So Deneen why don't you
start us off with a visual and describe the
room or place where you are answering these
questions?
Im writing this on a lap top in my bedroom while playing Final Fantasy XII in
between questions
so that is currently on the TV. (I just made it to The
Stilshrine of Miriam
whew.) The bed is slightly messed up and there are
clothes from my previous films thrown about everywhere
most of them are
covered in fake blood. There are also some random DVDs lying around as well as
a few books. (Yay for re-reading the Harry Potter series! The new movie looks
awesome!) Honestly, one may think Godzilla came through here, played some
video games, and then left. Im not always the most organized person
.hmmm.
Okay
tell me a bit about the Joe Davison movie you
just completed with Raine Brown and Debbie Rochon
called 'As Night Falls'.
How does your character Elizabeth fit into the
story?
Joe
Davisons AS NIGHT FALLS is an action/horror
feature that was filmed in Florida this past
January/February. It is a movie that has just
about everything you can imagine
cool cars,
zombies, evil ghost parents, samurai swords, guns
and
a fantastic cast and crew. Here is the storyline
from the AS NIGHT FALLS website:
10
year old Amelia's parents think it's time for her
to go to sleep permanently, leaving her broken
body in a silent shallow grave. 50 years later,
Mommy and Daddy are back from hell, intent on
wreaking the same deadly discipline on anyone not
in bed by nightfall. Sisters Holly and Elizabeth
are losing their minds, and their friends are
losing their heads. Something evil has crashed
the party, but no-one knows what they are
fighting. When the girl's brother, Charlie,
arrives, he completes the family group and the
kids start to find out what firm parenting really
means.
My
character, Elizabeth, is the main protagonist in
the film. She is the older sister of Holly (Lily
Cardone), the younger sister of Charlie (Joe
Davison), and the girlfriend of rock star Otto
(Dwight Cenac). Her father recently passed away,
her mother is always gone, and her brother no
longer lives with them
so she finds herself
being the main caretaker of her sister. In some
ways, Elizabeth (aka Lizzy), is a mother figure
to many characters in the story, not just Holly
as
she is very protective of her friends and
boyfriend as well. When all this weird stuff
starts to happen and her friends start to get
killed off one by one, Lizzy does what needs to
be done to protect her sister. I guess the best
way to describe the character is that she is a
fighter. She doesnt let the fear get to her
as long as she knows Holly is safe
plus, she
has Charlie and Otto fighting along side her.
This was
really such an important film to me, and I had a
wonderful time with the cast and crew. AS NIGHT
FALLS stars Dwight Cenac, Lily Cardone, Joe
Davison, Grace Chapman, Michael Ellison, Raine
Brown, Andre Reissig, Jeremy King, Tyler Cross,
Julie Anne, and of course
the legendary
Debbie Rochon. (She throws me through a fence in
the movie
and does an awesome fight scene
with Dwight, which I mention later in this
interview!)
I also see you
are in the 'Slices of Life'
movie and your segment is called 'Pink
Snapper'. So will you give
away some essential bit of the plot if you share
with the Racks and Razors readers what the
"pink snapper" is?
Well
truth
is
I really cannot say anything. I have
sworn myself to secrecy! I can, however, tell you
that this segment is the final story in the
SLICES OF LIFE anthology by Anthony G. Sumner and
TinyCore Pictures. It is extremely gruesome,
sick, and twisted
and people are going to
love it. The basic story revolves around a
brother and sister (Galen Schloming and myself)
that escape from a sexually abusive home
only
to find themselves involved in something much,
much worse. The segment also stars Judith Lesser,
Bruce Varner, and Mike Tracy. This film is one of
my favorites and I am looking forward to having
horror fans (and non-horror fans!) join in the
bloodbath.
'SLICES
OF LIFE' is directed by Anthony G. Sumner,
written by Anthony, Eric Richter (who is also a
very skilled DP), and Alan Rowe Kelly, and
features an incredible Midwest cast. SLICES
should start screening at film festivals this
fall, so be sure to keep up with the official
website for news and updates: http://slicesoflifemovie.com.
Tell me a
little about your upcoming movie 'The
Dead Light District'.
'THE DEAD
LIGHT DISTRICT' is an upcoming project by K.M.
