Horror with a Message: an Interview with Monica Garcia Bradley

Monica Garcia Bradley is a chaotic force to be reckoned with in Colton David Coate and Micah Coate’s bloody, college horror/thriller Guys at Parties Like It (2024). Released by Terror Films, the film centers around a brutal hazing ritual involving young fraternity pledges that prey on intoxicated female students in order to lose their virginity. They quickly discover getting lucky isn’t so easy.

Nicole de Meneses: What attracted you to the role of Mary in the film and when did you come on board as a producer?

Monica Garcia Bradley: I didn’t come on board as a producer in the beginning. I started off just being in the film. I really took on the responsibility of being the lead in the film to keep morale up on set and to make sure safety precautions were being addressed and to make sure we were aligning our set in parallel with the message that we were trying to deliver in the film. After the filming process, A.J. Mattioli reached out and asked if I wanted to come on as a producer and add my input and point of view throughout the post-production process. I jumped at the opportunity. I had never been a part of the post-production process on a big feature like this. I remember with each task that A.J. would send me, I would get a little panic attack and think “Do I know how to do this?” “Am I qualified to do this?” “Why is he asking me?” As soon as I started working on it, I realized, “Oh I do know this.” “I can contribute. “”I do have the experience and the wherewithal to see this task through.“ The whole experience has been a really interesting journey of surprises for both myself and, I think, for A.J. too. Just seeing what I was able to accomplish throughout the process and surprising myself with my own skills has been really rewarding.

Nicole de Meneses: Can you give me an example of a task you contributed to the editing process where you brought your insight to the film?

Monica Garcia Bradley: Sound, A.J. would send me the film and say, “We need sound notes.” As soon as I started watching, I knew I could give notes. “We can fix that, and this needs to come out and this needs to represent this.” I was able to give some really good insight, and A.J. took all my notes. I don’t think there was a single note that I gave that he didn’t implement. It was very empowering. Feeling heard and validated throughout the entire process. A.J. is so great in letting every artist in each department do their thing and not micromanaging anyone. He’s really big on letting the artist flourish in their own way. I’ve learned a lot from working with him on Killer Unicorn (2018) and now from Guys at Parties Like It (2024). I’m really grateful for that relationship.

Nicole de Meneses: Mary is the lead character in the film. The audience is following her journey, and she comes up against several obstacles. What was your test reading like to see if you could embody this character?

Monica Garcia Bradley: It was a hard audition process. One of the scenes they had me do was the ending, and it’s a very dramatic scene. So much has happened in the film to lead to this moment. Trying to embody all of that in my bedroom with a gray wall behind me and my iPhone was quite the challenge. It was difficult,but it was also a big insight into what to expect if I booked the role. The mental gymnastics to tackle such dark topics and to keep my own mental health in check. A film like this is so rooted in realism that you can’t help but be affected by it and that can affect everyone around you.

Nicole de Meneses: The film deals with strong themes like toxic masculinity and rape culture in a fraternity setting. Were there any intimacy coordinators on set to help you and the rest of the cast with the difficult subject matter in the film?

Monica Garcia Bradley: Unfortunately, when we made this film, Intimacy coordinators were just starting to come about. I don’t think I even knew what an intimacy coordinator was at that time. Had I known, we definitely would have pushed for one. A.J. would have as well. But at the time, that wasn’t really a thing. But there was such an open line of communication. Anthony Notarile is the other lead in the film. We drove up to the set together, and it was a two-hour drive. We had just met and the whole drive we talked boundaries, what we were comfortable with and what we were not comfortable with. All the things an intimacy coordinator would do. We talked about safe words and how we wanted to handle things once we were done with a scene. We really went over all the details. If we wanted to be alone or if we wanted to check in with each other. I felt so safe with him. I was going to be working with him for the next four weeks, so I wanted to make sure that I was comfortable in those situations. I remember feeling so taken care of, and we were able to choreograph everything a day before. Any day we had one of those really difficult tough scenes, we choreographed it the day before and made sure both parties were comfortable and we fleshed everything out. Even though we didn’t have an intimacy coordinator, it was 100% run like we did, and I think that speaks a lot to the production.

Nicole de Meneses: That’s great that you had so much open communication with the other actors. There is a lot of physicality and stunt work in the film. You’re trying to survive a killer. There’s more going on than just sexuality. There are some very complicated physical scenes where there is a lot of movement and action, so that open communication really comes through in trusting your scene partner. How long was the production of the film?

Monica Garcia Bradley: This was one of the longer stints in trying to get a film out that I’ve experienced. I don’t think a lot of people understand what goes into putting on a monster of a production like this. When you don’t necessarily have celebrities in the film and you don’t have huge names attached, you have to work even harder to get a film off the ground. I have so much respect for indie producers, indie writers, directors. If you are able to get these films off the ground, I know from my own experience that you put blood, sweat, and tears in there to get them made. Respect goes out to all the indie filmmakers specifically.

Nicole de Meneses: Was the film shot over a couple of months?

Monica Garcia Bradley: Yes, we shot the film over a couple of months. We had two or three weeks at one location and then we went home for a week, and then we came back for another couple weeks to finish it out.

Nicole de Meneses: That’s great. I’m sure you were telling everyone, “Don’t cut your hair . . . Keep the beard.” Right?

Monica Garcia Bradley: Exactly, trying to make our looks stay the same. Absolutely.

Nicole de Meneses: I think the film succeeds in its simplicity. It’s one night, it’s one location. The story has a sense of urgency and danger. The cinematography was very effective in setting a terrifying mood of things to come. Credit to the production designer and cinematographer for giving you and the other performers that space to play in.

Monica Garcia Bradley: I would love to elaborate on that as well. Cory Green, our DP, is a wizard with the cameraI also worked with him on Killer Unicorn. The way that he would set up a shot with this beautiful set. I would see an empty room and come back an hour later to see this amazing set that had all this foreshadowing involved and these little nuggets of easter eggs of all these things that would come into play later. Watching him use the set and the costumes as part of that storytelling to help the audience along. I adore Cory. I would ask him a lot of questions, and he got to the point where he started explaining the shots to me as he was setting it up. It was very educational. I really appreciated that.

Nicole de Meneses: The film does tackle difficult subject matter while subverting traditional horror tropes. What do you hope the audience takes away from seeing the film?

Monica Garcia Bradley: There’s a lot to walk away from this film thinking about it. I want people to walk away with reframing the narrative around victim blaming in these situations. One of the things that drew me to the script was how unlikable these characters are and how unlikable Mary is. She doesn’t have a great reputation. She’s not the friendliest. She has some enemies. Does she then deserve to be treated poorly? Does she deserve to have her autonomy threatened in that way? Is it justified? So much of that narrative around victim blaming has to do with that. When abuse happens the immediate follow up question is “What were you wearing?” “What were you doing?”

“You must have been doing something to make them think that they could do that to you.“ No, absolutely not. That is my favorite part about this film is that we go deep into that. I wanted to make Mary the most unlikable person on the planet because I think that really fuels the fire of the message behind the film.

Nicole de meneses: The film does challenge the audience to look past Mary’s flaws as a character. The film also keeps the audience engaged in the survival elements that Mary is in a terrifying situation. The audience is forced to think about what they would do in the same scenario.

Nicole de Meneses: The film has several creative kills in it. Do you have a favorite?

Monica Garcia Bradley: I love all the kills in this movie. They are executed so artistically and beautifully by all the departments. I love the ending death because it’s very unexpected and, I think, justified. I think the audiences are really going to like that one. I remember being really excited when I saw the final cut and seeing how it looked and feeling very satisfied.

Nicole de Meneses: As a performer that has a background in theater and dance, is there a dream role that you haven’t had an opportunity to do yet?

Monica Garcia Bradley: I have so many theater roles that I would love to play. Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd. I’d love to play Anita in West Side Story, Nancy in Oliver Twist, and I think I was born to play Kate Monster in Avenue Q . I’m really interested in Six The Musical. I think there are a few roles in there that I would love to play. As far as TV and film, I have always joked that I don’t think the role exists yet. I have a lot of ideas of what that perfect role is going to be, and it will be a perfect mix of quirkiness, intelligence, intuitiveness, and something that will capture the hearts of audiences. I’m excited to see that one come about one day.

Nicole de Meneses: Any advice for performers that want to produce their own work? To have more control to collaborate with other creatives?

Monica Garcia Bradley: Research as much as you can. There is so much information out there. There are so many great podcasts that you can listen to of filmmakers giving great advice. Finding your tribe of people that are as passionate as you are and that you really vibe with and work well with on a creative level. That’s where the magic comes from. The beautiful collaborative experiences. Producing is a world of problem solving. It’s solving problems one after another. It’s not fantasy or easy. There is a lot to it. Make sure you’re really passionateabout your projects and that the world needs to see it. That will really help fuel the fire and get it to the finish line.

Nicole de Meneses: What projects are coming up next that people can be on the lookout for?

Monica Garcia Bradley: I’m looking into doing some more comedy and horror next year. I have a couple of things that I’m writing that I’m very excited about. I have another film coming out later this year called Abilene. We filmed it during the pandemic. It’s a psycho thriller about the complexities of marriage and mental health. I’m so excited for people to see it.