1-Which time period you think contains the best horror movies?
A close call between the 70s and 80s, but I’ll have to go with the 80s. So many of my favorite horror classics and personal favorites are from this era like A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Serpent and the Rainbow, and The Shining to name a few. Even though I usually like substance in my horror, there are a lot of great cheesy, fun films in this decade I can’t resist. It was a great time for the serial killer, psychologically and thematic focused horror film, many of which have inspired countless others since.
2-Do you think the scene is saturated with remakes, as many people say? What is your point of view about them?
Well there’s Hollywood horror and then there’s indie/foreign horror, which are two very different beasts with different trends and focuses. Hollywood horror is mostly saturated with watered down remakes with little identity and copying other films that have shown success. It makes sense, as it is a business and it’s easier to follow the formula rather than push the genre. Just about everything under the sun has been remade, even films that are only a couple years old in some cases. It’s brand recognition rather than having to hook in audiences and letting the material speak for itself.
Even aside from remakes there are a lot of horror films that stick to what has been done before. Even when it’s done well, it feels empty and a wasted opportunity. I will say lately I have been seeing some bigger production companies that are taking more chances in taking on independent films or at least producing horror films that have more substance. As Above, So Below was one that just made me happy for horror and the potential for the future of it. I’m not saying it’s a brilliant film, but it really infused so much history and culture, utilizing mythology and a morbidly intriguing atmosphere. It questioned the power and curse of the human mind and how the past and fear can haunt it. It did fairly well financially, showing that there can be profit from a film like this without having to be a remake; that people want horror with more complexity. The outbreak of stellar horror TV is a really great sign for the genre as well. People who normally would have no interested in serial killers or monsters are won over. In order for these shows to be a success, it requires compelling characters with so many layers, gripping material, and excellent writing that constantly is building and escalating this given world. Mainstream audiences being not only attracted but hooked to these shows gives hope that even on a mainstream level, this could be the norm for horror films, not just reserved for the indie and foreign gems.
3-There are many uncomfortable things in horror films - aspect, subject, extreme violence, nudity, ... Is that a challenge for you, or a turn off? Where do the line stops for you?
I’m usually attracted to those themes. I love disturbing films as long as there is some message or point to it. Horror is great to take on taboos, the ugly things in the world we’re usually afraid to address, but are present. I think it can bring either justice or realization, utilizing horror to creatively, and sometimes metaphorically, tackle the struggle, emotion, and pain; simply the horrors around us. That’s always been something I have respected and loved about the genre.
Nudity is something different and is a difficult subject for just about any actor in this genre among others. I think there’s a lot of pressure for actors in horror, especially women, although I acknowledge that this can still be present for men too. Even when willing to do nudity you do have to be careful of how it affects your image. Once you’re an actress who has done nudity a few times you get expected to, which can lessen the quality of the roles you’re offered as a lot of times it can be gratuitous and just a throw away role. In some ways it’s no different than violence and disturbing content, it has to have a true purpose, to be essential, not for shock value or to seem like it’s just for the sake of it at all. As an actress, I’m much more particular and picky when it comes to nudity. There really has to be complete belief and trust on every level from the role to the script and especially the director. You should know that this role is something you simply need to do and that it will escalate your body of work, not come back to haunt you. Once you do something it’s out there forever and you never know how something is going to turn out or be perceived until it’s done. If you don’t have every bit of faith, you should probably listen to that gut feeling. If it’s something you know you’re going to be proud of, listen to that instinct too.
As a horror fan and even as a creator, I don’t have an issue with nudity, but when it is excessive and unnatural it can take away from the film. Thanatomorphose is one example where it was just too much.
There are close ups and odd angles of female and male nudity from start to finish. The female character especially is nude almost the entire film and hypersexualized, making it feel like a very bland artsy porn horror film. Really the FX make-up is the only impressive thing about the film. I understand it’s body horror and sexually based, so it makes sense in a way, but there wasn’t the content, compelling characters, or even much of a story or point to back it up. So the excessive nudity felt even more out of place, like it was trying to use that to get attention and then didn’t bother to do anything with that attention. Everything in a film should add to it or it detracts from it, I think nudity should be included in that statement.