Jamison, the creator of the SERIAL: AMORAL
UPRISING films. He is a very talented filmmaker
who brings realism to his movies, they arent
just typical slasher flicks, and that is also
going to be seen in THE DEAD LIGHT DISTRICT. Here
is the plot that can be found on the official
website:
The
Dead Light District tells the story of 27 year
old Jonah Sharp (Christopher
Howell), a former
award winning crime journalist in Chicago
desperately searching for a way to save his
failing career from an early and unexpected
retirement. After being fired from the Chicago
Tribune for a number of reasons, Jonah is forced
to take employment writing a celebrity sleaze
column, a job that begins to slowly eat away at
his pride and self-esteem. In an effort to regain
his own recognition as a true crime journalist,
Jonah accepts an unlikely assignment given to him
to seek out information regarding a string of
gruesome murders being reported around the Red
Light District, a desolate part of the city that
serves as a haven for criminal activity. An
assignment that serves as a life changing event
for Jonah when he becomes witness to the brutal
homicide of a prostitute who is murdered by the
same psychopath responsible for all of the prior
killings being discovered around the Red Light
District. Things go from bad to worse for Jonah
after suddenly receiving a gift from an anonymous
fan. An unusual gift that lands him
face to face with the only one capable of saving
his career by any means necessary.
My
character is Josie, a spunky little prostitute
that helps Jonah during a part of the film. She
is also a pretty key character, but I wont
give anything else away. Youll just have to
see the film! Deadlight also features some
wonderful indie actors such as Elske McCain, Ari
First Jason Lehman, Colleen Elizabeth
Miller, and Christopher Howell. We should begin
filming sometime this fall, and news/updates will
be provided on the website: http://deadlightmovie.com
I also want to
hear about your current project SERIAL: Girls Night Out.
Give me a teaser that is going to make it
irresistible to the Racks and Razors readers.
GIRLS
NIGHT OUT is another film by the talented K.M.
Jamison that is being produced by Jim Bett and
Mitchell D. Wells. (Jim Bett is also doing the
special effects in this one
he is awesome at
the blood and gore!) Here is a bit about it from
the website:
Based
five years after the tragic events of SERIAL:
Amoral Uprising, Girls Night Out is a
continuation of the fictional life profile of a
manipulative sociopath and serial killer named
Trenton Wade Bracks. Highly influenced by the
disturbing true case files of former death row
convicts Ted Bundy and Henry Lee Lucas, Girls
Night Out tells the horrific story of two
unsuspecting sorority sisters from the University
of Memphis that happen to cross Trentons
path while spending time at the bar on a girls
night out.
Christopher
Howell, who is an amazing actor, is returning to
play the charming and twisted Trenton Bracks. I
am playing the role of Kendra Reid, one of the
lead sorority girls along with the lovely Colleen
Elizabeth Miller and Kelsey Zukowski. This is a
film I have been extremely eager to work on
the
script is great and the gore is unbelievable. Oh
yes. It will be gruesome!!
I am also thrilled
that you are going to be in the remake of 'Don't
Look in the Basement'. Now
I've asked this to several people slated for the
movie, but if we were told not to look somewhere
in Deneen Melody's residence where would we be
forbidden to look and what would we find if we
looked there?
.dont
look in the trunk of my car. At this point, I
literally have no idea what is in there. The last
time I looked, I could only make out a random
Medieval Times cup, some dried up flowers (???),
and I believe a garbage bag full of clothes from
The Disney Store. Or something like that. I
think. I dont even know. Oh, and there is
fake blood everywhere from a bottle that had
burst open and lots of dirt. It is a total mess.
Btw, DONT
LOOK IN THE BASEMENT! is going to be amazing!!!
You couldnt have two better directors than
Alan Rowe Kelly and Anthony Sumner to take the
reigns on this project. We have a fantastic
ensemble cast with talents like Zoe Daelman
Chlanda, Jerry Murdock, Susan Adriensen, Raine
Brown, Jeff Dylan Graham, Terry M. West, Marv
Blauvelt, Alan Rowe Kelly, and even horror
legends Debbie Rochon and Caroline Williams.
You are being
called the newest Scream Queen. So,
if you were to organize and run a Scream
Queen Academy, what are some of the subjects
would you teach and what would be the final exam
to see if the girls were worthy?
