Ashley Clements rose to fame when she nabbed the titular role with the web series The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, which was the first YouTube series to earn a nomination for the PrimeTime Emmys and she would receive a Best Actress Streamy award. Since then, Ashley has steadily appeared in both web series and feature films. She appears as a woman who goes on a Christmas date to experience that All the Creatures Were Stirring on DVD, VOD, and Digital on December 4 from RLJE Films.
World Film Geek had the chance to talk with Clements about her latest film.
Thank you so much Ashley for talking about All the Creatures Were Stirring. Great anthology that I like to call the Creepshow of Christmas. (Laughs)
(Laughs) Thank you!
How did you get approached for the role of Jenna?
I’m friends with one of the producers, Morgan Peter Brown, and I had already said yes even before knowing more about the role. That was because I trusted him. And I loved what they told me about the film, but it was also secret. It was really different and I had no idea what was happening in the movie with each segment. I had no idea what segment we were watching. So, it was exciting when we all saw the final film because it finally all came together and we knew what we were watching (laughs).
You share your scenes with Graham Skipper, who plays the nerdy Max. Graham is quite an indie horror film veteran. What was it like working with him?
It was great! Graham has done more horror films than me so it was great to have an ally who was shepherding me through and bolstering my confidence. He’s such a delightful human being. And that’s what you need because of everything else your character is going through may or may not be pleasant.
What was it like working with the team of David and Rebekah McKendry? Did they give you any free rein as to how to interpret your character?
They were fantastic. They work very well together and they had a specific vision. They gave me a lot of free rein when it came to the dialogue, but when it came to the reactionary shots, Rebekah was feeding me reactions off to the side. Because that’s how movies are made, sorry (laughs). So, she would be like, “that was weird”, “now you’re really frightened”, “something funny just happened” and “little frightened”. That just meant I had to trust her and she was completely great because she had this vision and it came out great.
And that’s exactly what I liked because even though you didn’t see the actual stories like we did, the reactions from you were genuine.
And that’s the McKendrys’ vision.
What would you consider your favorite “story” of the film? For me, it would be a tie between the office party story and the last story, especially because it looks like it’s going one direction then totally veers off into something else which I found fascinating.
Big surprise! It’s like picking children. I think the story with the van is my favorite because I didn’t know where it was going. It felt like of the five short films that comprised anthology, it felt like classic horror.
I agree with that! I thought at one point, he was going to go in the van and I was thinking he’s going to get it. He’s in trouble.
You know something bad is going to happen because you know what genre you’re working with, but what actually happened really surprised me and it was very well done. And the creature works with that story as well.
I picked the office Christmas party one because that’s something I totally could relate to because if where I worked was horrible, this is how I envisioned the office holiday party to be like (laughs).
And I think that’s what’s fantastic about this being an anthology. There is something for everyone. Rebekah and David are such passionate horror fans that they wanted to include many styles. There’s definitely something for you with this because they explore different styles and methods of filmmaking. It’s like having your own Christmas film festival.
Exactly! I thought of it was five little Christmas gifts wrapped up in a little package!
And I’m the wrapping paper! (laughs)
You’re currently on the series Sona. Are there any other projects in the works for you?
I am writing a new project that I can’t talk about yet, and I’m seeing where Soma goes and just seeing where the road takes me.
All the Creatures Were Stirring is coming to DVD, VOD, and Digital on December 4. Those who love both the holiday season and horror films will enjoy this series of short films all set around a “romantic” evening for this couple. Thank you again Ashley for talking about the film.
Thank you so much!
A Special Thank You goes to Katrina Wan PR and Ashley Clements for making this interview possible. For more on Ashley, check out her official website as well as follow her on Twitter.
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