Tricia Helfer sinks her teeth into erotic body horror movie Devour

Here‘s one for anyone who likes things a bit surreal (and probably a tad disturbing): Tricia Helfer has picked up the lead in a new erotic body horror film called Devour. You‘ll know Helfer already if you‘ve been near a sci-fi convention in the last twenty years — she was Number Six on Battlestar Galactica and turned up as Charlotte Richards in Lucifer. This time, though, she‘s venturing into darker territory than anything the Cylons ever managed.

Subversive Skating, Anyone?

So, what‘s Devour actually about? Producers are being slightly cagey, but here‘s the gist: Helfer plays Luisa, a former professional figure skater whose life, let's just say, starts to spiral. She gets tangled up in some properly uncontrollable compulsions — and the real twist is she ends up dangerously fixated on Karla, a friend of her daughter‘s. That forbidden attraction unravels into absolute chaos: obsession, self-destruction, and apparently body horror that goes right to the bone (or, knowing this genre, beyond).

Georgia Bradner (if you watched Resident Alien, you'll clock her) is playing Karla, the object of all this attention. Elizabeth Adams — last seen in Hello Beautiful — is on board as Luisa’s daughter, Elia, so get ready for some intense mother-daughter-daughter’s-friend drama. If that premise sounds a bit headline-grabbing, you‘re not wrong. It sounds like a psychosexual car crash and, in fairness, that's where body horror tends to shine.

Horror With a Point

The project comes from writer/director Erica Orofino, who seems determined not to play it safe. Helfer herself has said that what drew her in was just how dark and psychological Orofino’s script goes. Here’s how she put it talking to The Hollywood Reporter:

“I loved how dark and psychological the story was. Erica wasn’t afraid to go there, and that’s what made me want to be part of it.”

Orofino didn’t shy away from her own ambitions either, explaining she wants to dig into the messier bits of self-identity, female sexuality and the sorts of urges that don’t fit neatly within what most people would call 'acceptable'. She seems pretty sure the whole cast is going to leave viewers reeling, adding that this ensemble was very deliberately put together for exactly that effect.

Orofino’s words on working with Helfer — and everyone else — went like this:

“I wanted to make a film about self-identity, female sexuality and desires that exist outside our dominant norms or moral codes. I curated this cast carefully and I’m grateful this team came together in the way that it did. Tricia was a dream to direct. She will grip your heartstrings and your guts and not let go. Elizabeth and Georgia are going to blow you away.”

The People Pulling the Strings

Wildling Pictures is producing this one, with Matt Code, Alison Almeida, and Lucy McNulty leading the charge. Executive producers include Todd Brown, Kiersten Hanly, Emily O’Quinn Code, Mike Chapman, and Fatima Hayward. If you're keen on world rights, Blue Finch Films is handling sales (unless you’re in Canada, where apparently you have to fend for yourself).

• Wildling Pictures have a bit of a track record at the festival circuit — they previously did Phreaker for Fantastic Fest.
• Other titles in their roster include Young Werther (romcom, had Alison Pill, Douglas Booth, Iris Apatow, Patrick J. Adams) and the home-invasion thriller See for Me.

Helfer isn‘t a stranger to genre projects herself, and she’s been particularly busy lately. Alongside this, she turned up in Hello Beautiful, a drama adapted by Ziad H. Hamzeh from Christine Handy’s bestseller Walk Beside Me — Helfer played a supermodel whose perfect-seeming home life takes a turn thanks to a major health scare. Plus, you can catch her on the USA Network’s Anna Pigeon, which has just been given the nod for a second season.

Devour puts Tricia Helfer at the heart of an erotic body horror that puts psychological meltdown, forbidden longing, and the essential weirdness of being human front and centre.