Aw, I am
honored, but I honestly dont think I am
qualified to run a Scream Queen Academy. If
anyone should be in charge, it would need to be a
legend like Debbie Rochon
along with ladies
like Caroline Williams, Susan Adriensen, and Lori
Cardille. These are the actresses and Scream
Queens that I look up to
and theyre
the ones that could really teach up and coming
actresses on how to bring it, because really,
there is more to it than just being able to run
and scream. I was watching James Morgarts
WON TON BABY! A few weeks ago, starring Debbie
Rochon, and she NAILS that role
it is always
amazing to see a talent like that. And I highly
recommend that actresses watch Lori Cardilles
portrayal of Sarah in George Romeros DAY OF
THE DEAD.
So, these
are the ladies that should be asked about
subjects in a Scream Queen Academy
as they
are the true Queens of the Scream Queens.
In the smaller
budgeted horror movies and such some very
interesting things can happen on set. What
is the craziest, scariest, or simply most unusual
thing that you've ever witnessed on a movie set?
Haha!
Nothing too extreme, but Ive had some
pretty weird things happen to me on set. One of
them involves my tooth getting chipped and (I
wasnt aware of this till I went to the
Dentist), completely shattered in the back. I dont
want to go into details on that one
even
though it was pretty amusing. Also, while filming
SONG OF THE SHATTERED, a bear randomly appeared
on set in the middle of shooting. I was in the
cabin at the time, where is was nice and quiet,
but then everyone else came running in talking
about some bear. He was so cute, though! I think
Brandon Slagle managed to get him on camera. Well
see if he makes a cameo in the film or not.
My hair
has also been stained pink on a few different
projects because of being soaked in blood. (Gotta
make sure it is the kind that will wash out!) And
someone actually threw up on another film due to
the blood and guts.
The
craziest thing, though, was witnessing Dwight
Cenac and Debbie Rochon do a fight scene for AS
NIGHT FALLS
hanging on wires outside of a
van that was being moved around on a trailer. It
was cold and dark
but these two stuck
through it and totally owned the scene. I think
it is going to be one of the most memorable
scenes in the film!
Do you have
any other upcoming projects you would like the racksandrazors.com readers to know about?
Well, of
course there is DONT LOOK IN THE BASEMENT!,
which we hope to start filming sometime soon.
Alan and Anthony are working so incredibly hard
to make this film, and their dedication for the
story is truly inspirational. I am honored and
humbled to be part of such a great project.
Another
fantastic ensemble piece I am is STRONGER THAN
DEATH by Trevor Wright and Marv Blauvelt, and is
slated to film next spring in Indiana. This is
going to be one heck of a film
its one
of the most emotionally involved scripts I have
read. It isnt really just a horror flick;
it is a psychological, mind twisting, heart
breaking story venturing into the world of dark
world of drugs. Think Requiem for a Dream, but
with supernaturalism and blood/gore mixed in. My
character, Carmen, is just one of many tragic
figures featured within the story.
I am also
getting ready to work on a short film entitled
CRESTFALLEN which is written by Russ Penning.
This is a project that is going to be directed by
Jeremiah Kipp and shot by Dominick Sivilli (whom
I worked with on LEWIS
fantastic guy!). Marv
Blauvelt has also jumped on board to not only act
in the piece, but to help cast and produce it. It
is a beautiful and sad little film that I have
grown quite attached to. When I was first
approached on the idea, I fell in love with it.
We should be filming sometime later this summer
or early fall.
Two
projects I just recently wrapped are SONG OF THE
SHATTERED and an untitled revenge flick by
Jennifer Morgart; both films were shot in PA.
SONG OF THE SHATTERED, which I will mention again
in this interview, is a feature film dealing with
abuse, rape, and the effects these horrible
events can have on people. It was written by
Brandon Slagle, directed by Wolfgang Meyer (with
some scenes by Tara Cardinal), and stars Devanny
Pinn, Brandon Slagle, Tara Cardinal, Joe Hollow
(who is also produced the film), and Jess Weber.
I play a character known as June
a very
sweet character that also has a bit of a creep
factor to her. Youll just have to see the
film to find out what I mean. I also have to say
that I was extremely impressed while on set with
this cast/crew. All the characters in the film
are not easy ones to play
and seeing
Devanny, Tara, Brandon, and Jess take on these
roles was amazing.
