Emilie de Ravin’s fans probably know her best as Claire, the sweet young
plane crash survivor who became a single mom on the first season of ABC’s
mega-hit "Lost." But now they can check out the promising young actress
on the big screen as she makes her feature film debut in the gruesome horror remake
The Hills Have Eyes and the noir-ish high school drama Brick.
Her roles in the three projects couldn’t be more diverse and that’s
exactly the way de Ravin wants it. "I’m always craving to do something
different," the Australian native says.
In Hills, de Ravin plays Brenda Carter, the youngest daughter of a family terrorized
by mutant cannibals. Although she’s front and center for some of the film’s
most disturbing sequences, de Ravin considers the movie to be more than a slice-and-dice
slasher flick and that’s what drew her to the project in the first place.
"Underneath all the gore, it’s a study of these two completely different
families," de Ravin explains. "You really feel for the Carter family,
and in an odd way you feel for the hill people too. You care about these people,
it’s not about ‘how many people can we kill in five seconds?’ Although
there is a lot of blood!"
Enough blood to give the film some ratings problems. The filmmakers had to make
a few cuts in order to secure a R rating in the U.S. (so don’t be surprised
to see an even gorier version down the road on DVD).
While Hills is poised to capitalize on the current craze for horror flicks (i.e.
Hostel, Final Destination 3, When a Stranger Calls), Brick is a different, smaller
project. The film, which premiered at last year’s Sundance Film Festival
and releases in theaters March 31, is reminiscent of classic film noir detective
stories but its high school setting provides a unique spin. De Ravin plays the
hero’s girlfriend and it’s her mysterious disappearance following a
frenzied phone call that sets the story in motion.
"I’m really excited about it," de Ravin explains. "It’s
a different kind of film for young people. We’re bombarded with fluffy teen
films and it’s nice to have something a little more gritty."
As for her role on the series-that-launched-a-thousand-conspiracy-theories …
no, de Ravin doesn’t know what’s up with the island’s various monsters
and no, she doesn’t know why the survivors wound up on that specific island.
(Or if she does know, she’s not telling.)
"There’s so many theories floating around, I really don’t know
what to believe," de Ravin says with a laugh. "At first I thought that
we were all in purgatory, but then I had a child and with a new life on the island
that doesn’t make as much sense."
Although "Lost" is filmed in Hawaii, de Ravin still manages to spend
most of her time in Los Angeles, where she lives with her fiancé. That
means a lot of traveling but de Ravin is used to it. She still braves the long
flight back to Australia as often as she can since her entire family still lives
there.
However, with her busy schedule, trips back home have been limited to once or
twice a year, but de Ravin isn’t complaining. "I have the greatest job,"
she admits. "I’m just really lucky to do what I love."
The Hills Have Eyes releases in theatres March 10.
Film: Interview [Emilie Deravin: The Hills Have Eyes]
Emilie Deravin: 'Lost' Actress Makes a Gory Jump to the Big Screen in The Hills Have Eyes
By Geoff Berkshire
Article posted on 3/6/2006
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