Horror film conventions are a great place to meet people in the movie industry. You can rub elbows with the writers, directors, producers and actors whose films have given us fans both, intoxicating highs and plummeting lows. These events are usually a flurry of handshakes, flashing cameras and unabashed adulation. Autograph hounds entice celebrities to sign memorabilia, ranging from their favorite movie still to a particularly cherished toy tie- in. The celebs themselves run the gamut from mainstream stars to actors and actresses just getting a foothold in the industry. And let us not forget the motley assortment of wannabees, all hoping to ditch their menial dead end Mcjobs in exchange for fame and fortune. Victoria Sanchez belongs in the category of an actress well known in the Canadian film and television industry, but who is totally unknown to America audiences. Hopefully, with the theatrical release of ETERNAL, in which she plays the accomplice of a vampire (perhaps Countess Bathory incarnate?), this situation will be quickly remedied. Ms Sanchez was born and raised in The Canary Islands until the age of nine when her family migrated northward to Canada. Sanchez knew that she wanted to be an actress since the age of seven and, while in Canada, studied theatre. In 1996, she honed her acting chops by performing in kids’ television shows broadcast solely in that region. Ms. Sanchez sat down with me during the MonsterMania4 conclave to talk with me about her life, career and ETERNAL...

Victoria, since you’re not yet a celebrity–at least among U.S. audiences–could you identify some of your past work?

    I started with kids’ TV shows, many that you won’t know because they’re Canadian, French and English. But I’ve done things like STUDENT BODIES and TALES OF THE NEVERENDING STORY, the latter adapted from the children’s novel and the spin-off film, THE NEVERENDING STORY.

I never knew that film was adapted into a television show!

    It was made into a TV show in Canada. I don’t think it came out in America, but it did come out on an international scale. You can check it out on the internet. I did a lot of TV films that you would not normally get here. I did a film called WOLF GIRL that came out here three years ago. That was an interesting movie. I play a girl who has a condition called hypertrichosis, she was covered with hair everywhere. Four to nine hours of special effects makeup everyday. I worked about twenty hours a day on that one in Rumania.

Did the makeup prove to be uncomfortable?

    Yes. It was crazy. One of the most challenging roles I ever had to do. But I got to work with great people like Tim Curry, Grace Jones and Darlene Cates from WHAT’S EATING GILBERT GRAPE–she played Johnny Depp’s mother. What a great woman. She is an angel and I’ll never forget her. Beautiful soul. I’ve had the opportunity to work with lots of interesting people.

Have you made any films in the States?

    Not much in the States because I still don’t even have my working papers. Once I get that, then I’ll be able to work a lot more.

Tell us about ETERNAL...

    It’s based on true events. It’s specifically based on the life of Countess Erszebet Bathory who lived in the late 1500s and killed over 650 young women to bathe in their blood. She believed that by drinking their blood, and bathing in it, her beauty and youth would be preserved. So she’s a little bit sadistic. She has some issues and she is the biggest serial killer of all time. Not a lot of people know that. People talk about vampirism as coming from Vlad The Impaler and, actually, she’s the real root of vampirism. She was the one who killed and tortured so many young women...virgins, particularly, in very horrible ways and drank blood. She was the one. Vlad never drank blood.

Do you play the Countess in the film?

    No, I’m her sidekick...her helper, her servant, her best friend and her confidante, altogether. I play this young, confused orphan who lives with her, who moves into her mansion and I help lure the victims to her via the internet.

Do you perform any nude scenes in the film?

    Nope. I don’t in this one.

Let me ask you, as an actress, have you ever done or would you consider doing a nude scene?

    Yes...I have, actually. Very little and it was tastefully done. But I have nothing against nudity as long as it’s needed for the film and it’s part of the film. I do have something against just gratuitously showing everything for nothing. When it’s not needed, then I try not to do it.

Does ETERNAL qualify as your first horror film?

    No. In the NEVERENDING STORY television show, I played The Empress of Darkness. I played Medusa in another kids’ film with snakes coming out of my head. And then, in WOLF GIRL, my character goes from being very kind to becoming a monster. So I‘ve done these kinds of roles and I grew up the biggest fan of horror movies. I loved having my girlfriends over every Friday, renting two horror movies, eating pizza and having crazy sleep overs. I’m a big fan of horror movies.

What is your favorite horror movie?

    THE SHINING (1980) because it’s the only movie that has come close to giving me the creeps. I don’t get scared easily, you know. I really don’t. I’ve seen so many horror movies and it’s very rare that anything really scares me. There’s a couple of Japanese horror movies that have real great elements, creepy elements that really freak me out. Do you know the Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal?

No, I‘m afraid I’ve never heard of it.

    Okay, you gotta go to that. It’s basically gore movies, horror movies, Japanese movies, foreign films, weird films, Japanese animation–it’s a great festival. I’m always there and I go see as many films as I can.

Do you think you’ll ever want to try your hand at other aspects of the industry such as writing or producing?

    Well, I’ve just adapted Wait Till Helen Comes, a children’s ghost story by Mary Downing Hahn, into a screenplay and I’m looking to produce and direct that film in the coming year...or at least get into post-production in a year.

Are there any future projects that you’d like to tell us about?

    Yes. I’m shooting a movie. I’m the lead in a film called WHITE SILHOUETTE. And, again, it’s a TV movie. But I think that once ETERNAL gives me enough exposure, out in the States, you’ll be seeing a lot more of me.

Can you tell us what WHITE SILHOUETTE is about?

    It’s a murder mystery. I play an Italian cop. Basically, I don’t know how to explain it really, but murders happen and I just have to try to figure out that my best friend, who’s also a cop, is involved with these murders and I’m trying to help him solve it.

Do you personally feel that your role in ETERNAL is your best work to date?

    I’m very proud of it and I loved doing it. I don’t know if I can say it’s my best work yet because WOLF GIRL was the most challenging thing I ever had to do–just because it was a really, really hardcore kind of character, very intense and the makeup was extremely difficult.

Would you consider doing other film that requires extensive makeup?

    Yeah, I’ve done it a lot.

So you’re not shy about doing that?

    No, I’m not. I’m proud to say I’m a tough girl (laughs).

One last question: where do you see yourself in ten years, personally or professionally?

    Where do I see myself in ten years? With adopted children (laughs). Just in a comfortable place in my life. I’ll be happy choosing scripts, making movies not just as an actress but as a producer and as a director. And helping people. Doing humanitarian work.

What would be the allure for you to go behind the camera?

    Well, I grew up with movies and I’ve been surrounded by that all my life. And there’s all this passion about movies. Not just being in them, but the whole thing about them. My brother [Federico Sanchez, ETERNAL’s co-writer/co-director/co-producer] is in the movie business. My dad is a documentary film director. My mother’s a ballerina. So we’re very into the arts. I just want to explore all of it.