These guys are the real deal, folks. They arent
in this business for the glamour
they are in
it to make some serious kick butt films!
Ironically
enough, the untitled project by Jennifer Morgart
(written by James Morgart) deals with sexual
oppression and some pretty serious subject matter
as well. I was very fortunate enough to become
involved in this project (thanks to Damien
Colletti posting the notice for an actress on his
FB page), and really enjoy working with Jen and
James. This was actually Jens directorial
debut, and she did a fantastic job keeping
everything together. James is also a great writer
Ive
told him multiple times that he writes wonderful
roles for women, and that is always refreshing.
(BTW, everyone needs to keep their eyes open for
WON TON BABY! starring Debbie Rochon and Suzi
Lorraine. It is HILARIOUS!!!)
Oh, and
the web series, WESTERN X (http://westernxtheshow.com), is almost ready
to premiere online! This is a supernatural, post
apocalyptic western by Michael Flores of Cazador
Productions. I play the role of Hecate-Freya in
this, and she is one of my favorite roles to
date. WESTERN X has a great cast including Dustin
Hale, Richard Anderson, Kaily Alissano, Jerry
Eselgroth, Jayson James, Anthony Tempesta, Aaron
Ginn-Forsberg, and the iconic Vernon G. Wells
just
to name a few. This is a series you will not want
to miss!
I must
also mention some of my upcoming comic books by
both COMIC BOOK DIVAS and LEGION STUDIOS. XES is
an adult comic by Jeremiah Buckel and Ryan Master
Legion Mohica of LEGION STUDIOS in which I
appear as the cover model. It is a dark and
twisted comic, and I believe I will have copies
available to purchase at upcoming events. I am
also featured in several new comics by COMIC BOOK
DIVAS including FANGS (along with Devanny Pinn
and Michelle Shields) by Jeff Hughes and artwork
by Josh Barker, A LIFE BEHIND THE MASK (as the
Batman parody, The Blackbird) with art by Dennis
Willman, and GINGER-STEIN: RISE OF THE UNDEAD (as
the evil Nicole Harmony) with art also by Dennis
Willman. Much like the XES comic, I will be
selling prints and posters of the various CBD
characters at conventions and events.
Zombies,
werewolves, vampires, witches, creatures, aliens,
psychos --- what does it for you horrorwise
Deneen and why?
No
unicorns? Awww. I love unicorns. But really,
psychos are the scariest. You never really know
what they are thinking and, a lot of the time,
they are also extremely intelligent. They also
look like normal people (er, sometimes)
unlike
rotting zombies, aliens, or monsters
so you
wont ever know what you are dealing with
till it is too late. They represent true horror
in my opinion.
I am a
huge fan of zombie flicks, though, and
werewolves. Ive been involved a few vampire
films, including one called BLOOD KIN and the
upcoming AFRAID OF SUNRISE by Andy Shatner and
Justin Romine, but Id love to do a cool
werewolf or zombie film one of these days.
What
was the first movie you saw that scared the shit
out of you?
I grew up
watching scary movies
so I think I have
always been a little desensitized towards REALLY
being scared. However, one film I have seen that
has really disturbed me is WOLF CREEK, and I
honestly cannot tell you why that is. Maybe it is
the psycho/serial killer thing. I have seen
several films just like it and they have never
felt any type of fear, but that particular film
got to me. I wont watch it again.
Alan Rowe
Kellys A FAR CRY FROM HOME is another film
that truly disturbed me. I actually felt
horrified for the characters while watching it.
It is probably one of the most terrifying indie
films I have ever seen. The same thing can be
said about one of my latest films, SONG OF THE
SHATTERED, written by Brandon Slagle and directed
by Wolfgang Meyer and Tara Cardinal. I had the
chance to watch some of the footage involving
Devanny Pinns character, and I honestly had
chills. It is the real stuff that gets to me.
Okay, we're
pulling the car into the Deneen Melody Drive
In. What three horror flicks are on the
triple bill for tonight and what goodies are they
going to be serving up at the concession stand?
