Sierra McCormick Terrifies in Horror Flick ‘Some Kind of Hate’

It’s not easy to make the leap from adorable to absolutely terrifying, but Sierra McCormick sticks the landing.

Best known for her portrayal of Olive Doyle on A.N.T. Farm, the 17-year-old appears in Some Kind of Hate, the new horror movie out in theaters, iTunes and VOD this weekend.

In the film, McCormick plays Moira, a ghostly entity who was mocked and driven to suicide when she was alive. Now she’s back to torture a new generation of bullies at a desert camp for wayward teens. The hook: Only when Moira harms herself is the pain transferred to her victims, an inventive twist on the slasher genre.

The whole self-mutilation thing would be hard to handle in other capacities, but McCormick — sinister, while still keeping some of her Mouse-eared cuteness in tact — brings a surprising amount of emotional honesty to the role that makes Moira seem, well, human.

We spoke to McCormick about becoming Moira, what gives her nightmares and why James Franco is always in her bedroom.

Moira is a frightening character, but also quite sympathetic. How did you channel that?

Well, I really focused on who she was and what she felt when she was alive — the alienation, the pain, the constant search for validation from her peers that she never got. She really wanted people to like her, but she always missed the mark somehow.

Was it hard to make the transformation?

When it came to her sort of scariness, just getting into her wardrobe and having all the fake blood and other makeup on me really helped channel her because it allows you to sort of play dress-up.

Have you always been a fan of horror movies?

Ever since I was I was a little kid!

Was there one that scared you more than others?

As much as I love it when I see a horror film that I really appreciate, it never scares me and I haven’t found one that has truly given me nightmares yet. I suppose I have a really high tolerance. Actually, when I was around 10-years-old I saw The Descent and that did scare me. Like when I’d go into a dark room, I would get really creeped out because I’d remember the cave-dwelling demon things that lived down there.

Is there any moment from Some Kind of Hate that gave you trouble sleeping?

Yeah. I’ve seen the movie a couple of times, but one part that never fails to make me jump is a really quick jump scare shot of me creepy crawling up the stairwell. Even though I’ve seen the film plenty of times — and I shot that scene — I’m never prepared for it.

Between school and filming, we’re guessing your life is quite hectic. How do you work sleep into your schedule?

For a while, I didn’t. I’ve always been a hardcore night owl, practically nocturnal since birth. So when I was going to work everyday on a sitcom, I would have to get there really early. But when I’d get home, I’d start watching a movie or something and stay up really late. I finally had to tell myself to go to bed at 10. At first I wouldn’t fall asleep until midnight or so, but after a while I was able to condition myself to start going to sleep a little earlier.

When not working, are you a late sleeper?

If it’s the weekend, I will literally go to bed at 2 a.m. and wake up at two in the afternoon. I’ll sleep for 24 hours if no one disturbs me.

What’s your most prized bedroom possession?

A cardboard cutout of James Franco. It was a gift — when I was on A.N.T. Farm, everyone knew I was a huge James Franco fan so they found this cardboard cutout and gave it to me.

Before, I would look at it and be like “Oh my god, he’s so cute!” Now I just kind of look at it more like a companion, kind of like, “What do you think, James?”

It’s pretty tall, so when I’ve had friends over or someone sleeping in my bedroom, they’ll wake up in the middle of the night and scream because they think there’s a person in the room.

I’m like “No, it’s just a cardboard James Franco cutout.”

Do you think it’s important for aspiring young actors to get healthy sleep?

Yes! (laughs) I’ve tried working on very few hours of sleep and it definitely affects your performance and energy. When I was on the Disney Channel, I needed to be energetic, I’d always say, “Please make my calltime at 11, because you’ll see that I’ll be the best performer you’ve ever had if you let me have a lot of sleep!”

When I get a lot of sleep I function a lot better; I’m quicker on my feet.

Originally published at vanwinkles.com.