ANDRA NECHITA TALKS NEW HORROR FILM BONE LAKE, ON-SET CHEMISTRY & FANGIRLING OVER "THE VAMPIRE DIARIES"

By Andres Fabris

"It's a dance," Nechita says of the film's demanding choreography. "I'd be in my hotel room on my days off, faking the moves to get them right. But then we'd show up on set and still end up laughing through it."

- Andra Nechita

WOOL DRESS ZADIG & VOLTAIRE

When she first read the script, Nechita auditioned for Sage, the other female lead. However, the Romanian-born actress couldn’t shake her fascination with Cin. “She was so unlike me, so scary to play,” she recalls. “The thought of even stepping into her shoes felt insane, but I felt a pull towards her.” Within days, the production asked her to tape for Cin instead. “A week later, I was cast, and two days after that, I was on a plane to Georgia. It all happened so fast.”

“I think it’s a great date movie.”

That’s how actress Andra Nechita sums up Bone Lake–the bloody, erotic psychological thriller in theaters now. After over a decade of credits ranging from Bad Teacher to HBO’s The Sex Lives of College Girls, Nechita is finally stepping into the spotlight with her first leading role as Cin–a character she admits was “so unlike me, so scary to play… but that’s exactly why I wanted to do it.”

Directed by Mercedes Bryce Morgan, Bone Lake follows two couples who find themselves accidentally double-booked at a remote vacation home, only for the weekend to unravel into a twisted game of deceit, seduction, and psychological manipulation. Cin (Nechita) and Will (Alex Roe) may be the more mischievous siren-like couple, but Diego (Marco Pigossi) and Sage (Maddie Hasson) also have secrets of their own. Beneath its surface level chaos, Nechita says the story reveals something far more human. “On the surface, it’s about lies and games,” she explains, “but underneath, it’s about the importance of communication and being able to vocalize what you need from your partner.”

When she first read the script, Nechita auditioned for Sage, the other female lead. However, the Romanian-born actress couldn’t shake her fascination with Cin. “She was so unlike me, so scary to play,” she recalls. “The thought of even stepping into her shoes felt insane, but I felt a pull towards her.” Within days, the production asked her to tape for Cin instead. “A week later, I was cast, and two days after that, I was on a plane to Georgia. It all happened so fast.”

Still, Nechita had no idea how far the film would go. “As an actor, you never really know what you’re signing onto,” she says. “You do it for the love of the work, but you don’t know where it’ll lead. To see this little indie horror–something we made together with so much trust and passion–now getting a theatrical release? It’s surreal.”

TRENCH COAT ELISABETH FRANCHI

TURTLENECK ELISABETH FRANCHI

SKIRT ELISABETH FRANCHI

BOOTS CASADEI

TRENCH COAT ELISABETH FRANCHI

TURTLENECK ELISABETH FRANCHI

SKIRT ELISABETH FRANCHI

BOOTS CASADEI

DENIM & LEATHER JACKET LEVI

PANTS ZADIG & VOLTAIRE

BOOTS UNITED NUDE

DENIM & LEATHER JACKET LEVI

PANTS ZADIG & VOLTAIRE

BOOTS UNITED NUDE

The film, which premiered last year at Fantastic Fest before screening at Sitges and Brooklyn Horror Festival, has already built buzz for its mix of gore, camp, and rave audience reviews. “It’s such a fun, wild ride,” Nechita says in wonder, clasping her hands together “Watching it in a theater, hearing people gasp and cheer…It’s a feeling you don’t forget, you know? It was electric.”

That energy extended off-screen, too. “Despite the intensity and the blood, the set felt more like summer camp,” she says with a laugh. “We’d be covered in fake blood in these heightened situations, then Mercedes would yell ‘cut,’ and we’d just fold over laughing until we couldn’t breathe.” Between takes, she and co-star Alex played chess in the makeup chair while still half-drenched in gore.”

The shoot took place in Conyers, Georgia, with Nechita staying nearby in Covington, famously known as the backdrop for The Vampire Diaries. “I had a burger at Mystic Grill, grabbed coffee there every morning, even bought Damon Salvatore blood bags,” she laughs. “I was living my best fangirl life.”

Not that everything came easy. “Half the movie I spent in bodies of water, and I don’t even know how to swim!” She admits. “But I always felt safe. Being with a group of creatives who trusted one another, everyone on set looked after each other.” The trust shows. Bone Lake balances blood and beauty with striking precision, shifting from erotic tension to emotional devastation to backstabbing knife fights. “It’s a dance,” Nechita says of the film’s demanding choreography. “I’d be in my hotel room on my days off, faking the moves to get them right. But then we’d show up on set and still end up laughing through it.”

For Nechita, Bone Lake isn’t just a turning point in her career–it’s a reminder of why she fell in love with acting in the first place. “It’s been a long journey,” she says when asked about seeing herself on the movie poster. “I’m just grateful to keep doing this thing.”

Bloody, bold, and unexpectedly tender, Bone Lake marks a breakout performance for an actress who’s quietly been building toward this spotlight for years.

“Bone Lake” is now playing in theaters.

EATHER JACKET ZADIG & VOLTAIRE

DENIM JEAN MARIMEKKO

HEELS CASADEI

PHOTOGRAPHER tyler NEVITT

EIC/STYLIST donald LAWRENCE

LA BEAUTY DIRECTOR | MAKEUP ALFRED MERCADO @ CLOUTIER REMIX

VIDEO DIRECTOR alexander HAESSNER

SET DESIGNER jason JENSEN