Abigail's Alisha Weir & Melissa Barrera spill behind-the-scenes secrets

Abigail's Alisha Weir & Melissa Barrera spill behind-the-scenes secrets.

Video transcript

- Congratulations on the film. This is my favorite kind of horror film, where there's this badass woman who just kicks ass.

[LAUGHING]

MELISSA BARRERA: I'm glad you like it.

- There is so much that happens in the film, but what was the best part about it-- about making the film for you guys?

MELISSA BARRERA: It was fun. Like, it was literally I think a movie that felt really wild to make. Like, everything about it was like, well, I guess now we're all getting attacked by a girl-- a vampire girl in a tutu, and she's flying off the stairs, and we're trying-- it was just crazy, the dynamic of an entire group fighting a sweet little girl that turns out to be a monster was just hilarious. And so we had a great time doing it.

And we had also-- everything was practical in the movie. Like, everything was built and everything was real. And she was actually on wires flying and dragging people. And we actually had walls covered in blood, and nothing was green-screened. All the body parts that you see were real, and so it's cool to do-- to make movies like that.

- Alisha, what were those stunts like for you?

ALISHA WEIR: They were crazy at times and strange at times, especially when they told me about running on a banister. And I was-- at the start, I think I was a bit shocked. And I was like, are you sure? And then they put-- on the other side of the banister, there was almost like a wooden floor in case I did fall over the side, but I was on wires as well. And we did have to rehearse that a good few times. And getting to fly, and getting to do the fight sequence at the end, and getting to do back handsprings and flips was so much fun.

And yeah, I loved getting to do the rehearsals with all the cast as well. It was always so exciting and crazy. But yeah, all the time, it was so much fun.

- What about those teeth? What was it like acting with them?

ALISHA WEIR: Well, I went and got a fitting for my teeth, and I got like a mold done. And then when I seen them for the first time, they were almost like retainers that fit my teeth perfectly, and I just plopped them in on the bottom and on the top. And they felt really weird at the start. They felt like I was just wearing really, really chunky containers. And I had to get used to speaking in them, especially because I was also doing an American accent as well.

And then I had stunt teeth as well, which were even more crazy than the normal ones. But yeah, it was a lot of fun. I feel like the teeth really made Abigail, and I felt like-- I really felt like Abigail and I had the teeth in.

- I've heard that being covered in so much fake blood, it's almost like you're suffocating. What's the hardest part about making a horror film?

MELISSA BARRERA: I love it. I don't feel like I'm being suffocated at all. It was probably Catherine that told you that because she had to go in the body pool. That was intense for her, but I enjoyed it. Like, we were covered in blood a lot, and it was fun. It's cold because you're wet. And so in the soundstage especially, it gets really cold. So we were holding hot water bottles the entire time to keep us warm, but it was fun.

I think the hardest part of making a horror movie is just the-- I guess the stamina that you need because it's a lot of running around. It's very physical and a lot of-- it can be a lot of screaming, and you had to do a lot of like-- you know? So it requires a lot of energy. But honestly, it's just so much fun. I don't think there was anything that I would say that was super hard. You had to do all the hard stuff.

I just sat back and watched her be amazing.

- What's a fun fact from behind the scenes that fans might not expect from a movie like this?

MELISSA BARRERA: Well, I guess the blood cannons-- we had actual blood cannons which we would get shot at with. It was like-- imagine that it's a scuba tank that's full of blood, and then there's a hose and a funnel almost, like this. And they would point it straight at us behind the camera. And then with air pressure, they would shoot at us with blood. And because you-- the reset of that would take a long time, you kind of have to get it in the first--

ALISHA WEIR: In one take.

MELISSA BARRERA: You have to get it in one take, and you have to not--

ALISHA WEIR: Mess up.

MELISSA BARRERA: --not mess up, not close your eyes before time so that you're not selling it before it happens. All these little details, but it's super fun. It was always fun when we had the cannons on--

ALISHA WEIR: And make to jump back on time.

MELISSA BARRERA: Oh, yeah. I don't know if you've seen the movie. Did you see it?

- Yeah.

MELISSA BARRERA: So that final explosion where we're both blown back, there was a-- a body-sized--

ALISHA WEIR: Crash mat.

MELISSA BARRERA: Yeah. Well, we had crash mats. We were both on wires, and we were both getting blown with the blood. But you have to-- we had to also jump back at the right time to sell. And like-- yeah, and like, you know, do your arm. Like, it was a whole thing. And we were both nervous of not messing it up, but it turned out great.