Playing a freakish demon who teams up with a malevolent sorcerer, Jessica Morris terrorizes a teenage girl in a farm town in Fading of the Cries. The film is rife with stunning special effects, heroic magic-filled battles, and hordes of demonic creatures. In this one-on-one interview, Morris reveals how she prepared for her role, some insights into her films and her acting career.
What attracted you to the demon role in Fading of the Cries?
Jessica Morris: We all have a dark side, so I thought it would be interesting to channel into my dark side for a short while.
Did you audition for the role?
JM: No. I had the same agent as Thomas [Ian Nicholas], so it was a package deal.
Do you like acting in thrillers or dramas?
JM: I do a lot of horror films, and I don’t know whether I’m just good at it or because I like it. I’m not really sure why, but I always get cast in them. I prefer to play a bad girl. It’s much more fun.
What was it like prepping for the role of demon Malyhne every day?
JM: I spent nearly five hours in the special effects make-up chair during every one of my shooting days. I’d arrive around 5 a.m., and at the end of the day’s shoot, it would take about an hour to get all that make up off. I didn’t even want to look at myself in the mirror because it freaked me out. It didn’t even look like me—it was such a total transformation.
How was director Brian A. Metcalf to work with?
JM: He’s a very quiet and intense guy. He was very focused and it was nice to work with him because you could tell he had a strong vision.
Did Brian give you some latitude in how to interpret Malyhne?
JM: He called me before the shoot and told me that I needed to come up with a walk that was not really human and just a little bit off. So I did a sort of broken arm kind of walk. I felt a little awkward doing it on set, but when they added the special effects, it made more sense.
How would you compare working on a TV soap like “One Life To Live” with working on a horror feature film?
JM: I was on “One Life to Live” for over five years. It was a great job. You get to know the characters you play so well. There are some dark and twisted things going on in a soap, but it never goes as dark as Fading of the Cries. I never would have been able to play such a crazy character as a demon in a soap. I enjoy TV because it’s a steady gig; but I also like working on films because you get to play so many different kinds of characters. And with films, there’s a beginning, a middle and an end, so you get to wrap it all up.
In the upcoming film Venom, you play a mother who’s pursued by a deadly snake in the desert. Can you go into that a bit?
JM: I play this young, pop-star mom who got into trouble with alcohol and drugs. She takes her young daughter to the desert to try to re-connect with her. She runs over a snake with her car and, well, the snake just happened to be in heat at the time and its scent gets on her, which makes male snakes in the area go after her. I asked the snake handler who was on set if that was possible and he said definitely; any male snakes will go after you if you have that scent.
Is your character disabled and unable to get away from the snakes?
JM: My car breaks down and the snake gets into the car. I get bitten. So during the entire film, I’m pretty much dying of a snakebite.
Do you still dance? Would you like to be in a film like Step-Up?
JM: I danced while I was growing up, doing competitions, but now I just do yoga. As far as being in a film like Step Up, that would be unbelievable—though, I’d probably have to take some classes to brush up.
How did you break into acting?
JM: I had done some local modeling with an agency in Orlando and, through them, I connected with an agency in Tokyo. I did more modeling there and shot my first commercial for a cheese cracker company with a Japanese comedian. It was far more fun than just modeling. So I decided then and there to focus on acting 100 percent. Then, when I moved out to L.A., I got the lead in a horror film called Bloody Murder. My first big gig was the soap where I had to move to New York for five years.
What were you like in high school?
JM: Most people would say that I was sweet and very quiet. The only time I really expressed myself was on stage. I was always in drama and doing plays, but when I walked down the school halls, I was always very quiet.
Alex A. Kecskes is a published author of "Healer a Novel" and "The Search for Dr. Noble"—both now available on Amazon. He has written hundreds of film reviews and celebrity interviews for a wide variety of online and print outlets. He has covered red carpet premieres and Comic-Con events for major films and independent releases.