Oooo! Fun
question!! Well, the triple feature would be:
George Romeros DAY OF THE DEAD, James
Camerons ALIENS, and BROTHERHOOD OF THE
WOLF by Christophe Gans. (Some may argue
that the last two are not horror films, but they
do have horror elements and fit into the
subgenres of horror.) I pick these films because
they are all set in very different environments
and have some of the best characters ever written
for cinema. Plus, I dont want to just show
a bunch of slasher flicks
we need some
variety!
'DAY OF
THE DEAD' is definitely my favorite of the Dead
films, and a lot of that has to do with the
overall hopelessness of the film. You follow
these characters
and the entire time, you
just have this feeling that there really is no
one else left. This group of people just may be
the only people left in the world. Sometimes, you
can watch a film and have that tinge of hope, but
the atmosphere in DAY OF THE DEAD is so desolate.
'ALIENS'
would be the big, fun, explosive blockbuster I
would show. I grew up wanting to be Ripley after
seeing this movie as a little girl. I mean,
forget Newt
I wanted to be Ripley at age 5.
Even then, I knew she was a total badass. Both
she and Sarah from DAY OF THE DEAD have been two
of my biggest influences as an actress. They make
me want to play the strong, heroic, intelligent
female roles.
As for BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF,
this film has everything
so I think it would
be a nice way to round out the triple feature. It
has plenty of horror elements mixed in with
action (Mark Dacascos as Mani is AMAZING!),
romance, and even has a bit of an erotic feel to
it. It is one of my favorite films and would
probably end up creeping out a few people.
Goodies
that would be available: NERDS candy, Peanut
Butter M&Ms, Popcorn with tons of
butter/salt, and Dr. Pepper or Vanilla Coke. No
diets here! (Aw
now I am hungry.)
What is the
best Halloween costume you ever had?
I have
this obsession with Disneys Beauty and the
Beast
Belle is definitely my all-time
favorite princess. So, of course, I was Belle for
many Halloweens. BUT, the best costume I ever had
was my Chicken costume. Yes. I actually dressed
up as a Chicken. This was way before the Family
Guy Chicken, too. My brother was working at
Wal-Mart and they made their employees wear some
sort of costumes
and he got stuck with this
awesome chicken head. I stole it from him and
made an entire chicken outfit to go with it. My
best friend at the time also went as a disco ball
so
we were way cool. A chicken and a disco ball, you
cant beat that.
Yeah, I
know most people were expecting me to talk about
something really gruesome and bloody, but I think
a giant talking chicken can be pretty scary to
some people.
Do you have any
collections, obsessions, or true loves?
DO I
ever! I have admitted on several occasions that I
am a huge fan girl
and anyone that knows me
can tell you I am obsessed with Tolkien and LORD
OF THE RINGS. Oh my goodness. I could talk about
Middle Earth forever. And, as much as I love the
books, I also freaking LOVE the movies
Peter
Jackson definitely did Tolkien major justice. (I
get so pumped when I watch them
in fact; I
think I am going to do that as soon as I finish
this interview!) I also collect merchandise from
the films and have just about everything you can
imagine
toys, collectible figurines, all the
various dvds, posters, calendars, postcards,
shirts, jewelry, and even a Legolas air freshener
that I refuse to remove from my car.
And I
love video games, especially RPGs like the Final
Fantasy series or Chrono Cross. I think the
storylines and characters in the various games
are so interesting and even addicting in a way.
Playing them is like watching a movie. You grow
attached to certain characters and find yourself
wanting to know more about them. I absolutely
love that! I feel the same way about anime, too.
Some of my favorite movies and television series
are actually anime, like ESCAFLOWNE (Both Vision
and A Girl in Gaea), AKIRA, SERIAL EXPERIMENTS
LAIN, and yes
even SAILOR MOON. I used to
have lots and lots of fan sites dedicated to
various anime and video game characters,
actually.
Oh. And I
love anything to do with the Medieval Ages or the
Renaissance. In fact, I adore Renaissance Faires.
If I could live at a Ren Faire, I totally would.
What scares
you in real life?
As I said
before
some people can be very scary without
having to be a zombie or a vampire. I am also
creeped out by Furbies. Sure, they may look all
cute, but I have never gotten over how evil they
can also be. Im glad their popularity died
out
because otherwise, they may have taken
over the world! |