Jug Face (2013)★★★★☆

Okay, can I just be a fangirl for a minute here? Not about this film (though I do like it), but about Lauren Ashley Carter (who plays Ada). She was awesome as Peggy in last night’s movie, awesome as Ada in this movie (though – oh, and spoiler warning – I do wonder if she’s going to get pigeonholed as the girl who gets pregnant by a close relative), and apparently awesome in real life.

I was looking her up online last night because I was really impressed with her performance and wanted to see what else she’d been in. I’ve found that good indie horror actors tend to do multiple good indie horror films – often together! For example, Sean Bridgers really shows his incredible range with his performances as Chris Cleek in The Woman and Dawai in this film. He plays both characters so convincingly it’s hard for me to imagine what the real Sean Bridgers is like.

But this post isn’t about Sean Bridgers. It’s not even really about Jug Face, though my quick summary of the film is that it’s an interesting story that feels a bit slow at times but really drags you in deep. I found it hard not to care what was going to happen – and hard not to want to learn more about the world Ada and her family lived in. I think this is because the characters and their beliefs are incredibly intriguing and their plight compelling – and Lauren Ashley Carter’s performance as Ada is what really sells that for me.

So I came across her blog last night and I read every word of it and I related to much of it so hard. I love how open she is about her experiences, and I love that her stated reason for starting her blog is to help others who might be in similar situations. That’s a mentality that I can get behind (that I’m trying to get behind in my other life right now).

So I decided I needed to watch all the scary movies she’s been in. Like, right away. So you’ll probably be seeing more of her this week. Or at least reading more of her this week. And I decided I want to be friends with her. Which isn’t something I say very often, and almost never at all about someone who lives on the other side of the country. So I really mean it – I think we’d get along well and would have a lot to talk about.

And since we live in the internet world these days and anything is possible, maybe it’ll happen! In the meantime, I’ve got a few more of her movies to watch (or rewatch) and review. And a new Twitter account to follow.