Volumes of Blood: Horror Stories – Segment “The Deathday Party.”

Actress Cindy Maples – “Almeda.”

iHorror: What is the most extreme change to your personality that you have done to prepare yourself for the role of Almeda?

Cindy Maples: When I read the script the first few times, I kept thinking I not old enough to play this character. She was written as a woman in her sixties, but at the same time she was doing some pretty physical things, so I had a hard time wrapping my mind around how to play her. In the end, I just decided to play her as the age I am (which we won’t mention) and hoped that she would be believable. She is also an interesting mix of sweet and evil, which I really love. But I knew the only way that I would be able to get the audience to like her is if I played her all sweet and just let the evil sneak up on you. You can almost forgive her for being evil because she does it with so much love.

iH: How did you get attached to this project? Was it a traditional audition?

CM: I’ve known PJ Starks since 2009, and he has actually contacted me 3 other times to work with him on his projects. A couple never got made and then when he asked me to do the first Volumes of Blood I was already working on two other films and couldn’t work it into my schedule. So I guess the fourth time is a charm. I’m so glad he kept asking because it was a really fun experience.

iH: What are your favorite traits of your character, Almeda?

CM: As mentioned earlier, I love that she is this great mix of sweet and evil. I thought it was wonderful that she is so in love with her husband and that they have this great relationship that allows them to enjoy their mutual interest. I had this entire backstory I’d written about how they met while trying to kill each other and then discovered that they were perfect for each other.You and your co-star Jay Woolston had a great chemistry together it felt like a real relationship, especially with the way you two played with the dark humor and sarcasm. Was this instant between the two of you or was there practice behind this?

iH: You and your co-star Jay Woolston had a great chemistry together it felt like a real relationship, especially with the way you two played with the dark humor and sarcasm. Was this instant between the two of you or was there practice behind this?

CM: I had never met Jay before the day I walked onto set. I knew of him, and we were Facebook friends, but that was it. I had no idea what to expect but was very pleasantly surprised. We had some downtime the first day while we got into wardrobe and the set was prepared, and we just started goofing off. I remember he walked into the dressing room in his too tight shorts and his porn-stache and we joked about how adorable he looked. And that was it; we were John and Almeda in that moment. He is naturally funny and so easy to work with; I just hope we get to do it again.

 iH: Are you a fan of the horror genre? If so, what are your favorite films and have any inspired you?

CM: I am a self-proclaimed horror addict! I love anything that scares me. This is why my resume is riddled with horror films. I’ve literally died so many times on screen, that if I were a cat, I would be out of lives. I love movies like Insidious, The Conjuring, and The Others. I like my horror with jump scares and very little blood. I don’t want to see the scare coming.

iH: Any fun stories that occurred on set?

CM: Honestly, we had so little time that we were kind of all business on set. We only had two days to get a lot of work done, and there was no possibility of reshoots because Justin and Zane were only in from Pennsylvania for that one weekend. I will say that after a 17.5 hour day we were all a little slap happy, though. I think the funniest thing that happened to me was that I had to use a flip phone to take selfies and we all realized after we had shot a few scenes that I was actually holding the phone the wrong way to take a selfie. I’m not sure whose phone that was, but they have a lot of pictures of me and Alyssa.

 iH: Is there anything that you are currently working on that you can talk about?

CM: I’m currently promoting my short film Out of my Mind, that is out on the festival circuit. After the success of my first award-winning short film Random, released last year, that won me not only best short film awards but also Best Actress, I decided to step back behind the camera to create a new horror short. My first short Random shocked audiences with its bloody ending and twisty finish that was compared to an episode of Tales from the Darkside and Twilight Zone. Now with this new short I’m tapping into some of my greatest influences with a story that I describe as a little Edgar Allen Poe and a little Stephen King.

 

VOB: Horror Stories has not released to the general public. The film is seeking distribution and is hitting the festival circuit. Check out our review and interview with Writer and Producer P.J. Starks by clicking here!

 

 

 

 

-ABOUT THE AUTHOR-

Ryan T. Cusick is a writer for ihorror.com and very much enjoys conversation and writing about anything within the horror genre. Horror first sparked his interest after watching the original, The Amityville Horror when he was the tender age of three. Ryan lives in California with his wife and Eleven-year-old daughter, who is also expressing interest in the horror genre. Ryan recently received his Master’s Degree in Psychology and has aspirations to write a novel. Ryan can be followed on Twitter @Nytmare112

 

 

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