Valorie Curry wasn't legally old enough to see "The Blair Witch Project" when it was released in 1999. And while all her fellow middle school classmates were finding ways to see the found-footage horror film, Curry was OK with being out of the film loop.
"I tended to get nightmares at that time. But I remember it being a craze in school and a lot of people believed it was a documentary. Of course there's no one more gullible than a 13-year-old," Curry says with a light laugh.
Now, she has the chance to create some nightmares and fool some 13 year olds herself as the star of "Blair Witch." The film picks up years after the original movie with a group of young people heading to the same Maryland woods where the first group of young people went missing years ago.
The group enlists the aid of Lane (Wes Robinson), a conspiracy theory master, and Talia (Curry), to guide them through the woods. What starts out as a search mission and school documentary becomes a nightmare.
What Curry remembers about "The Blair Witch Project," which she finally did watch, was how original the movie was in the way it helped issue in the found-footage genre. She saw it again just before filming of "Blair Witch" started and got to spend more time on the mythology behind the original story. That was an important screening because her character is so devoted to the tale of the Blair Witch.
The rest of bringing the role to life included the dying of her hair to a light lavender color. The director, Adam Wingard, felt it was important for the character.
"I have been lucky in that I have been able to play roles where I put on a wig and I don't recognize myself anymore," Curry says.
Fans remember the hairstyle she wore when she was on the Fox series "The Following." Underneath a pixie haircut was Emma, a ruthless killer who would do anything for the charismatic Joe Carroll.
Curry says viewers were compelled to watch "The Following" and love to hate her character because she undermined their expectations because she looked so sweet and innocent.
Along with "The Following" and "Blair Witch," Curry had a recurring role as a computer geek on "House of Lies" and as a paramedic on "The Tick," a show that could become an Amazon series. Curry can also be seen in the drama "American Pastoral," a film that marks the directing debut of Ewan McGregor.
