Teen scream queen
COULD Joey Leong be the next queen of horror?
At first glance, the sweet and petite girl doesn’t look that scary. However, looks can be deceiving. After all, the 20-year-old’s debut role in the Singaporean horror film Blood Ties earned her a Best Actress nomination at the 2009 Asian Festival of First Films. She then starred in 2012’s Twisted Love, and next week, she will be starring in yet another horror movie, The Second Coming.
Leong plays Lucy, who starts to experience hauntings on the cusp of her 14th birthday. This forces her entire family to confront their past, which eventually leads to the unveiling of some strange truths. TVB veterans Maggie Siu and Kenny Wong play Lucy’s parents in the movie.
“This story is all about the family, mostly between me and my parents but the key in portraying this role was that I wasn’t possessed so I have to always think that it is still me and not someone else,” said the HELP University Business undergraduate.
Leong, who was hand-picked by Hong Kong film producer Lee Lieh for the role, spent close to 90 days filming the movie in Hong Kong in late 2012.
“I got the opportunity to work with crew members from Hong Kong and Singapore and I enjoyed it a lot because they work very professionally,” said Leong. “Director Herman (Yau) may be the director, but he is also an actor. It was enjoyable working with everyone because they push me to be better and motivated me a lot. Also, the director gave me the space to do what I want and he only guided me a little.”
Having been in three different horror films, one would have assumed it’s becoming a child’s play for Leong, but according to her, this was her most challenging role so far.
“It was hard to keep up with the flow of the movie because the character changed differently for every set,” said Leong. “From a cheerful girl in the beginning, I was close to being crazy at the end.”
She added that with this film being available in 3D, she had to film a scene a few times; which was also a first for her.
Still based in Malaysia, Leong has been exposed to the stage since she was young, participating in various singing competitions and starting her acting career in local drama series at age 10.
She may have been juggling work and studies ever since she could remember, but Leong still manages to score good grades in school.
“It’s hard to balance both at the same time. Apart from good time management, I love what I do a lot, and that’s how I could still keep up with both my career and college,” said Leong.
The Second Coming opens in cinemas nationwide today.