Jessica Belkin(Pretty Little Liars)plays a small-town gal on the edge inLast Straw, filmmaker Alan Scott Neal’sedgy debut horror thriller. Expect plenty of blood and several jaw-dropping twists as Belkin’s desperate character, Nancy, hangs on for dear life after a group of masked assailants make a surprise visit while she’s working the night shift at a rural diner. But Belkin welcomes gritty film and TV roles in stories filled with jump scares and psychological pivots. In a recent MovieWeb interview, the actress shared her love of horror thrillers, noting:
“I was a blood-sucking vampire, Wren, onAmerican Horror Story: Hotel. I always had a thing for horror growing up. I was the weird kid that would be like, ‘I love horror.’It was a full-circle transition back into horror [withLast Straw]. I remember feeling likethis was my first step back into working in horror as an adult now."
Part of the appeal of horror to Belkin is being able to go beyond artifice and into visceral thrills and chills. “I would love to do like aMonster/Charlize Theron type of role,” saidBelkin. “It would be really challenging and super fun. Or, aGirl Interrupted/ Angelina Jolie [role], something a bit more out there…gritty is what I’m going for.” She’s certainly got it withLast Straw.
Last Straw Star Jessica Belkin Reveals the Non-Linear Horror of New Thriller
The lovely Jessica Belkin dishes on becoming a small-town scream queen in the new thriller, Last Straw.
Jessica Belkin Is Sick of the Typecast
Last Straw
Masked assailants converge on a roadside diner where a young waitress is working the night shift alone. Trapped inside with no place to go, she soon finds herself in a brutal fight for survival as she tries to make it out alive.
InLast Straw,Belkin’s Nancy must be quick on her feet as she combats a sketchy group of troublemakers who possibly want to do more than just frighten the hell out of her. In a role that surely stretched her, Belkin also shared how several great actresses have informed her: “I’ve always been inspired by Natalie Portman. She’s one of my favorite actresses… andin horror, it’d be Drew Barrymore and Jamie Lee Curtis. The ‘screen queens’ of our industry.” She went on to say:
“I think people take a look at me and can either typecast me as the mean girl or the influencer girl or whatever. What I liked aboutLast Strawis how Nancy was a bit gritty, more real, and not just this pretty-girl facade.There’s so much more that I can bring, and I just want to be able to display that.”
Look forLast Strawin theaters Sep. 20 and on digital platforms like YouTube, Apple TV, Google Play, Fandango at Home, and on Prime Video through the link below. Watch the trailer below as well.
Watch Last Straw
