An upcoming actress in the UK indie scene, Annabella Rich is slowly moving up in the scene with plenty of roles in and out of the genre where she works frequently with indie studio TrashArts Pictures among others. Now, in honor of Women in Horror Month, I talk with her about her early interest in the industry, her early work in the genre and working with the studio on their films.
Me: Hello and thank you for taking the time to do this. First off, when did you get into horror in general?
Annabella Rich: Thank you for having me. I've always been a massive horror fan and whilst doing my BA in Musical Theatre, I saw an ad for a role in a local short horror film. I auditioned, got the part, and haven't stopped since. Although I had always been a massive horror fan, It wasn’t until I got that part that I realized this was what I wanted to do.
Me: Were you into genre films growing up? What films specifically got you into watching horror movies?
AR: My favorite series as a child was “Courage the Cowardly Dog ” which says a lot! If you haven't seen this kid's show, I'd genuinely recommend checking it out. However what got me directly into horror was the 2002 film “Ghost Ship,” specifically the opening scene with the rope butchery. I had watched it by accident and my mum was mortified realizing what I had seen but oddly I wasn't! Horrors have fascinated me since that moment, I love figuring out the twists, the stories and seeing the behind-the-scenes. Specifically, through my teen years, I loved the Freddie and Jason franchises but also loved foreign horrors. Anything with a supernatural element to it was an instant win. Nowadays, I'm a sucker for a possession film.
Me: When did you first develop an interest in acting? What aspect of the industry appeals to you the most?
AR: Like a lot of actors, I did my fair share of amateur dramatics whilst growing up. I have always enjoyed the character development and being “someone else.” I suffered quite badly from bullying in my teen years and acting gave me a great outlet and helped me gain some confidence where I had lost it in my everyday life. The aspect that appeals to me the most within the horror industry is the extremity you put your characters through. It's exhausting but once you capture that perfect take, it is incredibly satisfying and that moment is captured forever. Also, I find the industry such a supportive place where everyone just wants to see everyone do their best. Everyone is always willing to go the extra mile because most of the time, you're all working towards the same goal. And this passion for the craft is something I adore about this industry.
Me: As an accomplished singer and dancer, what tools and skills do you acquire there that transferred to future film projects?
AR: I hope one day to play a character who sings or dances but I'd defo be a bit rusty on the dancing! Musical theatre has taught me a lot of discipline, there is rigorous training and a lot of late-night rehearsals - this transfers over to the long days of shooting, especially when you're trying to keep your full engagement/energy on the project. When you sing, a lot of the time there is a subtext under the words being said, helping to shape the emotion in a more interesting manner and I have found this specifically useful towards projects where there's a lot of heightened emotion or dialogue. It adds those extra layers and creates more depth to the characters. There's a great exercise called the “Knob” game which I love (It sounds rude but I promise it's not!), where you sing a song and someone shouts different contrasting emotions out for you to suddenly portray, it always promotes an interesting performance. This works well for duologue/monologues also and I apply this game to almost every scripted piece I do whilst developing the characters.
Me: Is there any specific type of character you prefer playing?
AR: I love a nutty character or the one who's driven to insanity. There's something weirdly fun about having a breakdown on screen.
Me: Having worked on several short films early in your career, what do you recall about working on those features?
AR: I remember being so nervous. But each film was such a good confidence boost with incredibly supportive teams, I found myself really lucky that in my earlier days I stumbled across Trash Arts and Pastel Wasteland. In each film I did, I learned so much and it gave me the drive to keep improving and learning.
Me: Having performed in many features for indie filmmaker Sam Mason-Bell and his studio TrashArts Films, what about his style and approaches keeps bringing you around to work with him?
AR: Sam, Jackson, Ryan, and I work incredibly well together, especially on collaborations. Originally I used to just do the odd bits for them but somehow we fell into getting coffees each week and spending hours on script ideas and even just life, especially Sam and Me.
Sam and I really mesh well on set and we are always on the same page, we have complete trust in each other to try anything - even if it's last-minute or the elements are against us! I enjoy Sam's style of working and admire his ability to make something great out of nothing. And although a lot of the time we don't script it, we spend hundreds of hours focusing on characters, the stories plus their development and it creates some really interesting pieces we wouldn’t have got otherwise. Overall as a team, we balance each other nicely and have been able to produce some really cracking pieces, on zero budgets, and I look forward to what the future holds.
Me: Your first feature together, Trash Arts Killers: Volume 2, what do you remember your time filming the short?
AR: I remember meeting Jess for the first time, I actually never met the boys during this! She was great and I loved the wigs. She’s one of those people who is super charismatic and engaging.
Me: Returning to work with him on the films 'Home Videos,' 'Para-Psych Trauma' and 'Project X,' did that help to make you more comfortable not just with him but the rest of his stock group of actors and actresses?
AR: So we have actually spoken about this as a group how I’ve been in lots of films with the other stock actors/actresses but haven't actually met most of them where I either die quickly or am in a random segment! It's quite nice though as I've spoken to lots but we've never directly acted together. It's a weird feeling to be like “We are in the same film! But we never met.”
Me: What has been the most memorable experience that you've had based on your collaboration together?
AR: Definitely our most recent shoot, We spent five nights in a million-pound house. I think for us as a group, it was a light bulb moment of “Wow, this really works and we need to keep doing this!”. Everything had gone so smoothly previously, so for it to keep going brilliantly on long shoot days that were going into the early hours of the morning, I think we realized we could do anything as a team.
Me: Outside of his films, you've also landed roles in several other genre films and shorts like 'Awake,' 'Sunburn' and 'Eden.' What have these experiences added to your repertoire as an actress?
AR: Sunburn was such a pleasure. I got to work with some super expensive equipment (A £45,000 camera!), some super awesome directing from Rob Ultiski and his brilliant cameraman. We actually came 10th in the worldwide competition for this. It was such an exciting experience and the fact we condensed the short into one day, in one room, was incredible. It's also the first film I have done voiceover for which was fun. Overall all three of these have added more experience on set.
More recently, you’ve moved into writing and producing with the upcoming effort “Home is Where I Lay.” What can you tell us about that project? Where did the inspiration come from to write the film?
AR: As the boys at Trash Arts know, I suffer from sleep paralysis and over the first lockdown began having night terrors! One in particular really played on my mind and I had mentioned it over coffee once we could meet. Sam convinced me to turn it into a script and that's how “Home is Where I lay” came around.
Me: Beyond these features, what else are you working on that you'd like to share with our readers?
AR: I'm excited to say I will be working with Mycho Entertainment this year in their new film “Scarecrow”, the script is fantastic and definitely worth keeping an eye out for! They have a great selection of films, are a brilliant team to work with, and made the awesome Pandamonium!
Me: Lastly, being that this is Women in Horror Month, what special message do you have for any women out there looking to join the industry in any capacity as you are one yourself? Thank you again for your time!
AR: Just go for it! Confidence and skills will always grow, don't be afraid to just put yourself out there. No matter how many times other people tell you to give up or that you will never be good enough, just remember that you make your own path in life and YOU get to decide who you want to be. And if this is what you want to do, it doesn’t matter what other people say, you can do it. It takes a lot of perseverance but in the end, it will be worth it.
This interview ran as part of our Women in Horror Month celebrations. Click the banner below to check out all of our reviews and interviews about the occasion:
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