It is a good practice to never become complacent in anything with life. When it comes to acting, the most interesting are those who continue to challenge themselves in an array of genres. Only twenty-two years old, Jessica Belkin in an actress who has already diversifies her profolio with roles in everything from the Nickelodeon Comedy series Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn and FX’s American Horror Story early on, to feature films like 2021’s Death Link, and most recently, 2024’s Last Straw.
Last Straw, set for release on September 20, 2024 through Shout! Studios finds Belkin in the leading role as a young, small town waitress about to be thrust into some terrifying circumstances. A wild ride that continues to unravel with each passing minute, Jessica Belkin recently took a little time to chat about Last Straw, her yearning to try different things, a love of Horror movies, plus more.
Cryptic Rock – You have been involved in entertainment for some time now. Before we go any further, how would you describe your journey in film to this point?
Jessica Belkin – I’ve been growing up within the industry. I started when I was five and now, I’m twenty-two. I’ve been picking up skills and lessons along the way. I think so far so good. I feel very lucky to do what I do and feel like it’s a privilege to be able to play pretend.
Cryptic Rock – It sounds like you have a good grasp on everything. To this point you have been involved in some interesting projects. Diverse, you have done some Horror, Drama, and Comedy films. Do you have a favorite genre you enjoy working in, or do you just enjoy the diversity?
Jessica Belkin – I do like the diversity. I want to explore all corners of acting. I definitely have a niche with Horror and Thrillers. I’ve always wanted to be a scream queen! I would love to lean into that more throughout my career. I’m totally open to a variety of different roles. My last one was a Comedy for a young adult novel… so I’d like to switch it up for sure.
Cryptic Rock – It is good to keep challenging yourself. It also helps so you do not pigeonhole yourself into one particular corner, plus it shows that you can and want to work in different genres.
Jessica Belkin – Absolutely!
Cryptic Rock – One of your latest films is indeed a Horror film called Last Straw. Set for release on September 20, 2024… how did it come about for you?
Jessica Belkin – Last Straw came about through an audition. I went through the processes with audition, callback, chemistry read, etc. I got to talk to our amazing director, Alan Scott Neal and I met the writer, Taylor Sardoni. I immediately told him how much I loved his writing and how natural I thought everything was.
When the project first came to me, I didn’t have the full script, so I just knew my character; Nancy, who was this really cool, smart-mouthed, grungy waitress. Once I got the full script, I realized I was part of a Thriller in a much bigger picture where things get a little crazy. I was just super excited to dive into that.
Cryptic Rock – So, you actually did not have the full story right from the start?
Jessica Belkin – No, they gave me a log line that was very minimal with everything.
Cryptic Rock – That is very interesting to hear. With Last Straw, your character is going through a tough time in her life, trying to find their place. You can only assume she is just out of high school and kind of feeling stuck. Things are happening. We won’t give away too much, but soon something really horrible transpires. From here, the trajectory of Last Straw is – things go from bad to worse. In fact, just when you think it cannot get any worse, it does, and things just get more out of control. What did you think of that dynamic and how the chaos unfolds?
Jessica Belkin – I think the beginning half of the movie was a good setup into why Nancy is so frustrated and why she is as sharp as she is with people. Her caustic language and behavior are really just an internalized feeling of everything that’s going on around her. She’s pregnant. She’s dealing with her co-workers, misogynistic comments, and her father just telling her she needs to do this. She doesn’t really care for this job anyways.
Then you go into the next act; which is working the late shift and picking the last straw where she has to face these intruders. There is a slow burn into the immediate jump-scare into the crazy part, and I think Alan did a really great job with Taylor writing this process out into a much bigger, crazier scenario.
Cryptic Rock – Yes, and as I say, it definitely gets really crazy. Your character, at first, from the outside looking in, is quite callous with people. You think, “What’s up with this girl? Why is she so nasty?” However, you start to see, as time passes, why she feels the way she feels.
