Interviews
[Interview] Catherine Corcoran Talks ‘Return To Nuke ‘Em High’
In Return To Nuke ‘Em High, a young couple, Lauren and Chrissy, face their worst nightmare. Their high school glee club has suddenly mutated into a vicious gang of psychopaths. With the clock ticking, Lauren and Chrissy have to fight off The Cretins and save their school at the same time. Actress Catherine Corcoran sat down with our man on the scene, Jorge Solis, to talk about her role as Lauren, working with Lloyd Kaufman, and her expectations with the movie’s upcoming premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.
Bloody-Disgusting: Tell me how you became involved in “Return to Nuke ‘Em High.”
Catherine Corcoran: Casting Networks. It’s a casting site that a lot of actors are part of it. It tells you postings to local castings. They did a post about Troma. I heard about Troma but didn’t know about the company. I did some research. Again, I was convinced that I was not their type and they were not going to hire me. The part I usually book are young, middle girls. Somehow it ended up working out.
BD: I understand you had to go through nine callbacks for your audition.
CC: Nine callbacks! Yeah! The first audition I booked myself, I was really nervous. I called, told them it was a family emergency, and didn’t show up. It’s so awful! So they rescheduled me and then I went this time. I had never navigated in Long Island City before and I got lost. I was about an hour late. I’m always a little late, but an hour late is a record. I was convinced I wasn’t going to get the part. I went in and did my thing. They seemed to like it enough. I ended up leaving and called my Mom. I told her, “I didn’t get the part. Maybe they’ll let me intern for them because they seemed kinda cool.” I ended up getting a callback and nine later, I got the part.
BD: Tell me about your role as Lauren.
CC: In the original, they have two protagonists, a jock and a cheerleader, Warren and Chrissy; typical B-movie style. We’ve modernized it a little bit. Because we’re in the 21st century, it’s now a lesbian couple, Chrissy and Lauren. Lauren comes to town and she is the new girl. She comes from a wealthy family. She comes in and shakes up Chrissy’s world a little bit. She ends up taking on Tromorganic Foodstuffs Conglomerate, who is the new villain in the film.
BD: Tell me about playing your scenes off of your co-star, Asta Paredes, whose role is Lauren’s lover, Chrissy.
CC: Asta’s the greatest! She’s awesome! Many times, we got the same callbacks. We became good friends right away. We actually kinda went through the process together. We just kinda went out on a limb, basically trusting each other, and started hanging out. I guess they saw the chemistry involved because they ended up casting both of us. It’s kinda fun to act with a girl who’s now my best friend, and also great to work with.
BD: Because the Troma films, such as Mother’s Day and Poultrygeist, are known for their trashiness, nudity, and low-budget, how did you prepare yourself for a role like this?
CC: Well, it was my first sex scene. I knew I had to prepare physically for that. I didn’t want to be on camera and not look my best. I’m already a health nut, so that worked out to my advantage.
Also, what was really cool about low-budget filmmaking is that we shot on the fly. Lloyd Kaufman is a big proponent on rehearsals ahead of time. We actually got to develop the script before shooting. It was nice to have a creative say in the writing process. A lot of the jokes, the little gags, developed through rehearsals. It’s probably the most creative I’ve ever gotten to be on a set. I actually really enjoyed it!
BD: Tell me about Lloyd Kaufman as a director.
CC: He is a fabulous director! He is really an actor’s director because he allows you to do the rehearsals. He allows you to excel and grow. He will say he actually doesn’t do anything but that is totally false. He leaves it up to the actors, which I think is great. It’s a really great style for the actors because everybody comes in with their own process, techniques, and ideas. We got very lucky we had a phenomenal cast who worked really well together. Lloyd was open to bouncing off ideas and playing with us.
In the shooting stage, everything was actually blocked out. Because this was the first film he shot on digital, everything went ahead on schedule for the most part. If we shot it on film, we’d have to get it on the first or second try. In digital, we have this room to do more. It actually worked to his and our advantage because the film is now in two parts, not just one. It was a cool experiment to go on a new frontier with him and also to work with someone who is so open-minded creatively.
BD: Tell me about the documentary, Occupy Cannes, which you participated in its promo video.
CC: We’re shooting it at the premiere of part one at the Cannes Film Festival. We will be attending, which we are very excited about. What’s going on with the Cannes Film Festival these days, what it wasn’t originally, it’s become a corporate haven where you need a lot of money to get there. You need a lot of money to show your film. It’s not so much an independent film festival anymore as it is a film festival now owned by huge companies. If you are a truly independent artist and trying to get your voice heard, you don’t have a shot at being heard at Cannes. We’re documenting our struggle at the Cannes Film Festival as a low-budget film company. We’re trying to see if we can get our voice heard, get some buyers out there, and some notoriety. It’s a stretch but we believe in what we did. It’s worth showing.
