Gillian Jacobs, John Gallagher Jr. on marital strife, supernatural chaos in ‘Come Play'

Something wicked this way plays.

In “Come Play,” slinking into theaters Friday, Gillian Jacobs and John Gallagher Jr. play Sarah and Marty, a young couple watching in horror as their nonverbal son, Oliver (Azhy Robertson), becomes entangled with Larry, a demonic presence introduced to him through an abandoned iPad.

What already tumultuous marriage hasn’t benefited from a dose of supernatural chaos?

“You know, I’m not a parent and I’m not married myself. But I think that I have the same kind of existential fears that my character has," Tony winner Gallagher, 36, told the Daily News this week.

To play the part of Sarah, “Community” star Jacobs drew both from her own relationship with her mom as well as her experiences as a nanny and babysitter.

“My mom is a huge influence on my life,” the “Love” actress, 38, said with a chuckle. “I’m an only child [from] a single mother, so we had a very, very intense relationship.”

Paranormal as it is, the film is actually grounded more in reality than viewers might anticipate, thanks to the involvement of American film production company Amblin and a Jim Henson puppet, which attracted both actors to the project.

“I love practical elements in horror films like this. I thought it was really nostalgic of like an ’80s Amblin movie," said Jacobs.

In the 80s, Amblin Entertainment, co-founded by Steven Spielberg, co-produced staples of the decade like “Poltergeist,” “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial,” “Gremlins,” “The Goonies” and “Back to the Future.”

With four or more puppeteers operating the “incredibly tall” monster, Jacobs said the film didn’t just feel “very special and cool” but significantly "easier to act than if I was staring at like, a tennis ball.”

Gallagher, for his part, is no stranger to the genre, most notably with starring roles in the sci-fi psychological thriller “10 Cloverfield Lane” and the slasher flick, “Hush.”

“There’s something so innocent about making them, you do kind of feel like a kid on set," he said of the genre. “I often feel just kind of like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe that I just get to come to work and play all day.’ ... For as intense and scary as the final product ends up being, they end up usually being really fun to shoot.”

And thankfully, unlike supernatural horrors like “The Exorcist” or “Poltergeist,” there were no inexplicable occurrences on the set.

“You always worry showing up to these things that something’s gonna go wrong or if you’re doing a scary movie that you might awaken the demon,” joked Gallagher, adding that the “sweet and talented” Azhy probably “protected us on set the whole time.”

“Come Play” creeps into theaters Friday

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