Madelaine Petsch Says She Can’t Avoid Seeing Bad Reviews (Exclusive)

Madelaine Petsch is sharing her approach to seeing reviews of her work.

The actress, who is leading the relaunch of The Strangers franchise, is no stranger to online commentary. The actress, 31, tells PEOPLE it’s impossible to avoid seeing reviews of her work, but she doesn’t let them bother her.

“You kind of can’t avoid them on social media. It’s going to show up on my ‘For You’ page on TikTok, or my producer’s going to send it to me. It is what it is,” she says. 

However, Petsch doesn’t let reviews hold much weight in her life. “At the end of the day, what’s most important is that I’m proud of my performance. That’s literally the only thing I can control,” she says. 

The Riverdale alum says she is proud of her work in her latest film and welcomes any discourse that comes. “I think the best films are polarizing,” she says, adding that she’s sure there’s a movie that she loves but other people don’t. “That’s what makes film and art so cool,” Petsch adds. 

The Strangers: Chapter 2 picks up where the first installment left off and finds Petsch’s Maya in the hospital after being the only survivor of a murder spree. As the ruthless killers continue to target her, she finds herself, once again, on a fight for survival.

The movie is directed by Renny Harlin, and will be followed by The Strangers: Chapter 3.  

“I really believe that every character I play has a piece of me in them and then they leave a piece of themselves in me that I can take with me through my life,” Petsch says.

The actress notes that she loves the “strength and tenacity” of her character, saying, “She’s got an insane resilience and tenacity that I really admire and would love to take more of.”

“We think very similarly. Honestly, I think we are similarly resilient. I just don’t know if I could do what she does, but then at the same time, I’m sure at the beginning of movie one, Maya didn’t think she could do all the stuff she’s doing now,” she continues. 

“I do believe humans have this innate survival instinct,” Petsch adds. 

Petsch is an executive producer on the movie in addition to her starring role. Through her behind-the-scenes role, she found herself lending a hand to the writing and editing process, which gave her a new perspective on her performance. 

“I don’t enjoy watching my performances,” she says. “I edited these films, so I watched them in that capacity. But when I was editing, I was able to remove myself from it because there’s a lot of stopping and starting.”

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“I think the premiere in L.A. was the first time I had seen it on the big screen in a year, and it was a little bit like, ‘Oh my God, these people are watching me.’ I’ve never sat in a real theater that’s not a premiere, where there was an actual audience watching my film,” she says. “I think that would make me feel crazy.”

The Strangers: Chapter 2 is in theaters now.