Dissecting Ashley Greene!

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

ASHLEY GREENE!

Not that we tend to bask in the gloomy TWILIGHT of gormless and soapy horror escapades around here, but good goddamn if one Ashley Greene isn't a bright shiny star. I love this chick. Wish we saw more of her. Since making her small-screen debut on the TV series Crossing Jordan in 2006, the gorgeous Jacksonville native has made quite the mark in the horror genre, appearing in such flicks as OTIS, SUMMER'S MOON, THE APPARITION, and of course, the wildly popular if insipid TWILIGHT saga as sister Alice Cullen. But enough playing second fiddle to Bella and her brainless boyfriends, it's high time Ms. Greene gets her own thorough examination. You down with that?! How could you not be?!

After-all, with a trio of twisted genre thrillers heading down the pike – namely – Greener pastures are indeed ahead for Ashley in 2015 and beyond. Wait no more folks…let us Dissect the budding genre career of one Ashley Greene!

BEST WORK

Get OTIS Here

For my money, the best horror flick Greene has appeared in so far is OTIS, while her most substantial performance in a horror flick is in SUMMER'S MOON. Let's discuss…

OTIS is one of the more entertaining horror comedies to come out in the last decade or so. It stars Daniel Stern, Illeana Douglas, Riley Johnson, Kevin Pollak and others, and features a small turn from Greene as an abused cheerleader named Kim #4. Go check out the flick if you've not already, it's a fun little spin on the vengeful parents and botched hostage subgenres. There's a quirky sense of humor mixed with unrelenting bloodshed that's bound to sate both indie and mainstream crowds. Find it!

Get SUMMER'S MOON Here

As for SUMMER'S MOON (aka SUMMER'S BLOOD), it's not a great movie, but it does feature a compelling turn from Ashley as the title character, Summer Matthews. Green plays an embattled teen looking to mend fences with the father she never knew, and in so doing, finds herself in a strange town where she soon falls into the web of a vicious family of serial killers. Some solid support from Peter Mooney, Barbara Niven and Stephen McHattie, but really, it's Greene's show. She pretty much dominates every frame of the film, and while the material may be below the standard in certain parts, there is a raw vulnerability that is easy to sense when Greene's on the screen. It's no stretch to think it's this movie, along with the success of TWILIGHT, that made producers and directors entrust Ashley with leading role material moving forward. Joe Dante certainly did!

WORST WORK

Get THE APPARITION Here

As tempting as it is to codify the abominable TWILIGHT kiddy-franchise as Greene's worst work, we've opted to refrain from such. Because, frankly, to write about TWILIGHT is to publicize it, and to publicize it is to empower it. And we all know there is absolutely nothing powerful about a horde of impotent, pallid, glittery, lachrymose vampire pussies! So, on we move…

And this one personally smarts a bit. Anyone recall the 2012 horror picture THE APPARITION? Yeah, didn't think so. Hell, I wouldn't have either if I weren't personally tasked with visiting the set during filming in Southern California. In fact, I had the good fortune of actually interviewing the lovely Ms. Greene on the set of THE APPARITION, doing so around midnight after the actress was done filming for the night. And you know what, she couldn't have been sweeter, articulate, professional and, even sans a stitch of makeup, utterly gorgeous. Impressive all around. So much so that I really thought the movie would be far better than it proved to be. Through no fault of her own however, the flick proved about as vapid as its title.

If you didn't see it (good for you), THE APPARITION centers on a young couple whose new suburban abode proves haunted. But POLTERGEIST this ain't, and instead features a whole lot of nothing. Ambient jump scares, a bunch of tiptoeing around the house and rounding dark corners, weird noises coming from nowhere…that kind of thing. Now to be fair, Greene acquits herself just fine given the thinly drawn character she's tasked with portraying. But still, as one of her first starring roles in a horror flick, combined with the promise of what I personally saw filmed on set one night, THE APPARITION can hardly be seen as anything other than a major disappointment.

