Denise Williamson has battled Killer School Girls from Outer Space, brought it on at a deadly Spirit Camp and faced Mexican horrors in Border Break (and, no, we’re not talking street vendor burritos). Her most frightening foe is yet to come, however, in Blair Witch director Eduardo Sanchez’s Big Foot thriller Exists.
Denise was kind enough to talk to Clatto (OK… our creepy late night calls and stalking broke her down) about shooting Exists, working with Sanchez, Big Foot and urban legends and her fear of clowns. Keep up with Denise on Facebook.
Now… let’s chat:
MUERTOS: Tell us about Exists and the character you play?
DENISE: Exists is about a group of friends who venture into the remote Texas woods for a party weekend and find themselves stalked by Bigfoot. My character Elizabeth (Liz) isn’t exactly the outdoorsy type and is ill prepared for a weekend in the woods. She also doesn’t deal with being hunted by a big hairy ape man very well. But ya know, who would?
MUERTOS: The film is directed by Eduardo Sanchez. What was it like working with the guy who gave us The Blair Witch Project? Any unflattering close-ups of your runny nose?
DENISE: Working with Eduardo was great! He gave us a base and allowed us to build on top of that and go where we wanted with our characters. We had a week of rehearsals which gave us the opportunity to work and develop who we wanted our characters to be.
He let us be a part of the creative process and was open to letting us try different things. Personally, he is just a laid back guy who you can go have a beer with and talk about the craziest things.
MUERTOS: You guys shot in the woods. Was that scary or was it all roasted marshmallows and campfire sing alongs?
DENISE: We were never allowed to wonder off into the woods alone. There were only a couple of times we were walking in the dark and you wondered, “What am I about to step in or what’s about to jump out or fall out of a tree?” It was well lit and lots of people were around, so for the most part, there was nothing to be scared of.
They had just had a huge fire in the woods where we shot so there were no camp fires or singalongs, sadly to say. Everyone would get together at the studio and hang out. Shadow dancing and laser wars were very popular. Um, yeah!
MUERTOS: Has there ever been an urban legend you believed in or been scared of?
DENISE: There was this book called “Scariest Stories to Tell in the Dark” that was popular in school. For some reason, my teacher had it in the free time reading collection. We used to love reading those stories, but I don’t remember ever being afraid or thinking they were real.
MUERTOS: What movie monster/creature gives you the creeps and how does Bigfoot compare?
DENISE: Growing up I had a clown just like the one in Poltergeist. I used to be so afraid it was going to come to life and pull me under my bed. The clown in IT was pretty scary as well. Clowns in general are freaky. The thought of Bigfoot doesn’t really scare me, but I’m sure that would change if one was standing in front of me!
