Struggling to find your place in society, and achieve personal freedom from an overbearing parent who only thinks about themselves, are powerful incentives to drive vulnerable young adults to become susceptible to evil entities and influences. That’s certainly the case with Janet Slate, one of the lead characters in the new independent 3D horror film ‘Apartment 1303 3D,’ which is set to be released on Friday in theaters and on cable/internet VOD. Actress Julianne Michelle explores how the character’s questioning of the unknown lurking in her new apartment, which is supposed to offer her solace from her family, can actually cause more harm than she ever expected.

Writer-director Michael Taverna’s ‘Apartment 1303 3D’ follows Janet as she jumps at the opportunity to move into what looks to be a great high-rise apartment in downtown Detroit, after having grown up under the controlling grip of her fame-hungry mother, Maddie (Rebecca De Mornay), Yet some deals are too good to be true as one night her boyfriend Mark (Corey Sevier) finds her in the middle of the street – having fallen from the balcony thirteen stories above.

When her sister Lara (Mischa Barton) tries to investigate the mystery of what happened, she moves into the same apartment and encounters the odd neighbors in the building, including an eerie nine-year old girl who seems to somehow know the real reason for Janet’s fall. Lara soon realizes that her sister’s death might spell the same fate for her unless she can overcome the strange events that are terrorizing the inhabitants in Apartment 1303.

Michelle generously took the time recently to talk about filming ‘Apartment 1303 3D’ over the phone during an exclusive interview. Among other things, the actress discussed how she wanted to take on the role of Janet because she’s never appeared in a horror film before, and thought the change in genre would be interesting; how she thinks it’s helpful when the director also writes the script, because they know what the scribe’s intentions were when they wrote the screenplay; and how she loves making independent films, as she thinks they offer actors and filmmakers latitude to be more creative.

ShockYa (SY): You play Janet Slate in ‘Apartment 1303 3D.’ What was it about the character and the script overall that convinced you to take on the role?

Julianne Michelle (JM): Well, it’s the first time I did a horror film. I’m used to mainly doing psychological dramas and playing very complex characters. But this I thought was something different. I had never done a 3D movie before, so I thought that would be interesting.

The thing about the film is that it’s scary, but there are also elements of humor in it, as well. For example, my character has enough dialogue for many people. (laughs) I’m talking to myself most of the time, but that’s what’s a little humorous about it. I think it was cool that I was alone a lot of the time, and was reacting to things around the apartment. That was kind of challenging, but also cool.

Also, having to interact with the imaginary ghost that was around the apartment was fun. Well, not really imaginary (laughs), but she was there. My character thought she was going crazy, and didn’t know what was going on. Then she finally realizes that there was definitely something lurking in the apartment.

But it is scary, and that’s what the director intended. He wanted scary with a little touch of humor, so we can play our parts to the extreme, and that’s what I tried to do.

SY: Speaking of the director, Michael Taverna, how did you become involved in the film? Did you have to audition for Michael, or did he approach you with the role?

JM: Yes, he had approached me to read the script, and see what I thought of the character. Then I read for him, and that’s how it went.

SY: Besides helming ‘Apartment 1303 3D,’ Michael also wrote the screenplay for the film. Do you generally prefer working with directors who also penned the script? What was your overall working relationship with Michael like on the set?

JM: I think it’s definitely helpful, yeah. When the director writes the script, they know what the writer’s looking for, and what their intentions were when they wrote the script. So having a director with that insight is definitely helpful.

SY: Mischa Barton plays Janet’s sister Lara, who tries to investigate the mystery of what happened to Janet after she moved into the apartment. Were you able to work with Mischa at all while you were on the set, and if so, how did you build your working relationship with her?

JM: We were, but not too much. Like I said, most of my scenes are alone, or with Corey Sevier, who plays my boyfriend. But we do have a couple of scenes together, Mischa and I.

SY: Speaking of Corey, what was your working relationship with him like on the set?

JM: Oh, it was wonderful. He’s such a sweetheart, and it was a pleasure working with him. It was great working with everyone. Corey was great.

SY: One of the reasons Janet moves into the apartment is because she grew up under the controlling grip of their fame-hungry mother, Maddie, played by Rebecca De Mornay. What was it like working with Rebecca on the film?

JM: Well, we actually didn’t have any scenes together. However, we did see each other on the set. We had opportunities to chat and discuss our characters. Unfortunately, we didn’t have any scenes together; I would have liked to be able to work with her in a scene. She’s lovely and does a great job with her role.