There’s a really strong scene towards the end of the film where she is sitting in the car with her friend. This in many ways brings everything together nicely, and you get it.
Jessica Belkin – Yeah. It’s a nice touch that she is grieving her mother still and having to deal with that; while also seeing how quickly her father has been able to move on and lie to her face about moving on. At the end of the day, she’s struggling and she feels lost and stuck. I feel that’s something we can all relate to. She definitely takes it to extremes with her language and the way she comes across with people.
Cryptic Rock – Right, but again, it comes together and you understand towards the end. We touched on how crazy things get with Last Straw. Perhaps the craziest character in this entire film is that of Jake’s. You really were feeding off each other for a good portion of this film. What was it like working with Taylor Kowalski who portrays Jake?
Jessica Belkin – Taylor Kowalski is an incredible actor, super talented, and in real life is a great person. His character is such a nuisance to me, and he’s just always annoying. He holds this resentment that I got this promotion to be the manager while he’s been working there since his family owned the diner. I think every time we worked together, his kind of sarcastic bitey nature was able to bounce back off of my Nancy’s sharp tongue. It was just always such fun every time we got to work together. Even at the very end (without spoiling too much), with the tractor line, we were laughing at the end of each take.
Cryptic Rock – Well, you two worked well off each other. There is also a lot more underneath the surface with this film, such as mental health. There are elements of severe mental health and substance abuse problems here too.
Jessica Belkin – Yeah. I feel like you understand both sides of the situation. It gives you a perspective into each person’s world and why they are the way they are and the choices that they make. Definitely a lot of mental health talking here too.
Cryptic Rock – Yes. Where was the film shot exactly?
Jessica Belkin – The film was shot in a little town in the Catskills. When I first arrived there, I noticed that every building was plastered with Rip Van Winkle. I guess it’s the town of Rip Van Winkle.
They had cute little shops. I remember I went into the first one and got three jars of pickles; and they stayed with me until the very end of the shoot. (Laughs)
Cryptic Rock – That is too funny. It is always interesting trying to figure out where a film was shot. With Last Straw you can very much tell it is somewhere in the Northeast portion of the United States.
Jessica Belkin – Yeah. Our director, Alan, he’s from Virginia, and he talked about how this movie has a reminiscence to what kind of town he was raised in. It kind of looks like that a lot in those areas. It was nice that we found that diner in the middle of Catskills.
Cryptic Rock – It seemed to be a perfect location. With Last Straw set for release, you also have other projects you worked on. As mentioned, you have worked in Horror before, but different types of Horror at that. Last Straw is a pretty violent film. This is different from your work with American Horror Story. Is there a particular type of Horror that you enjoy more?
Jessica Belkin – I do think that Last Straw is a bit different. It had more of a Crime Drama feel to it and felt like this was something that could actually happen. The realism in it really showed up. I do love my B-level Horror movies where it’s jump-scares. My favorite Horror movie is Halloween (1978). Also, I liked Talk to Me (2022). They’re just so completely opposite, but both have such amazing qualities about them. I just love to get scared and get my blood pressure going.
Cryptic Rock – That’s great. You mentioned Halloween, which is a very special type of Horror movie. It was a very low budget independent film, and much is left to the imagination.
Jessica Belkin – Definitely. I remember watching it as a kid and really enjoying the story of it all. The music definitely plays a huge part in Horror movies as well. For Last Straw, we had Neon Indian do our music scoring and I think it really brought together our film.
Cryptic Rock – Yes. It offers a very retro synth sound to it that you would imagine in an ’80s-style Horror film. Beyond Halloween, what are some of your favorite Horror movies?
Jessica Belkin – I really love The Shining (1980). The Shining has always been a favorite. I don’t know if Midsommar (2019) is considered a Horror movie, but I really enjoyed it. The Conjuring (2013), Talk to Me, and even Smile (2022) was really good.
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