Inanna Sarkis Discusses Her New, Kickass Mean Girl Role in SEANCE
Inanna Sarkis already enjoys a huge social media following thanks to her YouTube and Instagram presence. But most horror fans don’t really know her. With Simon Barrett’s new supernatural horror hybrid Seance, that’s about to change. Sarkis plays Alice, the leader of a formidable group of young private school students whose new mission in life is to make new girl Camille (Suki Waterhouse) her footstool. In our interview below, we chat about how her character isn’t just a shallow mean girl, her martial arts background that added a lot to the knockdown fistfights in the film, and how her Mom and Dad just modeled for her new streetwear line, VISUS.
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Synopsis:
Camille Meadows is the new girl at the prestigious Edelvine Academy for Girls. Soon after her arrival, six girls invite her to join them in a late-night ritual, calling forth the spirit of a dead former student who reportedly haunts their halls. But before morning, one of the girls is dead, leaving the others wondering what they may have awakened.
Dread Central: I was just looking at your fashion line. Is that your Mom and Dad as models in the campaign?
Inanna Sarkis: Yes, it was most definitely them and I think it was the highlight of their year because they had so much fun shooting. It was their first time being in front of the camera, actually.
DC: I love seeing an older generation still being cool and fashionable. Hopefully, you let them keep the clothes.
IS: My Dad asked for it afterwards, actually. It was funny. He was like, ‘So, do I get to keep it?’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, obviously Dad.’
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DC: I’ve been aware of Simon Barrett and all those guys for many years. Your character Alice in Seance is kind of that ultimate boarding school mean girl but she gets more complicated as the story unfolds. That must’ve been exciting when you first read the part and then getting more into character when you were actually shooting.
IS: Yeah, when I first read it I fell in love with her character. Obviously Simon has such a great writing style. Even though it was his directorial debut I feel like he was super experienced and knew exactly what he wanted. So, definitely I had a bunch of questions for him about Alice and he provided us with a whole playlist of soundtracks and how he had the tone. So it really helped us as actors to find our characters and dive into them.
DC: The soundtracks are always really good in their films. Seance sounds like it was kind of demanding and you guys were shooting on a quick schedule. How was the on set day-to-day for you and working with Simon?
IS: It was great, I think it was about twenty one days to shoot the whole film. He would tell us now that he was stressed out and that he was doing a lot but, at the time, he was so well composed that I didn’t even know. So he did a really amazing job as a director and he made me feel really comfortable. Any questions I had or anything I wanted to do differently, he was super open to it. So it was really great working with him.
DC: He has a very laid back demeanor.
IS: He’s low key. I don’t know if everyone catches on to his sarcastic, dark humor. There were a few times during filming where I was catching onto his sarcasm. I think he’s actually really funny.
DC: He did kind of a screenwriter Master Class thing virtually recently and he was like, ‘Yeah, if you’re a writer you’re pretty much screwed.’
IS: (laughs) People would probably think he’s just like rude or whatever but his sarcastic humor, I love it. I kind of have the same kind of humor as him. We got along in that aspect for sure.
DC: It just means that you’re seasoned. Had you seen You’re Next and The Guest before? That whole team has really put a stamp on the genre and Seance still feels like it’s in that universe.
IS: Yeah, I did. I got a chance to watch them. I wanted to make sure I did all my research. I love those movies. Again, I think he’s such a genius writer…he has such a great talent for it all. He’s like the full package and he definitely has a particular style to what he wants and how he wants to get it done.
DC: I want to talk about your right hand a little bit. The fistfights with Alice and Camille are brutal! I could feel the punches from both of you.
IS: I loved it. We actually worked together because I do have a martial arts and boxing background. I would start talking to him and say I’m a southpaw, this is my stance. We got to do a little bit more than he had first anticipated with the fight scenes so that was super exciting. That was the most fun doing those little fight choreography scenes.
DC: Alice is like the Rocky of Seance.
IS: Oh my gosh, I love that. I wish there were more scenes like that.
DC: I was going to say, do you think Alice could have been in more action scenes? I think she could have kicked some more ass.
IS: Yeah, I would’ve loved to have her do a little bit of that in the end. Maybe if there’s another Seance.
DC: Seance 2! It could be the Creed of the franchise. I know Simon is a big fan of anime and the hyper style that it’s known for. Did he ever ask you to really heighten your emotions and go bigger sometimes? Or did you just naturally work out that rhythm in each scene?
IS: No, I definitely trusted him when he was telling me to go big with it and be angry even though it felt a little odd in some of the parts. He knows the overall arc and the overall story that he’s trying to tell. I feel like the moments he told me to go bigger definitely worked out in the outcome. I think it definitely helped.
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DC: Since Simon is writing female characters, did you feel like it was important to actually have him on set directing you so you could have open conversations about the character dynamics with the actual person that created those characters?
IS: Absolutely…he just knew his characters so well. If there were any parts that I was questioning or thinking what’s her motive here? Does it make sense? How would I react in this scene after the fight? Any questions I had I feel like he definitely knew his characters inside out. It absolutely helped a lot, having a director that also wrote those characters and knows them so well to help answer any questions or issues I was having in the moment.
DC: Watching everybody hang out and get to know each other in the movie, those relationships of the students are a really crucial aspect to what makes the movie work. Usually, those in-between scenes in the genre can feel like padding. Here, it must’ve been great for you as actors to be given the time and breathing room to make Alice and all the characters come to life.
IS: Yeah, and I feel like the more the movie went on, the more we got to know each other, too. We just really got to create more of a friendship with each other as well offscreen and onscreen. It was a noticeable thing, too. We got a chance to study the role and work the scenes out together. We would get together after work, as well, and just go through everything. It was definitely a lot of help to have a cast that was super friendly and willing to work on the scenes with you.
DC: The movie, for the most part, goes out of its way to avoid the slasher clichés. For you, is there a feeling of pride, for lack of a better word, being an actress in a smart, stylish film that doesn’t turn Alice into a stereotype?
IS: I mean I’m so grateful to be part of this film. I can’t wait for everyone to see it.
DC: I think you’re probably going to garner some new horror fans, some new followers, just from the horror genre. They’re the nicest people on the internet.
IS: Yeah, I love it!
DC: They’ll probably want to see you in more horror movies. Do you have any projects lining up that are in that genre?
IS: Not so much the horror but definitely thriller. I have a scripted podcast that I’ve been working on the past few months. Simon [Barrett] definitely influenced me to write more of my own stuff.
Seance is In Theaters, On Demand and Digital on May 21, 2021
Categorized:Interviews News