4-To this day, what would you say was your best performance?
Two of my films that are closest to me are also the two I view as my best performances; Words Like Knives and Within These Walls. Within These Walls being the feature, and thus diving deeper in to this character’s maddening turmoil with a great range of emotions as so much in her world changes throughout the course of the film, probably is the one that stands out the most. Even though the character is victimized in every conceivable way, she still shows strength through it all. It was also one of the most intense, kind of insane, but truly amazing experiences I’ve had as an actress. It was such a passion project and a true collaboration by an extremely driven and talented cast and crew. The main leg of filming was 6 straight days, nearly 18-20 hour shoot days, barely getting an hour or two a sleep before we were at it again. The passion literally drove each and every one of us, giving us adrenaline and a wonderful energy that fueled the film. I was able to really throw myself in to the character completely as the words and nightmarish story I created came alive all around me. Also whenever I write the script, I have a closer relationship to the character, really understanding the ins and outs. It’s a fantastic challenge to then make that a reality with every ounce of emotion and intensity it had in your mind. When you can watch your film and have this amazing high come over you, thrilled with the end result, you know it was a success, no matter what happens from here.
5-What inspire you to create a role?
When I write my inspiration comes being driven to explore a theme and to bring out the potential I see in a specific sub-genre of horror that really speaks to me. I then create the story and then the characters around that. The characters I write I tend to put through utter hell and back. Like a lot of my writing, Within These Walls, really tested how much the human body, mind, and spirit can endure. I do put parts of myself in a dramatized context in to the given character that supports and strengthens the story. I cling to outsider and misunderstood characters who are really on their own, fighting a battle no one else can understand. Perhaps, because these are the people I do understand, appreciate, and cling to myself.
6-What sort of roles appeal to you?
I look for a wide variety of things in roles I take on. I love both victim and villainous characters. More than anything I look for layers and complexities, a fierceness and strength even in the most seemingly doomed character. Struggle, desperation, and hopelessness don’t make you weak as long as you keep fighting. The sadistic mindset, especially in moral shades of gray, always really intrigued me about serial killers and villains. Although, with characters that are completely amoral, there really is no reasoning. They can be mindboggling horrifying too. I enjoy the different versions of what can be horrifying and really bringing that mentality out. My primary passion is horror so as an actress, any way I can bring that out from either side of the spectrum, is a thrill and a privilege.
7-You can talk with Kelsey, 16 years old. What would tell her? You can talk with Kelsey, 50 years old. What would you tell her?
Interesting question! Well when I was 16, I wanted to be a film critic, but I just had gotten the idea to dabble in screenwriting to strengthen my understanding and skills from the other side of it. I fell so in love with it I knew it was something I wanted to dive deeper in to and pursue. I was also very different than most of my peers in high school. Luckily, I had connected with a group of freelance film bloggers on Myspace, which was an amazing community where we supported, understood, and encouraged each other. At times it was a natural reaction with our mutual love of cinema. That was the first of several steps that led me to where I am today. Another significant step being the indie horror circle I fell in to in Chicago, which truly changed my life and allowed me to explore and embrace a crucial part of myself. Before that I had zero ambitions to be an actress. Falling in to that world gave life to my writing as well as my acting, and eventually modeling, on top of simply got me more involved with indie horror. I can’t imagine doing anything else. With some of that in mind, I would tell myself to always embrace who you are, follow your passions, and when connecting with likeminded individuals, cherish them and take advantage of any opportunity that might come up through that community. I really think things happen as they are meant to and help shape your life. That has happened in a very big way already for me.
50 year old Kelsey, I hope you’re still making horror movies and keep at it until the day you die. I hope you have created some phenomenal scripts like the films and TV shows that thrilled and inspired you. The drive to create and feed my passions has always been the key to my happiness and really is just an essential need in me. Even if what that is changes over the years, I hope I am always feeding that and building a life for myself as a creator and an individual that I can hold great pride in.
