You don’t hear those words spoken by actresses very often, especially during interviews, but when it comes to Spain’s Leticia Dolera, star of this week’s VOD release REC 3: Genesis, you know you are in good company.
The actress, who appeared in 2009’s Imago Mortis, plays Clara, a new bride whose wedding reception takes a bloody turn when an outbreak – akin to the vicious infection that spread in the first two REC entries – occurs. She’s split from her man and spends the rest of the film running from the possessed undead, wielding a chainsaw and doing a fair share of ass kicking.
We were given a chance to speak with Dolera today via phone to discuss the sequel and discovered she’s not only a genre fan, but a filmmaker in her own right. Read on for our candid discussion.
Shock Till You Drop: Was it an honor to have been asked to be part of the series, considering REC is such a huge hit in Spain, moreover, around the world?
Leticia Dolera: Yes, I was really happy to be part of it. It’s important in Spain and to so many fans…
Shock: What was your initial reaction to the first two films?
Dolera: When I saw the first one, I found it really refreshing and original. It was a different way to approach the genre. I was happy it was a Spanish film. Genre movies are usually from [other countries] and now Spain is finding a lot of success in horror.
Shock: Were you fully prepared for how physical REC 3 was going to be?
Dolera: Well, I knew it was going to be a challenge physically. I got ready for it all. Two months before shooting, I went into the gym with a personal trainer five days of week so when shooting began, I was ready to kick ass and kill zombies. [laughs] I wanted to really enjoy myself in the action scenes.
Shock: Yeah, you needed that upper body strength to get the chainsaw revved up…
Dolera: [laughs] Yes, yes… Normally, I’m skinny and fragile. I had to change my body a little bit. [laughs]
Shock: Did you wind up keeping that muscle on?
Dolera: It’s all gone. [laughs] Yeah, but at least I have the movie
Dolera: Wow, I don’t know. In Paris, it was really good, but I would say Madrid. That was crazy. Everyone was getting all of the jokes and they were clapping. It was exciting.
Shock: Having seen the first two films, what did you think of the injection of humor in this entry?
Dolera: What I liked about the REC films is they give you something you don’t expect. This movie really gave something refreshing, for example, when the “point of view” style is broken, I like that it’s broken from inside. Koldo, the main character, breaks it. It’s like the movie is saying that it broke some rules of the genre, now we’re going to break our own rules. I was surprised by the romantic side of the movie. It’s original. Boys who love gore can say to girls who love romantic movies that this has some romance. But there are also girls who love gore…
Shock: Are you one of those girls?
Dolera: I love gore. And I love science fiction in general. The movies I don’t like at all are the ones where there is a victim, normally a girl, and she runs a lot and they do mean things to her and she cries. Not my type of horror movie. It gives me bad energy. [laughs]
Shock: How insane was it on the day when the production team had to shoot the big wedding reception attack sequence?
Dolera: It was a really cool, crazy scene because there were so many extras running all over the place and breaking things. Chaotic and great being there. You had everything there to play off of. It was a one day shoot for that, or half a day. Because they shoot very indie with a small budget. There’s something in the air that reminds you of not having big special effects or digital effects. Maybe the directors don’t feel that way, they always want more. [laughs]
Shock: The actor who plays SpongeJohn…tell me he was in that costume even when the cameras were not rolling.
Dolera: [laughs] No, he looked even funnier because he was wearing this white t-shirt and small, white underwear and big brown shoes. I don’t know what was funnier.
Shock: You’ve directed two short films yourself, yes? Are you leaning towards doing a feature?
Dolera: Maybe not in the near future. Someday I’d like to. But it’s very difficult and I want to be really ready for it. Next week, I’m shooting my third short film which is going to be genre.
Dolera: It’s about a citizen of a big city where everyone is under this anesthesia holding back our feelings, our bodies and our souls. What if, one day, this anesthetic goes away. Does that make sense?
Shock: Absolutely.
Dolera: Great.
Shock: Is it based on your own idea?
Dolera: Yes, I wrote it myself.
Shock: On the acting side, what are you up to next?
Dolera: I would love to have more sci-fi projects. I just finished a film called The Last Days which is a post-apocalyptic movie that happens in Barcelona. And I’m working a Spanish TV show which is also kind of sci-fi.
If you missed out on our interview with director Paco Plaza, click here. And, for our interview with co-writer Luiso Berdejo, follow this link.
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