TRADEMARKS

Color me shallow, I can take it, but in our minds Ashley Greene's supermodel looks have to be her trademark at this point in her career. Sure, her ability to navigate in and out of different types of films – big, small, drama, genre, etc. – is also becoming a bankable trend – but come on, look at her! Having taking modeling classes as a wee lass, it's been reported that the only real reason Ash didn't pursue a career in that field is due to her height. As you know, models are giant human beings, and Greene's stature is that of a normal female. Nothing wrong with that. In fact, that didn't stop Greene from becoming the face of both StopStaring.com and Mark. Cosmetics. Talk about an unstoppable force!

HIDDEN GEM

KRISTY is a movie that has yet to be released in the U.S., which we're arguing makes it the de facto hidden jewel tucked in Greene's crown. The flick premiered on DVD in Germany last August, and most recently screened in the Philippines in October. It's a shame this sucker hasn't yet locked a legit U.S. release, as it's largely culled positive word of mouth among most horror critics.

Directed by Oliver Blackburn (DONKEY PUNCH), from a script by Anthony Jaswinski (VANISHING ON 7TH STREET), KRISTY goes like this:

The college girl Justine works hard to support the life at the Verse College, where she studies. In the Thanksgiving, her boyfriend Aaron travels to the house of his family and Justine stays alone in the Campus with her roommate Nicole. Out of the blue, the father of Nicole invites the family to travel to Aspen and she leaves her beamer with Justine that stays alone with the security guards Wayne, Dave and Scott. One night, Justine drives the beamer to a convenience store to buy supplies and she meets the stranger Violet that threatens her. She returns to the Campus and soon Justine is hunted down by Violet and three hoodlums from a cult. Along the night, Justine has to fight to survive.

The equally sexy Haley Bennett co-stars with Green, as does Lucas Till, James Ransone, David Jensen, Chris Coy, Mike Seal, Lucius Falick and Erica Ash. What's cool here is how Greene continues to embrace villainous roles and play the fu*k out of them. She plays Violet in this flick, an evilly vengeful stranger out for blood when Bennett's character steps on her toes. Goddamn this movie needs to be released already!

NEXT PROJECTS

Thankfully for us, even though Ms. Green continues to branch out in every genre direction, the lovely lass has a pair of genuinely intriguing horror flicks due later this year. And guess what? Her first date is with the great Joe Dante in his long awaited return to feature filmmaking after a half-decade absence. That's right y'all, from THE HOLE to BURYING THE EX! Based on the Alan Trezza short film of the same name from 2008, BURYING THE EX adheres to the following cemetery plot:

When Max (Yelchin) learns that his new live-in girlfriend, Evelyn (Greene) is controlling and manipulative, he is afraid to end the relationship. However, fate occurs and Evelyn is killed in a freak accident. A couple months have passed and Max meets his dream girl, Olivia (Daddario). The new romance gets tricky when Evelyn comes back from the grave and insists on continuing their once relationship by all means.

Oh f*ck yeah! Not only does Dante return to the well toiled horror-comedy ground, Greene gets to flex her muscle as both a comedienne as well as a nasty cannibalistic villain. She'll go from drop dead gorgeous to drop dead gorging, from fresh-faced nubile to flesh-rotting baddie. Every color on display. Gotta love it! Also falling under the thriller category for Greene is a picture called URGE, currently in post. Pierce Brosnan, Alexis Knapp, Justin Chatwin, Danny Masterson, James DeBello and Nick Thune also star in the Aaron Kaufmann flick, scripted by Jerry Stahl (PERMANENT MIDNIGHT). Here's the scope:

A group of friends on holiday on an island experiment a new designer drug that makes them lose their ability to control their urges.

Could go anywhere with that setup, and that pedigree of cast and crew looks like it will. Can't fight the URGE!

OVERALL

What can we say, we're kinda crushing on Ashley Greene and her continued genre run. Of her 30 screen credits to date, about half of those are firmly steeped in the horror/thriller realm. Aside from her undeniable beauty, she continues to impress as an actor in big and small movies alike. Releases such as OTIS, SUMMER'S MOON, THE APPARITION, the entire 5-film TWILIGHT SAGA, and now soon to be KRISTY, BURYING THE EX and URGE…whether starring or supporting, we're blessedly looking at one verdant shade of Greene!