Select Page

Dee Wallace Discusses Her Villainous New Role In “The Nest”

Wednesday, July 28, 2021 | Interviews

By DAKOTA DAHL

Chances are if you’re on our little site, you might have heard of Dee Wallace. She’s a mainstay of the horror genre (and of films in general) starring in such classics as Cujo, The Howling, Halloween, Critters and The Frighteners to name a very small few. Now horror fans can watch her contend with some manipulative insects in THE NEST, a film about an infested teddy bear that gets its pincers into a young girl. Rue Morgue got to sit down with one of our favorite scream queens and chat about the new film and her career.

What attracted you to the script for THE NEST?

Well, you know, I thought it was exceptionally well written and I met with the producer and I really, really loved her. I thought she had a very high integrity. And the part was interesting to me because I thought I could play an arc and I love playing arcs where you start out as one character and morph into something else. So, all those things kind of came together and I like going out to help young filmmakers do their thing.

Speaking of that exact kind of arc, one of my favorite films of yours is The Frighteners, which has you playing one of your more rare villainous roles. In THE NEST your character Marissa also ends up becoming somewhat evil, or at least, possessed. What’s it like transitioning from sweet, innocent characters to more sinister ones?

Well, I think the biggest challenge for an actor is that you don’t make it black and white. That there is, literally, a transition there so that the audience can follow it and follow the beat of that shift. It was very challenging in The Frighteners to make that work. It’s actually easier in THE NEST because you understood what was taking all of us over. Right?

How does the character of Marissa stack up to some of your other iconic horror roles?

Oh gosh, I try not to compare my different roles because something like Cujo, for example, which was all me and a little boy for two relentless hours with a lot more money, and then you go into a smaller budget thing in a more minor role…it’s difficult to compare those two dynamics. My job is just to always go in and commit to the fullest and do the best I can. And I think I did in THE NEST.

Much like Cujo, many of your roles, including THE NEST, have you working alongside child co-stars. What’s that like and how does it differ from working with adults?

I mean this truthfully, most of the children that I’ve worked with are really like working with many adults. They’re so present, they’re so in the moment. I’m telling you, working with Danny Pintauro [in Cujo] and Henry Thomas [in E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial] for example, it was like working with another consummate actor. Sometimes, children are a lot more present with you than another adult. They don’t have any agendas, they’re not looking to stand out in the scene with you, they just want to be present with you, and I, quite frankly, love working with kids.

What advice do you have for young actors trying to break into the horror genre?

First of all, I would advise any actor not to do anything that goes against their principles, that frighten you or that you don’t believe in, because then it’s that much harder to commit to it. But as for younger actors, like Henry, Henry knew – he talked his mother into this for two years, trying to get started as an actor. I look back at my childhood, I always knew I wanted to do something creative. I started out as a dancer, did a lot of modelling and did a lot of acting when I was little. I think my message would be to the parents that if you see your child leaning towards that and having an affinity towards that, encourage it and don’t be afraid of it.

So you always knew you wanted to do something creative?

Always. I think I was dancing in my mothers womb.

What is it about being creative that holds so much appeal for you?

I’m just not happy if I’m not creative. When the pandemic hit, I got up every day and said, “Alright, these are the limitations that are upon us right now, what can I create anyway?” Because when I’m creating, I’m happy. I wrote my sixth book, I produced a horror short for my fans just as a gift with a lot of icons that I work with, I did more little independent films that were COVID compliant because most of the studios were closed down. I think you just have to look at what life hands you and go, “What can I create anyway?”

I would just say to anybody that wants to get started as an actor or a director or editor or anybody behind the scenes, so many people don’t understand our business and they don’t understand the creative drive that we have to create in this business. So if that’s your passion, and that’s what you want to do, follow it and go for it and keep working toward it, and don’t let a lot of other people dissuade you because they just don’t understand.

You created a horror short for your fans?

Yeah, it’s called Stay Home, I produced it, and my daughter wrote it and co-directed it.

What is it about the horror genre that keeps you coming back?

You know, I didn’t go looking for horror but it certainly found me early in my career. I’ve done a lot of other stuff but I really enjoy the horror films because, relating back to our original question today, they allow you to play a lot of emotion and a lot of big arcs.

What was the most difficult scene to film?

That’s a good question. All the actors in THE NEST, I want to make a comment on how professional and how great they were to work with, but it was the big scene, very dramatic scene where I’ve already been taken over and I have a big confrontation with the mother character, who is trying to get the little girl. It was just the end of the day, and we all knew it was a really, really important scene. It was challenging to keep our energy up and preserve the drama without acting. You don’t want to act, that’s the worst thing you can do!

So obviously you’re known as something of a scream queen, which of your many iconic roles are you most proud of?

Absolutely, hands down Cujo. I just think they asked me to go as far as I could possibly go and I believe I went there as truthfully as I could. I’m just really proud of my work in that film.

What future projects of yours can we look forward to seeing you in?

Well, of course, THE NEST, and I have a really interesting sci-fi horror combination film called The Way to Dawn which should be out this year, and 13: Fanboy which had humongous hype across the internet before COVID hit. So we’re resurrecting that again: they have distribution, they just called and let me know they have distribution. Those are the ones that I know of that will probably be out this year. I also have my sixth book coming out on all the healing work that I do, teaching people how to manifest in their lives.

THE NEST is out now on Digital, On Demand and DVD from 4DigitalMedia.

https://youtu.be/92kRK9WLNtg

Rue Morgue Manor
The Rue Morgue Manor is the Toronto headquarters of Rue Morgue magazine and its brand offshoots.