For many, [REC] represents a real landmark in found footage. The original film was such a fresh and terrifying experience it became one of my favorites of that year. The third installment, [REC] 3: GENESIS is now available on VOD from distributor Magnet Releasing, and FANGORIA had a chance to catch up with the star of the film, Leticia Dolera, and talk about this new and very different chapter in the series’ universe.

FANGORIA: You came to be known as an actor through the television show AFTER SCHOOL, which was kind of the Spanish BEVERLY HILLS 90210. When you were doing that show, did you ever expect it would lead to zombies and chainsaws?

LETICIA DOLERA: I kind of hoped it would [laughs].

FANG: You’ve done a lot of different kinds of films, how do you enjoy doing horror films?

DOLERA: For me, fantasy is the way to express myself and even to understand the world around me so it’s really important to me. About playing in horror films, I think it’s connected with the part of being a child and playing and pretending, being somebody you are not and just running and screaming. It’s like playing in school in the courtyard. It’s like being a child and having fun.

FANG: What was your thought process after reading the script and what drew you to get involved the film?

DOLERA: I was really impressed with the twist that Paco [Plaza] and Luis [Berdejo] gave to the saga, how they gave you something you weren’t expecting and how fun it was. It was like an INDIANA JONES zombie move, but at the same time it was very moving because it’s very romantic. I finished the script and I was like, “what?” I was surprised. It was like I had just gone through the adventure with the characters. It was a really powerful feeling, and very beautiful.

FANG: The movie is quite different from the first two in that there is quite a big romantic story, and it’s very funny. It’s quite a departure from the rest of the series, were you worried about that?

DOLERA: No. Not at all. Actually, I was proud of it because I think that doing the same movie again doesn’t make sense. A lot of people have already made the movie in their mind, so I think it was brave and interesting to do something new and different and give the fans the same feelings they had when they saw [REC] for the first time. That was a movie that was surprising you and giving you new things that you didn’t expect. That’s what [REC 3] does. At the same time, it’s a really solid script. It has action. It has adventure. It has comedy. It has drama. It has romance. There are so many things happening and it’s so much fun.

FANG: So I get the sense you like defying people’s expectations.

DOLERA: No! Not defying! [laughs]

FANG: I don’t think there is anything wrong with that! I just get the sense you like to play with people’s expectations a bit.

DOLERA: But not in a negative way. I think the people who love [REC] love being surprised. A lot of people were like “I was watching [REC] and I didn’t know what I was really watching” and I think that feeling nowadays is really powerful. For example, I hate these long trailers that tell you all the movie so you go to the movies knowing the movie you are going to watch. I feel that’s not what [REC] fans are looking for when they go to the movies, you know? You want to be surprised and taken by the movie. Never defying though! Always giving you something better than you expected.

FANG: Were there any obstacles you faced in playing Clara?

DOLERA: The important thing was to make the audience believe that a girl could take a chainsaw and kill zombies like crazy. So, for that I had to change my body a little bit and have this more athletic build because normally I’m more skinny and fragile. A few months before the shooting, I was going to the gym with a personal trainer and I got ready for it. I wanted it to be believable but I also wanted to be able to do it and make sure I could do as many takes as Paco asked me to do. That was a process that was hard, but once I got that and I found this physical strength in me, I was ready for all the zombies.

FANG: Did you learn anything about yourself or about people in general through playing Clara?

DOLERA: Absolutely. The same trip Clara makes in the movie, I did it with her. So be careful with me!

FANG: Were you ever afraid or creeped out on set? You hear stories sometimes about freaky experiences on horror sets, did you have anything like that?

DOLERA: No. I think the zombies were the ones that were scared. On the contrary, I was feeling stronger than ever.

FANG: Tell me something that audiences may never know about [REC] 3, or the series as a whole that you think they should.

DOLERA: That’s an interesting question. Nobody ever gave me that question before.

Well that’s going to be a topic that’s going to sound quirky, but I’m going to tell you that there is a lot of love in this movie. Paco put so many feelings in it. He loves the camera so much and in each shot we are shooting, you could feel that. When a director gives you that it’s so magical and so special and it makes you want to give the same to the movie. I hope people feel that.

FANG: You’ve also written and directed your own short films. Which do you enjoy most, and do you ever find yourself thinking about your acting role as a writer or director would, as opposed to an actor?

DOLERA: I try not to, because once you’ve directed something you know how difficult it is. When I’m acting I want to save my writing or directing energy for my own films. Directing gave me things I thought I knew about acting but I didn’t, and really helped me improve my acting.

FANG: [REC] 2 started introducing the religious/supernatural angle of the film and [REC 3] really builds on that quite a bit. Are the zombies in the film intended to be supernatural creatures, and that’s why religious iconography affects them or is there something else going on?

DOLERA: They are possessed by evil, the evil that is inside the girl in the attic. That’s why you can fight them with religion.

FANG: Did you feel pressure to live up to the first two films?

DOLERA: A little bit. I knew there were so many fans and so many people loving these movies, and I think Paco did too. We could all feel the pressure but at the same time, the way to fight that pressure is with freedom and to find the freedom to create a new movie. That’s what made the first [REC] so great. So the moment shooting started I didn’t think of it, I could just think of Clara and living her nature. I felt it so powerfully, I couldn’t think of anything else.

For more, check out  FANGORIA's review. [REC] 3: GENESIS is now available on VOD and out in limited release. For playdates, head right here. 

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MOVIES/TV - Fearful Features