8-Is there a subject that you never got to see in films, or you did, but didn't think it was done the right way, that you would like to use in a film?
Many! I think like any writer, there are so many things I want to see explored or that I would explore in a different way myself. Recently watching The Houses That October Built, I was initially so intrigued and connected to what it was touching on from both the guests and the performer’s point of view in their motives. It being a documentary turned in to a fictional found footage style horror film was unfortunate, because as a horror film it failed. The only thing that was interesting was what was said, not what was done or shown. So I think that’s credit to the initial documentary. A lot of times I see something like that with great potential, but it falls flat and I can’t help but think of the film it could have been or what my version might be like. Having worked in the haunt industry myself I have a connection to this. Simply from a horror perspective I can see potential here; there is a certain blurred line of fiction and reality. When guests go through, they aren’t thinking that there’s a person underneath that monster make-up. For some it is real to them and they either are truly horrified or have great appreciation for it, sometimes both. For some it’s just about proving how tough they are and that they won’t be scared, sometimes becoming more aggressive than the performer portraying a monster. There’s definitely some social commentary in there. You could play with both sides of the type of people these places attract as well as those who take on these monsters. Even adding a supernatural twist of an attraction that was truly haunted and manipulating the fictionalized performance and making it real. It’s so easy for either the guest or the performer to get hurt in some of the more extreme haunted houses that simulate kidnapping and torture, even by mistake, it’s bound to happen. There have even been cases of actual dead bodies used without knowledge that they are real, someone dying in that scenario, and it seeming to be a part of the show, and not realized until after. The possibilities are really endless, it just depends on what aspect you wanted to focus on and bring out the potential for horror in. It might very well be a topic I dabble in to in the future.
Another one that comes to mind is Wes Craven’s Shocker, which I love even though it’s a bit cheesy. That’s one remake I wouldn’t mind seeing if done right and something new being added to. Simply taking that material of a prisoner being sentenced to death and it not killing them, but making them even more sadistic and deadly, is really interesting to me. I’ve always been against the death penalty, thinking in many ways it’s crueler than the initial murder itself, not to mention how mistakes can be made, and it usually is more about money than true justice. I would love to see something like Shocker in a more serious, dark context.
9-What is coming up for you?
Hoping to get Within These Walls out there to people very soon! It was accepted at Jennifer’s Bodies Women in Horror Film Festival in Scotland, making it the world premiere. We are hoping to get it to other film festivals and then distributed. I have a few films that recently have been released on DVD including Forgotten Tales, Axe to Grind, and The Burning Dead. My newest acting project is Who’s There?, a 90’s horror throwback film in the vein of The Craft and Night of the Demons. I play Scarlet, who becomes so intrigued and consumed by witchcraft and dark magic that it turns her in to a deadly force that the other characters are right to fear as her presence becomes more demanding and manipulative. I have played evil characters plenty of times, but some of my bigger roles recently have been protagonists/victims. Especially with Alaina being completely tormented and dominated by the spirit in Within These Walls, it’s
kind of fun to be on the other side of the haunting this time around. Especially because Scarlet doesn’t start off as purely evil. She’s a curious outsider, and simply embraces what speaks to her. It just spins out of control and shows her that death only strengthens the darkness. We’re currently raising funds for the initial costs to put together promotional materials and a teaser to get investors involved and funding for the feature film. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/who-s-there-horror-film-pre-production
Aside from that, I have a few writing projects I’m working on now and I’m constantly doing photoshoots, usually gothic or horror themed with gritty emotion or simply bringing out a character and a snapshot of the world or given story. I have another photoset that was accepted for publishing and I will be able to share that soon. Next up is a Dark Alice photoshoot with Toxic Love Photography, a photographer I constantly collaborate with. I’m pretty excited about that one, there’s a really talented team of some of my favorite people to work with involved. It should be delightfully dark and have a striking edgy style and character to it. Thanks so much for the interesting, thought provoking questions. I always enjoy talking horror! To all the fellow horror fans reading this, stay creepy and keep that passionate, infectious horror spirit alive!.
