Isabelle Fuhrman is making a shift to becoming an action heroine with her new thriller, Unit 234. Fuhrman memorably broke out in one of her first roles with the psychological horror-thriller Orphan, subsequently becoming best known for her work in the horror genre with the likes of Don’t Let Me Go and The Last Thing Mary Saw. While having explored other genres in the past, including The Hunger Games and the religious satire Salvation Boulevard, the past few years have seen some of her most diverse work yet, including the romantic drama Wish You Were Here and Kevin Costner’s Horizon: An American Saga franchise.

In Unit 234, Fuhrman stars as Laurie Saltair, a woman who owns a storage facility in Florida after inheriting it from her parents after they died in a car accident. When one of her employees leaves her to work alone during a stormy weekend, just as she was meant to visit her boyfriend in Tennessee, Laurie is met by an ominous businessman trying to get into a unit through false means, which she later discovers houses a man chained to a gurney with a kidney missing, resulting in a tense fight for survival. Alongside Fuhrman, the movie stars Doctor Odyssey‘s Don Johnson and Mayfair Witches‘ Jack Huston.

Ahead of the movie’s release, ScreenRant interviewed Isabelle Fuhrman to discuss Unit 234. The star opened up about how she was immediately hooked by the movie’s script and was thrilled at the chance to work with director Andy Tennant, while also sharing how she resonated with her character, why she wouldn’t have the same dangerous curiosity as her character, and what filming on location was like for the film. She also shares an exciting update on Orphan 3‘s development, and an uncertain one for Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 2‘s release.

Fuhrman Was Excited To Explore “The Quest Mark Of All Question Marks” With Unit 234’s Laurie

“I Read The Script In An Hour.”

While not her first venture in the thriller or action genres, Unit 234 offers Fuhrman a different kind of role in becoming a smart and capable heroine. In reflecting on getting the script for the film, the star recalled being immediately hooked by it, having read it in an hour and, when re-reading it before meeting with director Andy Tennant, feeling it to be “a real wild ride“. She also pointed to Tennant as being a big selling point for her, being a big fan of his work in the romantic comedy genre, including Hitch and Sweet Home Alabama.

Fuhrman went on to praise the director as having “really aligned on everything” regarding their vision for Laurie, describing her as being “the question mark of all question marks in this movie“. “She is really unsure of where she’s going in her life, and this crazy circumstance is what pushes her to understand herself,” Fuhrman explained. “So that, for me, was a really cool prospect as an actress to jump into a character that is just, by all standards, a totally normal person who is, ‘Do I stay and work on the family business, or do I jump into this new chapter of my life with my boyfriend and move to a different place and sell this place that is the only attachment I still have to my family?’

“Or, ‘Do I have this crazy thing happen to me and have to survive it all and realize so much more about myself in one day?’,” Fuhrman continued. “It was so fun to film. Just as fun as the movie is to watch, it was a real roller coaster to film, running through these storage facilities, actually working in these storage facilities, chaining Jack Huston up to a real gurney, that was fun. [Laughs]“

Diving deeper into her character’s emotional crossroads, Fuhrman found she resonated with how “in life, you hit certain places in your life where you’re on the edge of making a big choice“, in which “it’s scary to make those decisions“ and related to this element of Laurie. “To me, that was my anchoring point with her,” Fuhrman explained. “That is the entirety of the circumstance that happens with her.

“She’s working like any other normal shift at the place that she’s worked her entire life,” Fuhrman continued, “and it’s just this night where s–t hits the fan, and she has to decide, ‘Am I gonna just pretend like this is not happening, or am I going to survive this and make my way through this, and do what I can to get out of here?’“

One area of Laurie where Fuhrman does kind of differ is whether she would let her curiosity push her to investigate the storage unit after her run-in with Johnson’s character, Jules. As the star notes, Laurie has no real choice, given she “owns the place“, whereas Fuhrman, who has experienced “there are a lot of weird things you hear when you go and drop off your decorations from the holidays” at her storage unit, laughs as she firmly notes she “would never, ever, ever want to look in, or peek in, someone else’s unit“.

