![\"Ashley](\"http:\/\/www.shockya.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/Ashley_Bell_Last_Exorcism_Part_II.jpg\" "\\"Ashley_Bell_Last_Exorcism_Part_II\\"")
Thanks to her iconic chilling backbend, Ashley Bell\u2019s been permanently engrained in our minds ever since Eli Roth and co. unleashed the very first poster for \u201cThe Last Exorcism.\u201d Since, Bell\u2019s been packing on the projects and making quite the name for herself beyond the horror genre, but after \u201cLast Exorcism\u201d hit it so big, how could Bell not return for another dance with the devil?<\/p>\n
In \u201cThe Last Exorcism Part II\u201d Bell is back as Nell Sweetzer. The story picks up right where the first film left off, Nell being the only survivor of the third act massacre. With her family long gone, Nell is sent to New Orleans to start a new life, however, Abalam isn\u2019t done with her just yet and has no problem relocating from rural Louisiana to the big city to get what he wants.<\/p>\n
Stepping back into Nell\u2019s shoes is one thing, but Bell is also responsible for bringing Abalam back to life. Check out what Bell had to say about handling what she calls Nell\u2019s love affair with the devil, the thrill of developing the backbend 2.0, and much more in the interview below, and be sure to catch \u201cThe Last Exorcism Part II\u201d when it hits theaters on March 1st. <\/p>\n
Are you into horror movies yourself at all?<\/FONT><\/B> What went through your mind approaching \u201cPart II\u201d vs. the first film? You\u2019re very much a lead in round one, but here, you\u2019re as front and center as ever.<\/FONT><\/B> How about your preparation process? Did the change in Nell affect how you prepared to play her in the second film as compared to the first?<\/FONT><\/B> How is it playing these two characters? You\u2019ve got one that\u2019s very tangible, but then this other being that we never really even get to see.<\/FONT><\/B> Do you ever have people spot you on the street and ask you do it for them?<\/FONT><\/B> How was it making the switch from found footage to a more standard shooting style? Are you aware of the camera at all when you\u2019re acting?<\/FONT><\/B> How was it going from Daniel to Ed? What is it about Ed\u2019s work here that makes \u201cPart II\u201d his own?<\/FONT><\/B> How is he as an actor\u2019s director? Does he like to rehearse or give you notes while you\u2019re filming?<\/FONT><\/B> How is that for you? Clearly you\u2019re flexible and are just able to do the backbend, but how does throwing in the levitation affect it from a physical standpoint?<\/FONT><\/B> Now is that the most challenging scene for you or was there something else that was tougher to film? Or perhaps even just a scene you\u2019re particularly proud of?<\/FONT><\/B>
\nAshley Bell:<\/B> I am into horror movies. My summers growing up were watching horror movies with my dad. I loved everything from \u201cSuspiria\u201d to \u201cPoltergeist\u201d to \u201cPsycho.\u201d I loved the suspense of going into a movie theater and just getting scared, jumping out of my seat and clawing at the person next to me \u2013 whether I know them or not! And that\u2019s the kind of film \u201cPart II\u201d is. It\u2019s a really fun, scary movie. I saw it for the first time a couple weeks ago and I actually gave myself nightmares. [Laughs] I even started jumping when I was doing ADR for the film! It\u2019s a lot of fun and it\u2019s got these great jump scares.<\/p>\n
\nThis one picks up right where the last one ends. It\u2019s a continuation of Nell Sweetzer\u2019s story. At the end of part one, Nell\u2019s broken. In rebuilding Nell, it was putting together pieces of this Russian doll, and there are pieces missing and in those missing pieces, that\u2019s where the devil\u2019s gonna creep in because that\u2019s where the doubts are gonna be and that\u2019s where things are gonna get scary and manipulative. It was wonderful to step back into my Dr. Martens. I loved building the character of Nell and I also loved building Abalam, the devil. Trying to have his point of view was really exciting as an actress to work on so when I got a chance to go into \u201cPart II,\u201d it was really cool to try to rebuild and piece together this broken, vulnerable girl.<\/p>\n
\nOh, absolutely! When we see Nell at the beginning of this film, she doesn\u2019t remember anything so there was a lot of trying to figure out what she knows, what she doesn\u2019t and then there\u2019s this whole love affair that happens with the devil where it\u2019s almost this dance between them. As she begins to be tempted and teased, we don\u2019t know what part of the world is real, what\u2019s not, what\u2019s manipulation. It was like walking a tightrope building that relationship, which is a very fun place as an actress.<\/p>\n
