Posted in: Exclusive, Interview, Movies | Tagged: Bella Thorne, quiver distribution, Saint Clare

Saint Clare Star Bella Thorne on Serial Killer Action Thriller

Bella Thorne (American Horror Stories) spoke to Bleeding Cool about her latest Quiver action thriller Saint Clare, stunts, co-stars & more.

Bella Thorne has accomplished much in her 20+ year career in Hollywood since her debut in the 2003 Farrelly Brothers comedy Stuck on You. With over 120 titles in her filmography, she's appeared in action, comedy, drama, horror, music, and even voiceovers for animated projects. Her latest is the Quiver Distribution action thriller Saint Clare, based on the Don Roff novel Clare at Sixteen, playing Clare Bleecker, a 16-year-old Catholic school student, animal lover, and devout vegan living with her grandparents. Little beknown to her loved ones, she harbors a dark secret, living a life with dissociative identity disorder as a serial killer. Her victims are typical sexual predators who don't know they are prey. Thorne spoke with Bleeding Cool about embracing the project after reading Roff's book and working with writer-director Mitzi Peirone, stunt work, and co-stars Frank Whaley, Joy Rovaris, and Rebecca De Mornay.

Saint Clare Star Bella Thorne on Playing a Righteous Serial Killer

Bleeding Cool: What intrigued you about 'Saint Clare?'

Man, so many things. I love the books (by Don Roff). We so rarely get to see a character like this, and of course, her being female and being in all these positions to not go further, right? She has a lot of choices within the books and in the movie. Her arc was so interesting to me, and how far she's willing to go.

How do you describe Mitzi's creative process?

So fun. Mitzie and I had a joyous time creating. She is bringing this very in-depth level of where Claire is at now in her life, and a lot of these, "I must bleed for blood in that way." That gave me so much depth to work with in the movie for the character, and getting to really ride that home and take it to new heights in a way.

Aside from Mitzi's script and the Roff book, is there anything else that inspired you as Clare?

Well, of course, all the action sequences, I love to kick ass, and who doesn't like that? It is fun, but seriously, I always love working with stunts. You can see it throughout my career, and that's because I keep loving it [laughs]. Finding new ways to protect yourself and play a little dirty left us with some interesting ways. I remember trying to do the car sequence. I wanted to make sure we had the car and were able to go over that much before filming.

That's because it's the first time we understand Claire's capabilities at this point in the movie. Once we were doing it, I'm like, [gestures] "We're back here. We're strangling this," and then I was like, "Oh, I could get my foot up," and I'm like reaching my foot and like, "I can touch the steering wheel. I think I could drive" as it was. Mitzi's like, "Keep going, fuck yeah!" Pardon my French, and yeah, being able to step outside of those lines and be fun with it was probably one of my favorite parts.

What was developing that dynamic with Frank, Joy, and Rebecca like?

With Frank, it was a very rewarding experience. We understood the tone of it. There's quite a bit of comedy, but it's also not in a way. At the end of the day, you're seeing a dead guy [Clare] murdered, and he didn't deserve to die. Your conscience is taking over with how far he pushes, and how far I pull, right? It was so important to that dynamic. Rebecca is a hoot, and she is so much like her character in real life as well. She's charismatic, fun, and so smart. When we were done with the movie, I was like [hand to her chest], "I lost my aunt" [laughs]. I was like, "No, Rebecca! Come back in my life! [laughs]"

Anything you say about Joy?

Oh my God, yes! We got close in the movie and went through a lot of things together, hard times and good times. We shot this movie in like 14, 15 days. It was a definite quick run and gun. We supported each other so much in those scenes, like in between takes, as well as on screen, being able to play with one another, take things in a different direction, and imagine it a different way. I'm glad I had her.

Bella, thank you for your time. You're a joy and a half in the film, and I enjoyed the ending sequence with that little tease at the end.

Right?! The ending sequence is fun, isn't it?

It is.

Right? I love that ending! That made me so excited when I read this script.

Saint Clare, which also stars Ryan Phillippe, Dylan Flashner, Bart Johnson, and Jan Luis Castellanos, is in select theaters and available digitally.

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