The Set Was A Surreal, But “Comfortable”, Environment For Fuhrman

Working With Her Male Unit 234 Co-Stars Proved A Rewarding Experience For Her

SH๏τ in the Cayman Islands, Unit 234 was filmed in an actual storage facility, making it easier for Fuhrman to immerse herself in Laurie’s experiences as she ran through halls of storage units. With its remote location, though, Fuhrman recalled there being lots of wildlife encounters during production, with there being “a lot of chickens and stray cats and things like that” everywhere on the set, where “they’d look for food“.

Even more than the animals, the crew also found themselves dealing with storage unit owners who had “to go and get their stuff out” while they were filming. “They’d walk by Jack Huston chained to a gurney inside of a storage locker, and he’s like, ‘Hi! How are you?’,” Fuhrman chuckled. “That was funny, there were a lot of really hilarious moments when we were filming there that I was like, ‘This is just too good.’“

Expanding on her filming experience with Huston, Fuhrman praised the Mayfair Witches alum for being “so kind-hearted” and being like “a big kid“, with the two getting along quickly, which benefited them creating a dynamic of trust between Laurie and his character, Clayton. Tennant also allowed his stars “time for us to rehearse” which, in addition to staying at the same H๏τel, led to them bonding and “playing around with these characters“.

Huston wasn’t the only one she quickly connected with, as she praised Johnson for his work on the set, with it being “such a joy” to work with them. Fuhrman did go on to denote that her co-stars had “totally different styles” regarding their acting, with Huston being “super-high energy” and “always trying something new every single time“, while Johnson is “incredibly prepared and would come to set with so many different ideas“.

I felt like I learned a lot from both of them as well while we were working on this movie. I had a great time, really, a great time.

Fuhrman also went on to praise the uniqueness of Unit 234 in that “Laurie is really the only woman in this movie“, something that she initially saw as “intimidating” at the start of production, though quickly changed when she was on set. “I felt so taken care of,” Fuhrman expressed. “All of these wonderful guys were so great at making sure that I was warm in the rain towers, making sure I was safe and not going to slip. We really had such a great time, and it felt like such a comfortable work environment. I felt really great to be the female heroine of this story.“

Orphan 3 Is Still In “Early Stages”, But Is “Definitely Rumbling”

Fuhrman Also Promises A “Fantastic” Script For The Threequel

Looking beyond Unit 234, reports began swirling in November 2024 that Orphan 3 was in the works, with William Brent Bell and David Coggeshall returning as director and writer, respectively, and Fuhrman reprising her role as the тιтular character. When asked about the threequel, Fuhrman clarified it’s still in the “early stages” of the development process, but did also ᴀssure that “it’s definitely rumbling“.

“I just went to my first horror convention, I think it was two or three weeks ago,” Fuhrman recalled, “and it was so cool to meet so many fans of Orphan. People dressed up came from all over to see me, and to talk to me about the movie, and ask questions. For me, it feels like such a great thing to make another film for the fans, because they seem to really want it.“

The star also revealed that she’s already read a script for Orphan 3, which she praises as being “fantastic“. Though still cautiously noting that “everything is always in stages” and that any movie “takes some time” to get off the ground, she expressed her hopes to “get to make the movie“.

Fuhrman Is “Hoping That I Get That Call” About Horizon Resuming Production

Chapter 2 Is Going To Be About “More Of The Women Of That Time Period”

Another franchise Fuhrman is meant to have a future in is Kevin Costner’s Horizon: An American Saga, starring as Diamond Kittredge, one of the families on the wagon train. Though there were plans for four total movies, two of which were already filmed, Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 2‘s release remains without a date, with Warner Bros. having pulled it from their schedule after the first movie’s poor financial turnout, while Chapter 3‘s production also paused amid reports of financial concerns.

In looking at the long-awaited second chapter in the Western epic franchise, as well as the future, Fuhrman admitted to being “in the same boat” as fans waiting for news, and that she has “no clue what Kevin’s planning“, though does believe “he’s probably planning something“. Fuhrman also expressed being a “really big fan of the second film“, praising it for capturing “so much more of the women of that time period” and “what was going on for them” than the first movie did, which she felt was tasked with setting “up this whole world“.

I really hope that people will see the second one when it comes out, and it gives us the opportunity to make the third one. But, right now, I’m starting another project, and I’m just hoping that I get that call from Kevin sometime soon. [Chuckles] It’d be great!

More About Unit 234

When a group of criminals comes to collect the contents of a storage unit, the woman running the storage facility has to play a game of cat and mouse to escape with her life.