(IGN.com)

Interview: Brooke Nevin
We will always know what Brooke did last summer.

The third installment of the …Summer franchise is poised to release on DVD tomorrow. Entitled I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer, it follows the exploits of a group of teens who make a horrible mistake and try to cover it up (Note to teenagers: Do NOT make mistakes). We got an opportunity to chat with star Brooke Nevin about her role in the slasherific thriller.

IGN: To start, maybe you could give a little description of your character and what role she plays in the film.

Brooke Nevin: I play the part of Amber Williams. She is an artsy girl who is excited to get out of her small mountain town to follow her photography dreams in California. After the tragic death of one of her friends in a July 4th prank gone bad, she is the most reluctant of the group to join a pact of secrecy. And then, following in grand horror film tradition, her immoral past comes back to haunt her and she is the first one to receive one of many threatening messages to the group. She is sort of the main force in trying to band the estranged friends together in order to stay alive and find out who or "what" is terrorizing them.

IGN: How does it feel to jump into a 'scream queen' role? Did you do anything special to prepare, like watch old horror movies?

Nevin: I did have a horror movie marathon before we started filming, which is not such a brilliant activity to do by your lonesome. I opted not to practice my horror scream because I didn't think the neighbors would be very happy about that.

IGN: Looking at your resume, you have a lot of 'creepy' projects under your belt, from Goosebumps to Charmed to The 4400. Why do you tend to gravitate towards material like this, or is it coincidence?

Nevin: I don't know, I never thought about that pattern before… maybe I'm an unwitting pawn in some vast supernatural conspiracy. Now that would be cool, wouldn't it? But the situation is, it is just coincidence that I happen to get cast in those sorts of roles. I have a great admiration for the genre and it's certainly been a lot of fun.

IGN: What apprehensions did you have or challenges did you face jumping into the third film in a series?

Nevin: I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer follows a similar formula to the first two films, but it was a blank slate in terms of the cast so I didn't really feel any pressure to mimic any of the previous characters. Our exec-producer Nancy Kirkhoffer was so welcoming and fun to work with and the director Sylvain White was just infectiously enthusiastic and had such rich visuals and creative twists for the third movie that I didn't really have any apprehensions.

IGN: Do you think these movies explore real themes or tap into specific issues, or do you see them as escapist entertainment?

Nevin: Well, hmm. It is always the debaucherous teens that get their innards pulled outwards first, isn't it? So there is that. There's something to be said for horror films having an undertone of some moral parable. I think horror films in the past maybe touched on social themes having to do with whatever era in which they were made, but in the end it's definitely an escapist form of entertainment. People are drawn to the shock value, the thrill, because it appeals to our visceral senses. We like to get "out of our comfort zone" once and a while and it's safe because we're really munching on popcorn in a darkened theatre. Again much better doing this in a darkened populated theatre, than in a darkened living room, by your lonesome.

IGN: Is it tough to maintain a suspension of disbelief when you're seeing how they do all of the behind-the-scenes stuff that is supposed to make the movie scary?

Nevin: I find all the special effects stuff fascinating. If anything, seeing all the blood and entrails on set made it easier to tap into my imagination. When the director yelled "action" I just forgot about the FX guys hiding in the back pumping dyed corn syrup through tubes. The tough part was keeping the intensity of the first few takes and sustaining it into take #14. The director would be like "Okay, that was great, but we're gonna do it once more", and my outside voice would be saying, "I'm so game," but my inside voice would be like "Are you sure? I think I was pretty darned scared in take #12!"

IGN: One of the staples of a lot of horror movies has always been the 'skin factor', especially for the female stars. How comfortable are you playing the 'hot damsel in distress' and did you have concerns at all when you were initially offered the role that this was what you were signing up to do?

Nevin: I'm comfortable in hot pants as long as I have the hook in my hand.

IGN: What are some of your favorite horror movies?

Nevin: I'm a fan of the old "Creature Features" like Critters, and Gremlins and Tremors. Jaws is classic. It's funny that I still like those films because I remember my Mom would tease me about getting a pet Critter to keep under my bed. You see, I was a highly impressionable child and my reaction to her suggestion was wonderfully amusing - for her. She thought that was fun, however my overactive little mind didn't really get the sense of humor at the time.

IGN: What else is coming up for you after this?

Nevin: I have a couple of independent movies coming out next year. One is a dark comedy called My Suicide about two teens bonding through a pact to take their own lives on camera. There are lighter moments in the film, but it is a serious look at one of the most prevalent killers of young people today. I hope the film is a way to garner attention for an issue that is too rarely discussed.

The other is a sweet story called Sherman's Way. I play this quirky character named "Addy" who regales Sherman (played by Michael Shulman) with all her adventure tales and teaches him the virtue of living in the moment.

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