SY: ‘Apartment 1303 3D’ is based on the 2007 Japanese horror film of the same name, which was directed and co-written by Ataru Oikawa, as well as the novel by Kei Ôishi. Were you familiar with the original movie and/or book before you signed on to appear as Janet in the remake?

JM: Well, I had seen the Japanese original, but this film is entirely different. The script, the characters and the story are really different from the original.

SY: The film is groundbreaking in the fact that it’s one of the first indie titles to play in 3D in theaters and on Video on Demand simultaneously. Are you a fan of watching movies on VOD, and do you think ‘Apartment 1303 3D’s release will set a precedent for independent 3D rollouts in the future?

JM: I don’t know too much about it to say whether it helps or hurts. I’ve heard that it is helpful in generating more box office appeal when it comes out on VOD, but I’m not really sure how that works.

But I often do watch movies on VOD because I don’t have the chance to go to the theaters as much. It’s nice to be able to catch movies at home. But there’s also something nice and important about watching this kind of movie in theaters, especially this kind of movie, since it’s in 3D.

SY: Since ‘Apartment 1303 3D’ is an independent film, did that pose any difficulties or challenges while you were filming?

JM: No, not really, because I think it was shot on a $5 million budget, which wasn’t too shabby. It certainly wasn’t a huge budget. But we were comfortable enough to be able to do everything we needed to do.

Scheduling was limited, so we didn’t have a whole lot of time to shoot. I felt some of it was a little bit rushed, as we didn’t have a whole lot of time allotted to film scenes, and some scenes were cut, as well. Some things we just didn’t shoot, as we didn’t have enough time to do them. So it would have been nice to have more time to film it. Every filmmaker probably says, I wish I had more time to film, but you need more money for that. But we did have special effects.

SY: You have appeared in both independent and bigger studio films, such as ‘Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.’ Do you have a preference of appearing in independent movies over the studio films, or vice versa, or do you enjoy acting overall?

JM: Oh, I definitely enjoy acting. I did a small role in ‘Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps,’ because I know (the film’s director) Oliver (Stone), and I did it as a favor to him. It was great to work with friends, and that was a lot of fun to do.

I would love to be a part of a larger budget, as either a main or supporting character, that would be great. I do love independent films, though, as I think they have great appeal, from both the actors’ and filmmakers’ prospective. I feel like you have more latitude to really be creative and you don’t have a lot of restraints on what you can do.

You don’t have to confirm to any sort of formula, or make sure it has commercial appeal. I mean, a lot of independent films do have commercial appeal, which is great. A lot of the films nominated for Oscars are independent films, which I love to see. I think without all the higher-ups looking over your shoulder, and making sure the film conforms to a certain formula, I think it allows the filmmakers and actors to be more creative with their parts.

SY: Like you mentioned earlier, ‘Apartment 1303 3D’ is the first horror movie you appeared in. Would you be interested in appearing in more horror films in the future, and what did you come to love about the genre by working on this movie?

JM: I’ve always enjoyed watching horror films, even growing up. I had a good experience doing this film, and I would be open to doing another one again. As I said, I wanted to do something different and try it and see what it was like. I had a pleasant experience, so I certainly wouldn’t preclude to doing that again.

I have another movie coming out soon, called ‘Awakened.’ It’s not a horror film; it’s entirely different. It’s a psychological drama that has both psychological and supernatural elements, which makes it very unique.

I’m starring in it with Steven Bauer, Edward Furlong, Sally Kirkland, Bryan Dechart and Stelio Savante. We have a great cast. It was a low budget, but I think the production value was high, and I’m excited for that to come out.

SY: Besides films, you have also appeared on such television series as ‘Who’s the Boss?’ and ‘Roseanne.’ Do you have any interest in returning to television, or do you prefer appearing in movies?

JM: Oh yeah, definitely. For sure I would be interested in doing television. There’s been a resurgence of fantastic programing, especially with cable programing, and even network programing, lately. A lot of these television productions are on par with larger theatrical releases; they’re very high quality productions and excellent scripts. I love watching some of the television series that are out, and I would love to be a part of them.

SY: Besides ‘Awakened,’ do you have any upcoming projects lined up that you can discuss?

JM: Yeah. We don’t have a start date yet, but we’re set to film ‘Reaching from Above’ pretty soon. That’s with Christian Slater, Sean Astin and Dominique Swain. We were scheduled to start filming that around September, but we don’t really have a start date for that yet. But that will be filming in Louisiana.

Then there’s another film I’m set to do, called ‘Prague.’ That’s a working title, but I don’t have a start date for that yet.

Written by: Karen Benardello