At the intimate red carpet premiere event at the LA Center studios, I awaited the young, beautiful cast of Tell Me How I Die. The event was star studded with the “up and coming,” and the legendary such as Paul Stanley. I got a chance to mingle with the new generation of Hollywood and their supporters.
Nathan Kress, Virginia Gardner, Ryan Higa, Mark Furze, and Ethan Peck star in the new thriller directed by D.J. Viola. They portray a group a college students who take part in an experimental drug study, when an unexpected side effect gives them terrifying visions of their own murders…which begin to come true. As they scramble to outsmart and outmaneuver their date with death, they realize that the killer is among them and shares their ability to see the future – only he seems to be one step ahead in their race to survive.
Nathan Kress, plays the somewhat broody and sensitive Den, who carries a torch for Anna, portrayed by Virginia Gardner. Nathan started out as a voice actor and is known for his Nickelodeon fame. Motivated by his fans, he said he enjoys stretching his limits in the horror genre, “The intensity level is very high…you have to get yourself amped up, get your heart rate up, your face red, and start getting out of breath before you do the take. Otherwise, it just doesn’t look real.”
Virginia Gardner, plays the smart, pensive and somewhat angry at the world, Anna in the film. “Behind the scenes, Mark Furze would prank me a lot and scare me,” she said of her experience with a big smile. New to the horror industry, (but master of the terrified look) she added, “It was bloody, it was scary, it was a fun experience! I was always so scared of horror films and being in one made me a little less afraid of them because I kinda know how it happens behind the scenes.”
Ryan Higa, plays the frequent test subject, Scratch. The YouTube sensation prefers the comedic side of things. “Everything I do is comedy, so it’s over the top. Even though I was comedic relief, playing somebody serious was a lot harder than it is to play somebody funny.”
Mark Furze, the gambler Marcus, in the film, blames his Australian roots for being the “prankster” on set. With a sly smirk, he spoke of his most memorable moment, “Messing with Ginny. I made a video compilation of scaring her about fifty times!” His sense of humor carried through his tone. When asked who inspired him, he replied, “Honest people. There’s a lot of bullshit in this town…I like dogs. Dogs are honest. You can trust them. You know if a dog doesn’t like you straight away, they’ll tell you. People won’t.”
Ethan Peck, the tall dark and handsome, plays the killer, Pascal. He was most proud of the choreographed fight sequence he shared in the film with Nathan. When asked what role he would want to play, he replied with a grin, “Batman. That would be cool as hell.”
HorrorBuzz wanted to know what they were afraid of:
Virginia: “Mark Furze.”
Nathan: “Being tied up. One of the things that freak me out the most is the feeling that I can’t move my extremities. And clowns. Always hated clowns.”
Ryan: “True scary stories. Ghosts and monsters don’t always scare me, but people scare me.”
Ethan: “Death.”
Mark: “The thought of drowning scares me. And Donald Trump.”
I found the fab five easy to talk to and they seemed to all have a great sense of humor. When all together, you could feel a camaraderie that was refreshing in the industry and with DJ Viola as their director, it carried through to the screen.
