a chinwag with aisha dee, star of the new horror-comedy, ‘sissy’

Cecilia is an influencer and ‘mental health advocate’ who, despite having hundreds of thousands of followers on social media, is kinda lonely. When she bumps into her ex-best friend, Emma, Cecilia is invited along to a hen’s trip at a remote cabin in the mountains. Sounds fun, right?

We recently caught up with Aisha Dee (who you might recognise from The Bold Type), to chat about her role as Cecilia in Sissy – Australia's latest horror-comedy flick that's packed with blood, guts and positive affirmations. 

Who do you relate to the most in Sissy? Definitely Cecilia. The first time I read the script, I felt like she was my best friend or my little sister, or maybe a part of myself. I felt a lot of empathy for her and what she was feeling and experiencing. When she says, “I'm a good person,” I really believe it.

What's it like to act in a film that has gore, comedy and camp all in one? It’s all of the things that I love in one fucked up little movie. Realism is great, but when you add a satirical lens to it, you can have so much more fun. Even as a viewer, I have a better time watching things that don't take themselves completely seriously. What I love about Sissy is that it has a really strong female gaze, and that's not always true for films in the horror genre.

What's your favourite horror movie? I love Carrie (which was a reference for our directors, Hannah and Kane, in putting Sissy together). I love Jennifer's Body. I love Get Out. I love horror as a genre, but that's something that came later in life. I did a horror miniseries a few years ago called Channel Zero and the creator of that really encouraged me to watch more horror. I think seeing his love for it made me appreciate the genre a lot more than I used to.

Who do you think the villain of the movie is? I've talked a lot with the directors and writers about this, and I think we all agree that the true villain of the movie is Emma, because she's the one who puts everyone in this environment where they were doomed to fail.

What was your favourite scene to shoot? All of the scenes at the engagement party, where they go to a karaoke club. It was one of the few moments in the film where I got to be happy and in a big group of people. We started filming at the end of 2020, so being in a karaoke club with a bunch of extras – the biggest group of people I had seen in almost a year – was thrilling.

What was it like to go from isolation to a karaoke situation? To get into Australia to film the movie, I had to do the two-week quarantine, and I just stared at the same four walls for two weeks. That kind of became an unintentional way to prepare for the movie, because Cecilia herself is so socially isolated. I think it just gave me more empathy for her in what she was experiencing; being thrust into an extremely social environment and how overwhelming that would feel.

How else did you prepare for the movie? This is gonna sound a bit hippy-dippy, but I really like to write down the dreams that I'm having around the time of filming. I also read the script a lot and see what feelings come up, and listen to a lot of music. I sent Hannah and Kane a bunch of videos as Cecilia – kind of like a daily blog of what I was doing in quarantine. It was silly, but it passed the time.

Was that to practice for the social media side of the film? I guess so. But it was more that I was just bored out of my brains. So, I was like, “I'm gonna send you guys videos with meditations and I don't really know what I'm doing.”

Why did you choose the acting path? To be completely honest, I really loved Sesame Street growing up. I have a really distinct memory of being obsessed with it, and asking my mum where Sesame Street was. She told me it was in New York, so I said, “How do those kids get to meet Big Bird?” She said, “Oh, they're actors.” And I remember in that moment, just deciding in a very presumptuous way, “Alright, I guess I’m going to be an actor and go to New York.” Completely delusional, but I guess delusion is a gift sometimes.

Have you visited Sesame Street? I haven't yet and it's my deepest shame. One day. I'm inching closer there, and I figure if I tell enough people, eventually someone will be like, “Well, you know, Elmo is a family friend. We'll invite you over.” I’m gonna make it there somehow.

How did you feel about Sissy’s ending? I've heard people say that, to them, the film was about watching this person unravel and seeing them become unhinged. But I've always seen it as Cecilia's story about her stepping into her power, finding her voice and becoming herself. I'm sure some people will disagree with me, but I really believe that's how she sees it. By the end of the film, she's really found herself and her voice.

Sissy will be in cinemas from November 3rd, with Halloween sneak previews from October 27th.