BD: What are your expectations with the audience when the film premieres at the Cannes Film Festival in May?
CC: I really have no idea! I haven’t seen it a finished cut of it. But I know I’m really proud of it. I know it had a few screenings, one in the School of Visual Arts in New York and the other at USC in California. I know it was received very well at both places. They specifically asked the cast and crew not to come; to not sway with the opinions. We got great reviews! The one I liked the best said it was the next “Superbad.” I don’t know if it’s that great, but I think it’s awesome somebody thinks that it is.
If you asked me a year ago, that I would be premiering my film at Cannes, I would have laughed in your face! I’m really excited about it! I’m sure the cast and crew are excited about it as well. It’s going to really great! I can’t tell you how blessed I feel it has this much of a following already.
BD: The “Return to Nuke ‘Em High” poster was created by Justin Osbourn, from Slasher Design. Tell me about seeing yourself on the poster.
CC: That was crazy! When the poster came out, that’s when it started to sink in. This is real! The poster is stunning! It reminds me of the “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi” poster. I think it’s so cool how it’s setup. It’s so cool to have Asta and I on the cover. I never would’ve have guessed we’d look like that.
I will say all the ladies got a very nice boob job on that poster! I’m pleased with that. I’m sure all the other girls on the poster are too. It’s a beautiful piece. He’s incredibly talented.
BD: What are you working on now?
CC: I am working for Troma. I have a couple other indie films, television series in the works. Nothing finalized yet. I can’t really say. I’ve been working with a great management team, who really understand where they see me going and where I want to go as an actress. A lot of my fondest memories is still with this film, which again I’m still proud of. I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen with it.
Interview by – Jorge Solis
Interviews
The Work ‘Grind’ Is Hell, So Brea Grant & Ed Dougherty Made a Horror Anthology About It [CFF 2026 Interview]
Genre fans rejoice! Chattanooga Film Festival is back for its 13th year in 2026 with a killer lineup and once again offering audiences both in-person and virtual options. After having its World Premiere at SXSW this spring, the horror comedy anthology Grind is playing CFF 2026 opening weekend.
From a screenplay by Brea Grant (Torn Hearts, 12 Hour Shift) and Ed Dougherty (MLM) and segments directed by Grant, Dougherty, and Chelsea Stardust (Satanic Panic), Grind features four interwoven stories that parody the gig economy, hustle culture, and the evils of late-stage capitalism.
The anthology follows weary everyday people juggling side hustles just to survive, while going up against greedy oligarchs, and cleverly uses dark humor and bloody practical effects to portray a world much like our current economic nightmare.
Bloody Disgusting had the pleasure of chatting with Brea Grant and Ed Dougherty about the socioeconomic commentary in Grind, casting Barbara Crampton as a villain, and DIY filmmaking.
Bloody Disgusting: Every segment in this anthology feels relatable because people are actually struggling to survive in the gig economy right now. How did the two of you come up with the idea of creating Grind?
Brea Grant: Like you said, we were trying to come up with a cool idea that seemed relevant right now. The thing that everyone we know is talking about is the economy, the lack of work, and the nightmare hellscape that is late-stage capitalism. It felt like the right time to write something that really featured that as the main horror. As the main thing that people were scared of, this world sort of came to us over the course of a couple of years.
Ed Dougherty: We wanted to make a hit film, and we said, “Let’s make a horror anthology, that’s the most marketable thing there is.” [laughs]
BG: [laughs] Definitely not!
BD: I love anthologies!
ED: We do, too. We feel like it’s kind of an undervalued form of horror film, but it’s a hard sell.
BG: People told us not to make it. They said, “Don’t make an anthology. It’s too hard to sell.” But we did it anyway.
BD: I guess I’m just one of those weirdos who likes anthologies and watches them all.
ED: We believe that there are a lot of weirdos like you out there. It seems like every good horror anthology has a long life, but it’s just getting over the initial hump that’s difficult.
BD: Chelsea Stardust directed some of the segments with the two of you and serves as a producer. How did she first get involved with this project?