\nIt\u2019s great to build two characters that are almost polar opposites of each other. Here\u2019s Nell who doesn\u2019t\u2019 even know what an iPod is and then dealing with Abalam, it was wonderful for the film to just sink into research. I researched a lot of exorcisms, watched videos. There was also that Nell could be going through a mental breakdown, so I also looked into fits of hysteria and looking at images like that, I got inspired to try some physicality myself and that\u2019s how I found that backbend. Daniel Stamm, the director for the exorcism scene, asked if I had any ideas and I said, \u2018Well, I can do this backbend,\u2019 and he said, \u2018Okay, you stay there. I\u2019m gonna change some things,\u2019 and I had no idea that would become the poster image for the films and such an iconic pose.<\/p>\n![\"Ashley](\"http:\/\/www.shockya.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/Last_Exorcism_Backbend.jpg\" "\\"Last_Exorcism_Backbend\\"")
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\nOnly when I\u2019m not wearing makeup! [Laughs] I ran into a bunch of girls that recognized me and they started screaming because they recognized me and then I started screaming because I was so excited that I got recognized, and we kind of just had a scream-off.<\/p>\n
\nFirst of all, when I read the script, I loved that it jumped styles. I thought that was just so cool that Eli Roth and Strike Entertainment did that. Everybody was expecting a found footage \u201cPart II\u201d to happen and it becoming a straight narrative was such a shock to the people and set such a great tone. In filming it, I think you\u2019re always aware of a camera crew on set. You train yourself to not see, but it\u2019s always just about the work and it\u2019s always just about the environment, and that\u2019s what\u2019s so great about working with directors like Daniel Stamm and Ed Gass-Donnelly. They create such a comfortable set to just dive in and play, experiment, be vulnerable, be weird and get scared. That\u2019s a safe, fun set to be on. <\/p>\n
\nI was a fan of Ed\u2019s film \u201cSmall Town Murder Songs.\u201d It\u2019s a beautiful, glossy film that I think he edited, wrote, directed, scored \u2013 he did everything for it! It\u2019s really a beautiful film. Working with Ed on \u201cPart II\u201d was great. He really took in the city of New Orleans and let that be a beautiful backdrop for the film. In pre-production, we would walk through the streets and visit voodoo places and pick up trinkets, little beads or talismans. He really wanted to give the exorcisms that are going to be going on in this film a voodoo edge, a very New Orleans edge, something different. It\u2019s something audiences haven\u2019t seen before. <\/p>\n
\nHe has a huge background in theater, so it was really wonderful to work with him. One of my favorite days of filming, if you\u2019ve seen the trailer, to one-up the backbend there\u2019s this levitating backbend. It was all me, that was important, so I got clearance from the stunt crew to do it eight times and of course we were all having so much fun, it went on like 16 or 20 times, and each time we added something new, we added a different element, we added a different color. Building it like that was so much fun. While I would be in the center, going up into this stunt, it was a whole production on set. Everybody from props, the camera guys and all the actors – Ed conducted it like an orchestra and it was really fun to play those moments.<\/p>\n![\"Ashley](\"http:\/\/www.shockya.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/Ashley_Bell_Last_Exorcism_3.jpg\" "\\"Ashley_Bell_Last_Exorcism_3\\"")
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\nI taught myself how to levitate, which was very tricky. Kidding. [Laughs] It was tricky. I was thrilled to be able to do it, but there was a physical therapist on set in between takes that would have to pop my shoulder blades out. It was handled very carefully and the bed was heated so I could hyperextend and everything like that. I actually have a stress fracture to prove it. I think I got a stress fracture from doing that. I went to a doctor afterwards and he said, \u2018Have you been doing any gymnastics or any hyper extending or backbends? You have a stress fracture in your lower vertebrate.\u2019 I said, \u2018Well, one thing comes to mind!\u2019 [Laughs] It\u2019s an occupational hazard of being possessed by the devil.<\/p>\n
\nOh, I think that was the most challenging and the most fulfilling scene. I did like that scene a lot. This film has a huge<\/I> exorcism scene that ends with a turn that truly only Eli Roth could pull off. I think audiences are gonna be very, very shocked when they see it. The exorcism scene for this one took, I think, two days to film and it was very exciting to be in the middle of all that. Everything has been demanding emotionally, physically, mentally, and vocally. It\u2019s wonderful to be challenged as an actress like that. It\u2019s really what\u2019s fun about doing my job.<\/p>\n