A close call between the 70s and 80s, but I’ll have to go with the 80s. So many of my favorite horror classics and personal favorites are from this era like A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Serpent and the Rainbow, and The Shining to name a few. Even though I usually like substance in my horror, there are a lot of great cheesy, fun films in this decade I can’t resist. It was a great time for the serial killer, psychologically and thematic focused horror film, many of which have inspired countless others since.
2-Do you think the scene is saturated with remakes, as many people say? What is your point of view about them?
Well there’s Hollywood horror and then there’s indie/foreign horror, which are two very different beasts with different trends and focuses. Hollywood horror is mostly saturated with watered down remakes with little identity and copying other films that have shown success. It makes sense, as it is a business and it’s easier to follow the formula rather than push the genre. Just about everything under the sun has been remade, even films that are only a couple years old in some cases. It’s brand recognition rather than having to hook in audiences and letting the material speak for itself.
Even aside from remakes there are a lot of horror films that stick to what has been done before. Even when it’s done well, it feels empty and a wasted opportunity. I will say lately I have been seeing some bigger production companies that are taking more chances in taking on independent films or at least producing horror films that have more substance. As Above, So Below was one that just made me happy for horror and the potential for the future of it. I’m not saying it’s a brilliant film, but it really infused so much history and culture, utilizing mythology and a morbidly intriguing atmosphere. It questioned the power and curse of the human mind and how the past and fear can haunt it. It did fairly well financially, showing that there can be profit from a film like this without having to be a remake; that people want horror with more complexity. The outbreak of stellar horror TV is a really great sign for the genre as well. People who normally would have no interested in serial killers or monsters are won over. In order for these shows to be a success, it requires compelling characters with so many layers, gripping material, and excellent writing that constantly is building and escalating this given world. Mainstream audiences being not only attracted but hooked to these shows gives hope that even on a mainstream level, this could be the norm for horror films, not just reserved for the indie and foreign gems.
3-There are many uncomfortable things in horror films - aspect, subject, extreme violence, nudity, ... Is that a challenge for you, or a turn off? Where do the line stops for you?
I’m usually attracted to those themes. I love disturbing films as long as there is some message or point to it. Horror is great to take on taboos, the ugly things in the world we’re usually afraid to address, but are present. I think it can bring either justice or realization, utilizing horror to creatively, and sometimes metaphorically, tackle the struggle, emotion, and pain; simply the horrors around us. That’s always been something I have respected and loved about the genre.
Nudity is something different and is a difficult subject for just about any actor in this genre among others. I think there’s a lot of pressure for actors in horror, especially women, although I acknowledge that this can still be present for men too. Even when willing to do nudity you do have to be careful of how it affects your image. Once you’re an actress who has done nudity a few times you get expected to, which can lessen the quality of the roles you’re offered as a lot of times it can be gratuitous and just a throw away role. In some ways it’s no different than violence and disturbing content, it has to have a true purpose, to be essential, not for shock value or to seem like it’s just for the sake of it at all. As an actress, I’m much more particular and picky when it comes to nudity. There really has to be complete belief and trust on every level from the role to the script and especially the director. You should know that this role is something you simply need to do and that it will escalate your body of work, not come back to haunt you. Once you do something it’s out there forever and you never know how something is going to turn out or be perceived until it’s done. If you don’t have every bit of faith, you should probably listen to that gut feeling. If it’s something you know you’re going to be proud of, listen to that instinct too.
As a horror fan and even as a creator, I don’t have an issue with nudity, but when it is excessive and unnatural it can take away from the film. Thanatomorphose is one example where it was just too much.
There are close ups and odd angles of female and male nudity from start to finish. The female character especially is nude almost the entire film and hypersexualized, making it feel like a very bland artsy porn horror film. Really the FX make-up is the only impressive thing about the film. I understand it’s body horror and sexually based, so it makes sense in a way, but there wasn’t the content, compelling characters, or even much of a story or point to back it up. So the excessive nudity felt even more out of place, like it was trying to use that to get attention and then didn’t bother to do anything with that attention. Everything in a film should add to it or it detracts from it, I think nudity should be included in that statement.
4-To this day, what would you say was your best performance?
Two of my films that are closest to me are also the two I view as my best performances; Words Like Knives and Within These Walls. Within These Walls being the feature, and thus diving deeper in to this character’s maddening turmoil with a great range of emotions as so much in her world changes throughout the course of the film, probably is the one that stands out the most. Even though the character is victimized in every conceivable way, she still shows strength through it all. It was also one of the most intense, kind of insane, but truly amazing experiences I’ve had as an actress. It was such a passion project and a true collaboration by an extremely driven and talented cast and crew. The main leg of filming was 6 straight days, nearly 18-20 hour shoot days, barely getting an hour or two a sleep before we were at it again. The passion literally drove each and every one of us, giving us adrenaline and a wonderful energy that fueled the film. I was able to really throw myself in to the character completely as the words and nightmarish story I created came alive all around me. Also whenever I write the script, I have a closer relationship to the character, really understanding the ins and outs. It’s a fantastic challenge to then make that a reality with every ounce of emotion and intensity it had in your mind. When you can watch your film and have this amazing high come over you, thrilled with the end result, you know it was a success, no matter what happens from here.
5-What inspire you to create a role?
When I write my inspiration comes being driven to explore a theme and to bring out the potential I see in a specific sub-genre of horror that really speaks to me. I then create the story and then the characters around that. The characters I write I tend to put through utter hell and back. Like a lot of my writing, Within These Walls, really tested how much the human body, mind, and spirit can endure. I do put parts of myself in a dramatized context in to the given character that supports and strengthens the story. I cling to outsider and misunderstood characters who are really on their own, fighting a battle no one else can understand. Perhaps, because these are the people I do understand, appreciate, and cling to myself.
6-What sort of roles appeal to you?
I look for a wide variety of things in roles I take on. I love both victim and villainous characters. More than anything I look for layers and complexities, a fierceness and strength even in the most seemingly doomed character. Struggle, desperation, and hopelessness don’t make you weak as long as you keep fighting. The sadistic mindset, especially in moral shades of gray, always really intrigued me about serial killers and villains. Although, with characters that are completely amoral, there really is no reasoning. They can be mindboggling horrifying too. I enjoy the different versions of what can be horrifying and really bringing that mentality out. My primary passion is horror so as an actress, any way I can bring that out from either side of the spectrum, is a thrill and a privilege.
7-You can talk with Kelsey, 16 years old. What would tell her? You can talk with Kelsey, 50 years old. What would you tell her?
Interesting question! Well when I was 16, I wanted to be a film critic, but I just had gotten the idea to dabble in screenwriting to strengthen my understanding and skills from the other side of it. I fell so in love with it I knew it was something I wanted to dive deeper in to and pursue. I was also very different than most of my peers in high school. Luckily, I had connected with a group of freelance film bloggers on Myspace, which was an amazing community where we supported, understood, and encouraged each other. At times it was a natural reaction with our mutual love of cinema. That was the first of several steps that led me to where I am today. Another significant step being the indie horror circle I fell in to in Chicago, which truly changed my life and allowed me to explore and embrace a crucial part of myself. Before that I had zero ambitions to be an actress. Falling in to that world gave life to my writing as well as my acting, and eventually modeling, on top of simply got me more involved with indie horror. I can’t imagine doing anything else. With some of that in mind, I would tell myself to always embrace who you are, follow your passions, and when connecting with likeminded individuals, cherish them and take advantage of any opportunity that might come up through that community. I really think things happen as they are meant to and help shape your life. That has happened in a very big way already for me.
50 year old Kelsey, I hope you’re still making horror movies and keep at it until the day you die. I hope you have created some phenomenal scripts like the films and TV shows that thrilled and inspired you. The drive to create and feed my passions has always been the key to my happiness and really is just an essential need in me. Even if what that is changes over the years, I hope I am always feeding that and building a life for myself as a creator and an individual that I can hold great pride in.
