She also teased how shes living out herAliasdreams while shooting a new Peacock TV series.
Have you been surprised by that?
Before finding yourself in that world, were you a fan?
Has this all taken you by surprise?
MELISSA BARRERA: Yeah, it has taken me by surprise.
Im so happy that I am, for a lot of reasons.
Image via Vertical
Ive also been very fortunate in the projects that Ive gotten to do within the genre.
This charming new film is all about embracing your inner rage.
People dont always realize how many different kinds of horror there can be.
There are so many layers to it, and none of the projects youve done feel the same.
BARRERA: I venture to always go for something different.
Ive done a little bit of everything, I feel like.
Image via Vertical
Was that moment always in the script?
Were you like, Why do people just keep wanting to throw blood at me?
I just have to end up covered in blood.
Image via Vertical
It was always part of the script.
I always liked that ending a lot.
It was part of the reason that I loved the script so much.
After her life falls apart, soft-spoken actress Laura Franco finds her voice again when she meets a terrifying, yet weirdly charming Monster living in her closet. A romantic-comedy-horror film about falling in love with your inner rage.
Especially in this movie, the reveal is so unexpected.
What was that like to shoot when youre actually a singer?
Whats it like to have to sad sing?
BARRERA: It was a whole thing.
This was trying to find a way to sound like I cant, but naturally.
If you dont have lung capacity, you cant make a note.
That was a whole thing in the house, and then also when I auditioned for Jacob.
This monster isnt here to scare - hes here to care.
What was it like to figure out that relationship, knowing that its a bit toxic?
What was she even doing with that guy in the first place?
BARRERA: To me, it was very obvious why she is with Jacob.
I could fully understand why she would be with him.
Hes very talented and very charismatic, and hes a presence.
Those kinds of narcissists really have a way of being very magnetic.
For her, it was like, Oh, were the power couple.
That really made a lot of sense to me.
And I dont just mean romantic relationships.
It happens with Mazie, her best friend.
That means forgetting about herself and disappearing.
Wait, is she the problem?
Thats potentially the whole point of the movie, with this gaslighting thing.
I have friends that are like that.
Once I figured out that was her, it was easy to build off that.
The script was so great.
I had a lot of great material to work with.
BARRERA: Yes, for the intimacy.
They moved and some of them would fall off and end up on me.
But with the prosthetic, I dont remember there being an adjustment period for me.
As soon as I saw Tommy [Dewey] as Monster, I was like, Cool.
It wasnt ever weird.
Tommy is so expressive and hes such a great actor that it was really easy to work with him.
It never felt weird that I was like looking at a monster.
Hes so hot as the monster that I was just like, Okay, this is all right.
What did you most enjoy about that?
How much fun was it to really go into full singer mode for that?
And is there more that we didnt get to see?
BARRERA: There is.There were four whole numbers that we shot, that ended up getting cut.
Hes thinking that hes solving womens issues through this musical, and thats so roll-your-eyes and condescending.
Those songs were hilarious, but also good songs and catchy tunes.
The lyrics were just amazing.
That was a whole feat that they just did a magnificent job with.
I was so happy that I got to sing an original song that they wrote for me.
BARRERA: Me too.
They designed an entire set for the production.
Can we see a little bit of that?
I feel like it was so great.
What makes heartbreak more palatable?
Embracing your inner monster, rage and all.
Do you know whats next for you?
Ive always wanted to do a role like this.
But I definitely love a romance.
I feel like I really want to do a rom-com or a sweeping, epic romance.
After I finish this show, I would love to do that.
I never close myself off.
Im not like, This is what I wanna do next.
Is that TV series you mentioned the one for Peacock (with Simu Liu)?
What can you say about that character?
Theres a little bit of mystery.
A romantic-comedy-horror film about falling in love with your inner rage.
Your Monsteris now playing in theaters.
Check out the trailer:
