Jessica Lowndes Dishes on Reuniting With Darren Lynn Bousman for Horror-Thriller ‘Abattoir’

Alex Aronson

Jessica Lowndes first worked with horrormeister Darren Lynn Bousman on “The Devil’s Carnival” and now is back in his thriller about the ultimate haunted house in “Abattoir.” Lowndes plays Julia, an investigative reporter who teams up with a police officer to solve the mystery of why her sister’s family was murdered. Lowndes chatted with Entertainment Voice about collaborating with the director once again, the experience of filming a supernatural movie in New Orleans and the toll that making a horror flick can take on the psyche.

What first attracted you to the script and how did you become attached to the project?

I thought it felt original and it was like nothing I had ever read before. It was this adult fairy tale and it was super metaphysical and I loved the whole vision of having a 1940s film noir set in modern day. Before I read the script Darren sent me an entire character breakdown of Julia Talben and he wanted me to channel Lauren Bacall. He even said, ‘I don’t want this to be like a normal haunted house movie that you’ve ever seen before.’  

You play a character that is in a place of despair and danger. How do you handle playing in that state of mind for so much of the film and how do you snap yourself out of it when filming is done?

Well I am a younger sister, so I could definitely relate. I also loved how my character was an analog girl stuck in a digital world. She is obsessed with everything vintage. The mystery behind it all was amazing. The schedule consisted of mostly night shoots. It was very cold and getting to that emotional headspace every night was very taxing. I had so much fun diving into the all the layers. The cast and crew were so awesome and we were able to laugh and have such a great time in between takes – which made it so much easier.

Your character almost seems like she is from a different time period. You even mentioned earlier that she is similar to a character from a 1940s crime-noir. Did you do any research on characters from that time period?

I definitely did a lot of research from that time period. Darren was so great because he was sending me films to watch with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. He had me watching a lot of things from that time period – of which I already am a huge fan. I love Elizabeth Taylor and I feel like I know that stuff anyways. But I was definitely ready to take up that challenge and switch up my acting style as well.

What is his style of directing?

He is a true visionary and I trust him 100 percent. I like letting him take the lead and just seeing what comes out of his brain – like the set design they did such a great job with – it’s so cool. I think he did such a great job and the film looks hauntingly beautiful. He was also down for letting me try different takes which was really fun as an actress. It was exhausting but I am super proud of it.

The film is very much a twisted fairy tale. How did you manage to create a character that felt so grounded in the reality of the film?

I think it’s about being honest. I tried to make her an honest version of myself. Her mom put her up for adoption and her sister died – she has no one. She is in a relationship with this cop, and we really don’t know where they are with that. She has no choice but to be independent. I think that just putting myself in that headspace and truly understanding what that would be like and feel like, you can’t help but have different layers to her and I think that’s what’s so great.

Is New Orleans a paranormal hotspot?

New Orleans was the perfect backdrop. I feel like filming the movie there was a huge help to me. We were shooting in a truly haunted plantation where people have actually died and you can really feel it. It’s very eerie. We also filmed in this house that was hit by Hurricane Katrina that no one has touched in years. There was still wallpaper peeling off of the walls. Again, it just all puts you in this headspace that really serves to better the movie. I couldn’t have imagined a better place to do it.

“Abattoir” opens Dec. 9 in select theaters.