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Aussie genre staple, Kate Lister, fills us in on her new scare flicks, Curse of the Scarecrow and Mandy the Haunted Doll, both of which were released in August.
When did your love of acting begin?
It was a gradual thing for me, I took lots of little classes and then I found myself in a class with a teacher (Lyndelle Green) who pushed me harder than anyone else had at the time, she opened my eyes up and made me pay attention to the psychology and responsibility in building and playing a character.
Did you train somewhere in Australia?
Yes, I have trained at a hand full of incredible schools with fantastic teachers. I recently trained at The Atlantic Acting school in New York – that was a mind-blowing experience. I have also trained at Margie Habers school in L.A., The Actors Centre in London, and some Australian Schools like 16th Street, Film & Television International, and Brave Studios
You’ve quickly established yourself as a familiar face in horror and thriller films. How did that all begin?
My first horror film was Fox Trap (UK name is Don’t Blink). This lead to a handful of projects with the same production company, so I was very lucky.
Where and when was Mandy the Haunted Doll shot?
I shot my scenes for Mandy the Doll in October 2017, in Essex, England.
And can you tell us a bit about your character?
Dolls are so creepy! There are films like Chucky that introduced the killer doll and now I will say, I wonder what all of the dolls do when we are sleeping haha! I shot the opening scene of Mandy the Doll and I am so glad I didn’t have to spend months looking at that doll, I would have definitely had nightmares. I am the blonde girl running up the stairs when I should have been running out the front door, a good one to tick off my bucket list.
Is there a sequence in the movie that you’re really proud of, one you can genuinely step back from and say, “Wow, that’s an amazing moment!”?
Mandy the Haunted Doll is the smallest part I have had in a feature film, I am just in the opening scene so it was a very quick shoot for me. I can honestly say I haven’t seen it so I am not sure how it all turned out.
How did you get cast?
I was asked to jump on board when I had committed to shooting another film by Proportion Productions and Champ Dog films.
Was Mandy a practical effect or CGI?
Mandy was practical effects – she was a very creepy looking doll, that’s for sure.
What can you tell us about your other new horror film, Curse of the Scarecrow?
I laugh every time I think of this film, to be honest this was a film that I shot in conjunction with another film called Deadly Callback. Deadly Callback was the film I fell in love with and Curse of the Scarecrow was just on the sideline. It was a fun, silly horror that I think will be an easy watch for all those horror fans. The title says it all!
Again, did this one require a lot of imagination on behalf of the actors involved?
It is crazy the things you have to imagine just to put yourself in the correct headspace to film a horror film, this one in particular was hard because my intellectual side wanted to kick in and remind me that the Scarecrow was not dangerous – it was a fight in my own mind really.
Rock Hard \m/
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