Alex Reid ('The Descent')

By Stacie Ponder


In 2005, The Descent hit screens and would go on to present audiences on both sides of the Atlantic with something oddly missing from most modern horror fare: scares. Writer/director Neil Marshall created a serious film that exploits some of humanity's most primal fears- the dark, the unknown, and small spaces- in a good old-fashioned monster movie. Working on a modest budget with a cast of talented, yet unfamiliar actors (gasp!), Marshall brought horror back to its simple, gory roots...

It's no secret to anyone who knows me that I really dig The Descent- I've written about it and sung its praises countless times over at Final Girl Headquarters, so much so that I joked once about teaching a class on the film at my local Learning Annex. I even began to have visions of what my class would be like; I'd be booked right after Jimmie Walker's "Make 'Em Laugh- Everything You Need to Know for a Dy-No-Mite Comedy Routine!" seminar! I'd have an overhead projector and transparencies! No, wait! I'd have a Power Point presentation!

Then I began to have visions of pizza, and so I had some.

Ahem. Uh, I don't know how you operate, but when I see a film and I like it, I tend to then seek out other work by the cast and crew involved. Sometimes this leads to heartache (Yes, Marilyn Burns was in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, but then she was also in Kiss Daddy Goodnight, which is an hour and a half of my life that I'll never get back.), and sometimes it leads to a pot full of cinematic gold at the end of a magical rainbow of dreams and wishes. Or something like that. Anyway, thanks to my methods I caught Neil Marshall's earlier effort, werewolf flick Dog Soldiers, and I dug it. Then I noticed that Alex Reid, featured in The Descent as Beth ("I'm an English teacher, not fucking Tomb Raider!") had made several horror films in only a few years. "Hmm," thought I, "Is that by chance or mayhaps by design?" Who better to ask than Alex Reid herself? The actress has been kind enough to indulge me in an email interview- at times from the set of her current projects, even- that's spanned months. Yes, months. And I found out she's got killer taste in horror movies. How awesome is that?

ALEX: I think the fact that a portion of the work I've done so far comes under this genre is more of a coincidence, really. There can be many different reasons why you want to be involved in a project. I am a fan, though.

S: What films do you like? What scares you?

A: I think my favourite would have to be The Shining- it just really disturbs me and leaves me cold. I guess it's more psychological rather than gore. I also like Aliens, The Thing, Halloween, Predator, and I have to say Texas Chain Saw Massacre. It's so unsettling even when the violence isn't happening. The sound, the atmosphere, and visually the colours of the film are weirdly quite beautiful; but there is a real sense of desolation. It's just relentless. I always feel knackered after watching it! The Birds always scares the shit out of me. I don't fancy getting pecked to death. I don't know how much some of these are classed as obvious horrors, but fuck it! Jaws is one of my favourite films full stop- I never get tired of watching that one. I also love vampires: Lost Boys, From Dusk "Til Dawn, and Near Dark are all great.

S: Alright then, the big question is- which type of vampires do you find scarier: the suave sort (a la Christopher Lee) who can charm his way into biting range, or the more creature-like gross ones (a la Nosferatu)? I just re-watched Murnau's Nosferatu recently, and it's still pretty fucking terrifying. If I'd seen it in 1922, I think my head would have exploded.

A: Nosferatu is, quite frankly, the scariest image ever. I'll never forget when I was a kid and flicking between channels right at the point where he was climbing the stairs. I just froze. I don't think I could change channels- horrific!

S: Did you know they're remaking The Birds? Apparently Naomi Watts is slated to take over the Tippi Hedren role. I think she's a fantastic actor, but it's The Birds, man! I'm not keen on the remake idea.

A: The Birds had that real eeriness of its time- the power of suggestion, it was so effective- fucking terrifying. I only hope with a remake that we don't get gore and eagles gouging peoples eyes out and stuff, you know what I mean?

S: Remakes, particularly in horror, are quite the hot topic nowadays.

A: I'm not sure how I feel about remakes. Some have been great- I really enjoyed Dawn of the Dead. I just don't understand that when something is already great why it's not left alone. It's hard to compete if people love the original. I guess it's just lack of imagination or greed or laziness.

S: I think Arachnid is a throwback to the 1950s-era B-grade monster movies- you know, people go somewhere to do something vague, they're attacked by a monster, the end. To me, that's a good thing. Was that the attitude with which the film was approached, or was it an unintentional result?

A: Looking back, I think it's very much of its genre or a certain style, which I don't know that I got at the time. If I'm honest, although I don't like to admit it, I was nervous and a bit fearful of fucking it up- it was my first film. Funnily enough it's one job that I think I'd like to go back and do again now just because I know more; and I've got more balls to take charge of what I was doing!

S: How was Jack Sholder to work with?

A: Jack was lovely, very knowledgeable, approachable, and calm. The cast were actually a lot of fun- we all laughed loads. We had to; sometimes it would get a bit chaotic filming in the Mexican jungle.

S: I love the fact that the film has giant rubber monsters as well as the CGI stuff. Is it more difficult to be afraid of a monster that's a puppet, or a green-screen monster where you're actually reacting to nothing?

A: We had a lot of real spiders as well as prosthetic ones, and there was a small amount of green screen work. It's always a bit strange reacting to thin air or fighting a giant rubber spider limb- at first you feel like a bit of a knob head, but once you get over yourself it's fine. It's playtime and an important part of the job. At the end of the day it's all experience- you never stop learning. I love it!

Alex would go on to appear in the indie romantic comedy The Honeymooners (2003) as well as the British TV hit Ultimate Force- while it sounds like a Chuck Norris film, it's actually about British Covert Ops and Other Super Secret Spy Stuff of a British Nature. After seeing Neil Marshall's Dog Soldiers, she was eager to work with him and got cast in some movie called The Descent.

S: I loved Dog Soldiers. I never really thought werewolves could actually be scary, but man,I was wrong.

A: What I liked about it was the humour along with the gore. I thought the film was original and the actors were great.

I made a sincere and concerted effort not to be all fannish when it came time to talk about The Descent.

S: Tell me about The Descent.

A: When you meet Neil he's so enthusiastic about what he does, and he's a real film buff. It was so good to work with him. The atmosphere on set was really positive and relaxed. He's so approachable and open to ideas; he's just got a clear overall vision and you trust him. I can honestly say that we had such a great time shooting The Descent. The crew, all the people behind the film were top!

S: How much input did you have on character development in the film?

A: I've been very lucky with most of the directors I've worked with. A lot of the time they've been the writers of the script as well and I think that makes a massive difference! Neil was very giving with us girls taking the script and running with it, if you know what I mean. He would say to us that he was always open to changes as he was a guy writing for six girls. He gave us a lot of leeway. He's very cool... no ego. The night before we were due to shoot the scene where Sarah finds Beth, there was something about the scene that wasn't resting well with Shauna (Macdonald, "Sarah") and me, so the three of us went for a beer and chatted. Neil rewrote the scene on a napkin in the pub, and that's what we shot the next day. He's a great guy.

Alex's next film role was that of Louise in Wilderness (2006), writer/director Michael J Bassett's sophomore effort. The story of male and female youth offenders on a deserted island being stalked on a remote island is a little Battle Royale, a little Lord of the Flies, and a little Friday the 13th. It's also a lot gory and a lot of fun.

S: How did working with Michael Bassett differ from working with Neil?

A: Michael was cool in the way that he let us do what we wanted with the characters because there wasn't a lot in the script to go on, especially the female characters. They weren't very full and we just tried to bring more to the story, I guess, so at least you care about the characters and their situation.

S: How did this pertain to your character, leader of the female contingent, Ex-Special Forces Superstar Louise?

A: I wanted to take the character away a little from the stereotype that comes to mind when you first read her history on paper. It was a challenge! I suppose the physical side appealed o me as well. It was a lot of fun. I think Michael had a really talented bunch.

S: Do you have a particular method to getting inside your character? Some actors write out histories or diaries for their characters, some demand they be called by the character's name at all times.

A: I think you approach scripts, characters, and stories in a different way each time. Or at least I do. It's quite hard to say how; you know if the writing is great, then the story is there for you. I think it's kind of all about the script. So important. I would love to be involved in projects from the beginning. It's really great to see and learn how things come about and get off the ground.

S: Are you interested in directing?

A: Yeah, I am. I'm always trying to watch and learn when I'm on set. It's something I think more and more about. I guess it's a matter of having confidence and the belief in something to really do it. I get really frustrated at the lack of control that you have as an actor sometimes - you've got to fight for your corner. Things get fucked about with and there can be a real lack of imagination and risk-taking - balls, basically - a lot of the time, down to money. You wanna tell stories, get people thinking, tell the truth. I guess I wanna keep going and try to get to the stage where I've got more creative input and I can work with like-minded people. Maybe that will be hard, I don't know. I don't wanna harp on. Actors can be fucking boring!

Alex managed to find a "like-minded" group of people for her next feature, the indie thriller Jetsam (2007), and also managed to wrangle a little more of that coveted creative input.

A: One of the reasons why I loved doing Jetsam was because I cast it. It was a fantastic idea and (writer/director) Simon Welsford had a great story. I guess he trusted me. I knew some amazing actors who would love it (Ultimate Force co-star Jamie Draven and The Descent co-star Shauna Macdonald to name a few) and basically work their asses off- and everyone did.

S: I read that it's feature-length and was shot in only 14 days. What kind of pressure did that put on you? It sounds like it could have been a nightmare, or the immediacy might have been refreshing.

A: It was hectic at times, but I think it can be great to shoot like that. It all adds to the experience, and I've done a few films like that now. Everyone just so wants to be there and they're loving the job they do - it's a great atmosphere to work in. I've been very lucky. And Jetsam is doing really well! I'm so happy for Simon. With 2000 pounds he made this film and what he and (Director of Photography) Zac Nicholson have done looks fucking fantastic! It's been selected for the London Film Festival and for London UK Film Focus, so it's really paid off.

S: Wait, what's all this talk of "creativity" and "enjoying the work"? Isn't your goal as an actor supposed to be becoming rich and famous? But really - have you always wanted to be an actor, or is it something you just fell into? It sounds like you've got a real passion for this work.

A: I did grow up watching and loving films, all types, really. I could quite easily sit and watch films that I loved back to back or the same film over and over. I don't think I grew up wanting to be an actor. I don't think it really registered with me that I could, to be honest. Like most kids, my imagination ran riot. Funnily enough, I think that although I now know what goes into filmmaking and behind the scenes, I can still get completely into a film and lose myself in the story.

S: Now, the most pressing question of them all: as an Official British Person, can you explain "clotted cream" to me? I have no idea what it is or what you do with it, yet I'm kind of obsessed with it, most likely because it sounds disgusting and vaguely vaginal.

A: Ahh, fuck yeah, clotted cream. I should be an expert- it's Cornish clotted cream mainly, and that's the part of Britain that I'm from Cornwall. People fucking love it! Basically, if you like cream give it a go. The traditional way to have it is brew yourself a tea. Take a plain scone, cut it in half, spread a generous helping of cream on, then add some strawberry or raspberry jam. There you have it- a traditional cream tea! Good luck if you decide to give it a try.