BG: The project has a long history. We shot the first segment, which is about multi-level marketing, a couple of years ago. We had decided we wanted to make a full anthology, but it took us about a year after shooting that initial segment to shoot the rest of the movie. When we did that, we knew we needed to bring on a producer aside from Ed and me, since we were directing the bulk of the movie, so that was how she came on board. I’ve been friends with her for a long time, and the one thing I know about her as a friend is that she is very organized, so it felt like a good fit. I just called her one day and said, “Would you want to produce these three segments that we have left to shoot of Grind?” and she came on board.
BD: There are some fun cameos in Grind, but we have to talk about Barbara Crampton. She’s so good as a villainess. Why did you want her for this role, and what was it like working with her on this film?
BG: She’s in her villain era, which is so fun. [laughs] Obviously, we’re huge Barbara Crampton fans, and when we were making MLM, it was a smaller part of the movie that we knew we needed to call on people who could do a good job but were also friendly to us [laughs]. I’m friends with Barbara Crampton, and we’ve done three movies together before this. So, it felt like someone within our reach, but could also really draw a horror crowd. She has a huge fanbase, and she’s also super supportive of all the projects that she’s been in, so that was also really exciting. She’s a great actress, and she’s super funny. I think a lot of these horror actresses, especially those who came up in the eighties and nineties, weren’t given an opportunity to be funny. I think she was ready to jump on an opportunity that was different than what she was used to; it’s not running around and screaming. She is a cult leader, and she is quite funny in it. She just takes the comedy so well and seriously, and she does such an amazing job with it. She has a scene across from Rob Huebel, who is obviously a comedy master, and I feel like the two of them together were hilarious. It’s been fun to watch Barbara go from these iconic roles to a different kind of role at this point in her career. We’re super happy to be a part of that.
ED: And she loves the movie and has been so supportive. Every time she posts about it, I’m like, “I can’t believe this. This is amazing.”
BD: This is an accurate parody of the current socioeconomic situation in this country, as well as our obsession with online culture. It repeatedly asks the question, “What are you willing to do to make money,” in a world with wealth inequality and evil oligarchs. It’s fun, and it’s a horror movie, but it’s thought-provoking. What do you hope audiences take away from Grind, besides having a good time?
ED: I read every review and every Letterboxd review; Brea does not. So, I’ve seen it all. I’ve seen some reviews that say, “Good movie but doesn’t propose a solution.” I think we do propose a solution, which is that the power of unions and organizing is the only way that we will be able to fight back against oligarchs. I do think that is the message of the film. Organizing is the only way to defeat these villains. I do think we have a lot to say in the film. I’d want someone to say, “Man, I’ve never seen a horror anthology that had a political message before.” [laughs]
BG: I think the other thing is that what is currently happening is that we live in a world in which people kind of feel alone in this. They’re like, “Well, I’m doing bad, “or “I’m having trouble paying my rent.” We wanted to hang a lantern on the fact that this is happening to everyone, that wealth disparity is at an all-time high. We’re pointing out to people that you aren’t in this alone; you’re not the only person doing side hustles. Every filmmaker friend I have is working a side job of some sort at this point, and that is just in Los Angeles. Outside of this city, I think things are more dire. I think it was about infusing some politics into something that could make people realize that they aren’t alone and that there are ways of fighting back and fighting the system that has been set up against them.
ED: I think the tone of the movie, which is darkly comedic, also really matches the tone of life right now. Everything seems almost at a parody level as far as the disconnect between oligarchs and trying to make a living and reality. The absurdist nature of the film kind of captures the real tone of life.
BD: There are some cool creature effects and makeup effects in this movie. Can you talk a little bit about the practical effects and makeup?
ED: I think especially because of the message of the film, which is pushing back against the current hellscape we’re in, we wanted to use as many practical effects as possible. We used matte paintings, miniatures, and practical creature effects. I’m always afraid of the matte painting because we used the old school matte painter, but they do look a little AI. I heard someone make a noise behind me during one of the shots, and I was like, “I hope that noise wasn’t them using AI because that’s a matte painting.” [laughs] There’s also the fact that it’s pretty DIY. It’s a film that we financed ourselves and shot in our houses as much as possible. We wanted the whole thing to feel handmade and very tactile.
BG: We’re old school horror fans, so we love seeing practical effects. The practical stuff is really fun for us. It’s the stuff that we think is actually cool. [laughs] So, practical stuff made the most sense for us. We both grew up in the punk scene in the nineties, and I think it just kind of comes naturally to us to try to do things ourselves. And we both work on projects for big companies, with smaller companies, but always for other people, so trying to do something ourselves to see what that felt like was also part of the experiment of Grind.
ED: This was our chance to do everything we wanted our way.
Grind screens at the Chattanooga Film Festival on June 20.
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