long-gestating desire to "find my roots".

"For me, as an African-American, living in America, I want to go to Africa," McLaughlin shared. "I want to understand what my roots are. But then, being an advocate for the horror genre, I'm like, 'Okay, yes, we're going to twist it up and make it scary. We're going to bring it to the fictional world.' So yeah, of course, doing a project, or hopping onto a project, you never know how it's all going to turn out. But if you trust yourself and your artistry and trust the other person and the other creators and the people around you and your team, you'll get the product that you want."

We're born into this world, and I feel like we face Mbirwi at some points in our lives where we have to face our own demons, or our own traumas.

Another element that McLaughlin found "hooked me" about Sacrilege's story was "the duality between Dashon's character and his narrated character", as the protagonist offers two different voices between when he's telling the story and when he's actually in it, as well as "his relationship with his family". "It was insanely interesting," McLaughlin teased. "There's tea, and then there's a story with my sister. And then, going to Africa, there's a story within itself, and the people there and characters there that work at the resort, and what they've had to face in their lives."

McLaughlin went on to praise Hatendi for the story being "really built out well", particularly with "the Mbirwi as the main point of everything", believing that the show "brings it to the next level" with its horror and use of the titular ancient spirit for deeper thematic storytelling. "We're born into this world, and I feel like we face Mbirwi at some points in our lives where we have to face our own demons, or our own traumas," McLaughlin expressed. "There are some people that are dealing with demons, and some people are just dealing with their own traumas of their past or themselves."

Voicework Is "A Different Muscle" That McLaughlin Had To Work With

"...I Had To Overcompensate For What I'm Used To Doing..."

While having primarily focused on live-action work since his Stranger Things breakout turn, McLaughlin has sometimes explored the world of voiceover work over the past decade, with such shows as Final Space, Summer Camp Island, Ultra City Smiths and The Boys Presents: Diabolical. However, as he explains, Sacrilege "definitely was a different muscle that was stretched, flexed, flipped, broken, put together again", namely because he didn't have any animation to work off of and "help represent that expression".

"Every word, my tone, delivery had to make sure, like, this was a question, make sure you were making that a statement," McLaughlin explained. "'Does this word make sense? Is it a universal word for people to understand? Some people may think it's this way, some people may think of it that way.' So, it was very technical, and I had to overcompensate for what I'm used to doing, and I know my body very well. I know how to express through my face, through my body. And this time it was like, "No, just your voice." It was a real workout. It was a real workout, I was at the gym."

The star also praised his collaboration with Hatendi while working in the booth "for eight hours straight", with the director and McLaughlin "making sure Dashon's voice was represented the right way", particularly given he "had to do different inflections" between the narrator version of the protagonist and the present day. "And then, after that, adding in the sounds and bringing it all together, it's like, 'Okay, now we're in this world, we're immersed, you have to trust the process'," McLaughlin explained. "It could be scary at moments, but if you really love the work, if you really are invested in just telling stories, and telling stories that people could relate to, you'll get the product done."

Dashon & His Sister's Dynamic Is "So Different" From Lucas & Erica In Stranger Things

McLaughlin Also "Ended Up Bawling" Filming The Show's Final Episode

Much like Stranger Things, Sacrilege sees McLaughlin's character having a sister, however as the star/EP clarifies, the latter relationship is "so different" from the former. McLaughlin describes Lucas and Erica as being "very bickery, like children" in their dynamic, whereas in Sacrilege, the siblings have "this unspoken trauma that they are both experiencing, but they both don't know how to exactly talk about it". Even still, the star opines that "you still hear and see the love" between them, and that while the Audible series "gets scary", it also gets "really deep" with them.

It gets to a point where it's like, "Wow, this is sad. This is really sad."

Chuckling as he feels that Lucas and Erica are "a fun sibling duo" compared to his Sacrilege counterparts, McLaughlin goes on to denote that the characters are "facing [their trauma] together, but in their own paths", and that it's "affecting both of them differently". He also feels that Sacrilege will offer Audible listeners with siblings something extra special, as "you need your sibling, you need your friends, or whoever you feel like your brother or sister is".

With these character comparisons in mind, McLaughlin did open up about Stranger Things after nearly a decade. The star began by expressing that he's "gone through those [sad] emotions already" regarding the ending, saying now is time for "the fans to take that in and digest". Instead, he now looks at his time on the show as "a blessing", calling the cast and crew "my family" and saying he couldn't "ask for a better opportunity" or "experience". He did, though, acknowledge that the last day of filming was an emotional one for him, telling himself, "I'm not going to cry" over and over, though "ended up just bawling".

"Ten years of just love, laughter and sadness and peace," McLaughlin warmly expressed. "So I was able to get all those feelings out. I've done the show for so long, of course, myself and my love of art and TV, and this was my childhood dream, but this has been a lot of people's childhood experience, and it's gotten people past a lot of their trauma or things that they've experienced, and they watch the show, and it's helped them escape. It's helped them see a different way of life and find new friends and believe in friendship and believe in people."

More About Sacrilege: Curse of the Mbirwi

Sacrilege: Curse of the Mbirwi follows the Wallace family’s journey from Detroit to a luxury safari in Zimbabwe, Africa that descends into a terrifying nightmare. After unknowingly desecrating a sacred burial ground, 17-year-old Dashon Wallace (McLaughlin) and his family become targets of the Mbirwi, an ancient spirit summoned to protect the local community from the invasion of foreigners. As the shape-shifting Mbirwi hunts them down through an unforgiving landscape, family secrets and personal demons come to the surface, forcing all of the characters to confront their deepest fears. Weaving throughout themes of cultural dissonance, colonial legacy, and the complexities of the relationship between African-American identity and Africa, the audio drama is a thrilling and deeply thoughtful tale of survival, sacrifice, and redemption.

Sacrilege: Curse of the Mbirwi is now available to stream on Audible!