If you're a fan of retro horror then we have one of the best of recent times, Stewart Sparke's Book of Monsters. So, we decided to chat to the leading actress from the gruesome chiller Lyndsey Craine.
NYX: Did you know from a young age that you wanted to be an actress?
LC: Yes, acting is something that I have always dreamt of doing. I remember being very young and acting out all my favourite movies in front of the TV and reciting every single line of all the characters that I wanted to be.
NYX: Where did you get your big break?
LC: I think if I were to consider any moment of my acting career so far as my break, I would most likely say it was Book of Monsters. This was my very first lead feature role and having it premiere at the incredible FrightFest and go on to have a TV release was extremely exciting.
NYX: Have you always been a horror fan?
LC: I have actually always been scared of all horror! The only horror films I could consider watching when I was younger were the Scream films and they remain my favourites to this day. I think having worked in horror and seeing how they are made has made me slightly less scared of watching them. I have also been fortunate to see some fantastic horror movies across film festivals that I have attended so feel my horror experience is much more broad now. I still absolutely get scared though!
NYX: Do you like being classed as a Scream Queen?
LC: It is a huge honour when anyone classes me as a Scream Queen. As I mentioned earlier, Scream is my favourite horror franchise and for me Neve Campbell is the ultimate Scream Queen so to ever be considered one myself is pretty amazing.
NYX: What did you think when you read the script for Book of Monsters?
LC: I absolutely loved the script for Book of Monsters. I really loved the character of Sophie and her story. I was really impressed with the balance of horror and comedy that the team of Dark Rift Horror were able to input into the film. The other aspect I loved was the fact that even though it is a comedy and there are practical effect monsters attacking the characters, the storyline still has a strong heart and you really care for the characters.
NYX: How did you approach playing your character of Sophie?
LC: I was fortunate to be able to chat a lot with Stewart Sparke and Paul Butler, the Director and Writer of the film about who Sophie was and really nail down a backstory for her. You meet Sophie after she has experienced a very traumatic event and it was getting the balance of that not defining her but also it being a huge part of who she ends up becoming. I watched a lot of horror movies with a similar vibe to see how their characters were portrayed and how they handled the balance of drama storytelling and horror. I really wanted to make sure that Sophie was relatable as a person. It was great to go on that journey with Sophie as she goes from a sweet and innocent girl to a badass wielding a chainsaw. As I mentioned, this was my first feature film so I feel like I was constantly learning from the incredible cast that I was surrounded by and I felt I was gaining confidence in myself just as Sophie was gaining confidence in herself.
NYX: Did you and the rest of the cast have much time to rehearse?
LC: We were able to have one read through day with some of the cast but due to scheduling we didn’t have much time to rehearse. The film had a very quick turn around from it having its successful Kickstarter run to production. The cast were all so incredible and we had time on the day before the takes to run through lines together and discuss any thoughts we had about how we were going to enact the scene.
NYX: It must have been so cool acting alongside Nicholas Vince.
LC: Working with Nicholas was absolutely incredible. I felt so lucky to work with him, he is honestly so lovely and just a wonderful person. It was a great experience to develop our characters together and he is genuinely just an absolute legend.
NYX: What’s it like working on a movie with so many special effects?
LC: It is so much fun! It is so helpful for performance being able to work with the practical effects and actually be able to witness what you’re going to be up against in the scene. It becomes more difficult when you’re face to face with a piece of tape and you just have to imagine the monster is there! I don’t think I will ever get used to the volume of fake blood that is used on horror sets though, just litres and litres are brought in and there is never any left by the end of the shoot! It’s always funny discussing with the cast how much we think is going to get thrown at us and we always underestimate!
NYX: Do you have a favourite scene?
LC: There are so many of the scenes that bring back such wonderful memories but one of the scenes I do love is when the three girls have defeated the plague mask monster in the woods and we all have our own weapons to do this. It was such a fun scene to do with Michaela Longden who played Mona and Lizzie Aaryn-Stanton who played Beth, they are both such incredible actresses and I was so lucky to work so closely with them both. It is quite funny to think about as the girls have such a sweet moment of coming together as a trio after they have just annihilated this monster with a chainsaw, an axe and a sword and they’re covered in blood!
NYX: How would you describe the movie?
LC: I think I would just describe the movie as a really fun, silly time to have with your friends watching an 80’s inspired practical effects movie with a lot of heart. The cast and crew put everything into the film and I think it really shows on screen. There are some brilliant characters that come up against some crazy monsters and it’s just a film to have a lot of fun with.
NYX: So, what are you working on at the moment?
LC: The latest film, which should be getting release soon, was in Dark Rift Horror’s new movie, How to Kill Monsters, which again is another practical effects inspired horror comedy and was so much fun to work on. It did the film festival run last year and I am so excited for more people to see it on its release. I also had the release of Liam Regan’s film Eating Miss Campbell which is now available on Blu-Ray from Refuse Films. I am also currently working on some other projects at the moment which I cannot talk about yet but I am extremely excited about them!
NYX: Lyndsey Craine, thank you very much.