8-Is there a subject that you never got to see in films, or you did, but didn't think it was done the right way, that you would like to use in a film?
Many! I think like any writer, there are so many things I want to see explored or that I would explore in a different way myself. Recently watching The Houses That October Built, I was initially so intrigued and connected to what it was touching on from both the guests and the performer’s point of view in their motives. It being a documentary turned in to a fictional found footage style horror film was unfortunate, because as a horror film it failed. The only thing that was interesting was what was said, not what was done or shown. So I think that’s credit to the initial documentary. A lot of times I see something like that with great potential, but it falls flat and I can’t help but think of the film it could have been or what my version might be like. Having worked in the haunt industry myself I have a connection to this. Simply from a horror perspective I can see potential here; there is a certain blurred line of fiction and reality. When guests go through, they aren’t thinking that there’s a person underneath that monster make-up. For some it is real to them and they either are truly horrified or have great appreciation for it, sometimes both. For some it’s just about proving how tough they are and that they won’t be scared, sometimes becoming more aggressive than the performer portraying a monster. There’s definitely some social commentary in there. You could play with both sides of the type of people these places attract as well as those who take on these monsters. Even adding a supernatural twist of an attraction that was truly haunted and manipulating the fictionalized performance and making it real. It’s so easy for either the guest or the performer to get hurt in some of the more extreme haunted houses that simulate kidnapping and torture, even by mistake, it’s bound to happen. There have even been cases of actual dead bodies used without knowledge that they are real, someone dying in that scenario, and it seeming to be a part of the show, and not realized until after. The possibilities are really endless, it just depends on what aspect you wanted to focus on and bring out the potential for horror in. It might very well be a topic I dabble in to in the future.
Another one that comes to mind is Wes Craven’s Shocker, which I love even though it’s a bit cheesy. That’s one remake I wouldn’t mind seeing if done right and something new being added to. Simply taking that material of a prisoner being sentenced to death and it not killing them, but making them even more sadistic and deadly, is really interesting to me. I’ve always been against the death penalty, thinking in many ways it’s crueler than the initial murder itself, not to mention how mistakes can be made, and it usually is more about money than true justice. I would love to see something like Shocker in a more serious, dark context.
9-What is coming up for you?
Hoping to get Within These Walls out there to people very soon! It was accepted at Jennifer’s Bodies Women in Horror Film Festival in Scotland, making it the world premiere. We are hoping to get it to other film festivals and then distributed. I have a few films that recently have been released on DVD including Forgotten Tales, Axe to Grind, and The Burning Dead. My newest acting project is Who’s There?, a 90’s horror throwback film in the vein of The Craft and Night of the Demons. I play Scarlet, who becomes so intrigued and consumed by witchcraft and dark magic that it turns her in to a deadly force that the other characters are right to fear as her presence becomes more demanding and manipulative. I have played evil characters plenty of times, but some of my bigger roles recently have been protagonists/victims. Especially with Alaina being completely tormented and dominated by the spirit in Within These Walls, it’s
kind of fun to be on the other side of the haunting this time around. Especially because Scarlet doesn’t start off as purely evil. She’s a curious outsider, and simply embraces what speaks to her. It just spins out of control and shows her that death only strengthens the darkness. We’re currently raising funds for the initial costs to put together promotional materials and a teaser to get investors involved and funding for the feature film. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/who-s-there-horror-film-pre-production
Aside from that, I have a few writing projects I’m working on now and I’m constantly doing photoshoots, usually gothic or horror themed with gritty emotion or simply bringing out a character and a snapshot of the world or given story. I have another photoset that was accepted for publishing and I will be able to share that soon. Next up is a Dark Alice photoshoot with Toxic Love Photography, a photographer I constantly collaborate with. I’m pretty excited about that one, there’s a really talented team of some of my favorite people to work with involved. It should be delightfully dark and have a striking edgy style and character to it. Thanks so much for the interesting, thought provoking questions. I always enjoy talking horror! To all the fellow horror fans reading this, stay creepy and keep that passionate, infectious horror spirit alive!.