Gail Thackray A.K.A Gail Harris
The Haunting of Morella
Year
1990
Role
Ilsa
This was my first of a string of movies I did for Director Jim Wynorski and producer Roger Corman. This is another Edgar Allan Poe story. It stars David McCallum (NCIS TV Show) as Gideon and Nicole Eggert as Morella/Lenora. I play Ilsa the busty chamber maid. This is the film I talk about in my book Running with Wolves, where after a short “acting bit” I am quickly knocked off. I am later discovered by McCullum buried in the woods. I had to act dead my arm outstretched out of the ground for hours until I had no feeling, with my eyes fixed open while he discovers me sweeping off dirt into my eye balls. Add the vampire sucking flies on my eyes by the sugary solution the special effects makeup probably used some low budget left over sugar from craft service. Typical Jim Wynorski said, “Love the flies. Makes it look more authentic!” Of course they had no shower to take the make up off at the end of the day so I had to drive home with other drivers looking at me like “What the hell happened to her?”
Story line - A witch is put to death in Colonial America, leaving her husband and infant daughter behind. Seventeen years later, the daughter has grown up and stands to inherit money set up by her mother's family. Now that the stage is set, the mother wants to return to life by taking over her daughter's body.
The film is produced by Roger Corman another of his Edgar Allan Poe movies in the vein of his Poe movies from the 1960s. It became a cult classic.