No stranger to the horror and suspense genre, McKenna admits that he was immediately drawn to the script when it was presented to him by writer/director Mike Williamson. "Mike described his film as 'The Tell-Tale Heart turned to eleven.' It was such a fun, shocking read it took no time at all for me to decide to go ahead and do it. Playing the role was a lot of fun, but quite taxing. It was only a 4 or 5-day shoot but those were some exhausting days. Mike wrote a deceptively demanding role. For most of the film my character is operating in extreme states. He's painfully hot, racked with guilt, terrified, panicked, and insane with anger, so I was constantly breathless."
|
In the end, he was thrilled to have been a part of the experience. "It turned out even better than I imagined. Knowing full well what was going to happen, I still found myself literally jumping out of my seat. Mike does an incredible job of bringing the audience along into his demented world and making it real. And then he scares the hell out of them! Though some people might draw comparisons to work I've done in the past this was a new experience for me. I've never been asked to keep the audience frightened before. It was a new challenge to try to credibly draw the audience in for the scare. I hope to do more of it since it wound up being a blast to see." Chris McKenna first came to prominence at the age of 12, as a multi-award nominee on the daytime series, One Life To Live. After honing his craft at Hofstra University in New York and the Beverly Hills Playhouse--where he studied under famed acting coach, Milton Katselas--McKenna moved on to small roles in such notable films as In & Out and Academy Boyz, as well as the short-lived television series, Opposite Sex. He also made memorable appearances in such shows as The Practice, Touched By An Angel, That's Life and That '70s Show. Most recently, he received rave reviews for his principal role in Stuart Gordon's disturbing noir thriller, King Of The Ants then went on to star opposite John Malkovich in the independent black comedy Art School Confidential. |
|
In addition to McKenna, In The Wall also features cult film star Erin Brown (Master of Horror: Sick Girl, The Rage) and Academy Award nominee Patty McCormack (The Bad Seed). This smartly macabre film is the suspenseful debut production from writer/director Mike Williamson and producing partner Greg Booth's Blacklight Pictures and the winner of the Audience Award for Best Short Film at the San Francisco IndieÕs Another Hole In The Head Film Festival.
Featuring an original score by Golden Globe nominee Clint Mansell (Requiem For A Dream, The Fountain), visual effects by Chris Watts (300, Harry Potter), make-up effects by Dean Jones (Day Of The Dead) and animatronics by Mark Rappaport (300), In The Wall is far from your ordinary slasher film. It is, according to John Landis, director of An American Werewolf In London, "the cinematic equivalent of a good Stephen King short story" and "shows great taste, great talent and wonderful manipulation of the nerve ending of the audience," according to Peter Medak, director of The Changeling and Romeo Is Bleeding.
In The Wall is scheduled to hit London's Fright Fest on August 23rd, Austin's Fantastic Fest in September and the prestigious Los Angeles Screamfest in October. Check www.blacklight-pictures.com for updated information, times and dates. Contact Joe Venegas at 714-944-4045 for more details about Chris McKenna's involvement in In The Wall, or to set up your own interviews.