After years of starring for others in a slew of horror features, Debbie Rochon has finally stepped behind the camera to call the shots—and she has, pardon the expression, an ax to grind. MODEL HUNGER takes aim at the destructive side of the entertainment business; read on for the movie’s full cast, comments and a bunch of exclusive photos.

MODEL HUNGER (which we first reported on here) reunites Rochon with a number of past collaborators, including WON TON BABY!’s James Morgart, who scripted and executive-produced the movie, and SLIME CITY MASSACRE’s Gregory Lamberson, who line-produced. The story focuses on Ginnie (played by genre veteran Lynn Lowry, seen in the 1st and 2nd photos below, with Jayne Dahl as her younger self), an actress/model who has endured soul-destroying rejection because of her looks, which leads her to embark on a bloody murder spree. Rochon revealed to Fango the rest of the cast:

Tiffany Shepis (3rd photo) as Debbie
Carmine Capobianco (4th photo with Shepis) as Sal
Brian Fortune as Colin
Michael Thurber (5th photo) as Old Man Winters
Aurelio Voltaire as Verrill
Suzi Lorraine as TV Show Host Suzi
Babbette Bombshell as Suzi’s Secret Model
Geri Horn as Suzi’s Secret Model
Bette Cassett (6th photo) as Chloe
Robert Bozek as Reginald
Mary Bogle (7th photo) as Debbie’s Mother
Mia Page (Shepis’ daughter, 8th photo) as Young Debbie
Lisa Dee as Missy
Samantha Hoy as Katie
David Marancik as Officer Jason O’Bannon
Kathy Thiel Murphy as Coach Lisa O’Bannon
Michael O’Hear as Officer Dan O’Leary
Kaylee Williams as Melanie
Michael Varrati as Jose the Hairdresser
Rachel Conn as The Hitchhiker
John Renna as The Creeper Truck Driver
Lloyd Kaufman as Salesman #2
Jennifer McMahon as The Reporter
Debbie Rochon as Salesman #1

“I’ve had the opportunity to work with a cast and crew who were as dedicated to this movie as one could possibly be to any film of any budget,” Rochon says. “The amount of talent on set raised the bar for us all, and because of that, we made something very special. It has the iconic female characters, storyline, subplots and gore that will keep men, women, horror fiends and cinephiles alike engaged in this powerful story of one woman, Ginnie, who couldn’t take it anymore. When new neighbors move in, the character Debbie begins to unravel the secrets of Ginnie and her past, but she is not without her own deep psychosis that she must battle at the same time. I am so proud of this movie and every person who set foot on the set. Next up is working with my post team, which is now being assembled!”

Lowry, who has many years of experience on independent genre films going back to George A. Romero’s THE CRAZIES and David Cronenberg’s SHIVERS/THEY CAME FROM WITHIN, says the MODEL HUNGER shoot was a new highlight in her career. “The energy surrounding this film reminded me of the amazing energy when I worked with Romero and Cronenberg. There is something indescribable about what makes a film a classic, and I believe MODEL HUNGER has that potential. The reason why it does is Debbie Rochon. Her ability to pull from the actors and crew the best they can be is absolutely stunning. We all love her, and that’s why we worked so hard. And we accomplished something we can all be very proud of.”

Shepis, no slouch herself when it comes to horror experience, offers that MODEL HUNGER “is not just going to be sick and weird and messed up, it’s also going to be disgusting and strange and beautiful…oh, and did I say messed up? Debbie took a crazy script and made it crazier, cast a group of insanely talented actors, surrounded herself with the best crew, and gave direction that actually made sense—a rare talent in a director. MODEL HUNGER made me laugh, made me cry, made me take pills, made me stop taking them, made me kill things—and that was just on my days off!”

On a more serious note, Voltaire (better known as a musician and animator, with a number of acclaimed shorts under his belt) believes that MODEL HUNGER has something to say about its very own milieu. “We live in a truly dysfunctional culture,” he says, “where every billboard, TV commercial and advertising image we see tells women they should be a size zero and that men should have a sixpack of abs. Meanwhile, we are simultaneously shepherded by food companies and restaurant chains into being morbidly obese. In essence, it has turned us into a nation of people who hate ourselves. MODEL HUNGER is a horror film that finally tackles these important issues while still being a rollercoaster ride of gore and thrills. It has been a real blast to work with longtime friend Debbie Rochon, and acting alongside Lynn Lowry and Brian Fortune has been nothing less than humbling and incredibly inspiring.”

“MODEL HUNGER will shake up the genre,” adds Capobianco, who previously acted opposite Rochon in two BIKINI BLOODBATH movies and starred in the late-’80s indie flicks PSYCHOS IN LOVE and GALACTIC GIGOLO. “MODEL HUNGER will be the movie that subsequent films will be compared to. Every day on set strengthened my belief that we were creating something special, something that not just genre fans would seek out. This was not a chance we were taking. This was a sure thing.”

The last word goes to Kaufman, who has cast Rochon in many a Troma movie and says, “MODEL HUNGER is going to be brilliant. If Debbie Rochon did not suffer from the blood ceiling, she would be where Eli Roth is in her directing career!”

We’ll be keeping tabs on MODEL HUNGER’s progress, and you can read more at the movie’s Facebook page. 

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