Sussex actress in new horror film St Patrick's Day Massacre

Set against the festive backdrop of Dublin, the film follows four friends on a holiday trip to celebrate St Patrick’s Day – friends who make the fatal decision to spend the night in an abandoned tavern. What begins as a night of revelry quickly turns sinister as they are hunted by an undead killer, driven by a centuries-old thirst for revenge.

Bella shares the screen with Marta Svetek, Charlie Bond, Ayvianna Snow and Ciaron Davies. The movie is available to buy in Asda and HMV plus via multiple streaming platforms.

“I saw an audition from one of my friends and I messaged him,” Bella said. “He's Steve who made the film and he just said I would be perfect. It was a really easy process and I think I was the last person to be cast.

“It's about a group of friends who are going on one last girls’ trip away. They really want to experience Dublin and Ireland properly but they meet this shady guy and then go to this bar and uncover the legend of the St Patrick's Day massacre and they learn the terrible thing that has happened. Once a year this apparition comes back and everyone must be sacrificed to it. Essentially that's it. I won't say more because I don't want to spoil it!

“I play Sian and she is quite reserved. Within the friendship group they are big bubbly people but she is a bit distanced. She has been disowned by her parents and she's going through a rough time and that's one of the reasons they go away on this trip. They know that they're not going to see each other much after this. They're all going off to different jobs except my character who has no plans. She's a little bit depressed and she has a secret: she has a little bit of a romantic interest in one of the other friends...

“Everyone else is much more bubbly and really excited for what the future holds but my character is trying to piece herself together and figure out who she is and what she wants and where she is going. Her friends were her support group but because she has these feelings she is pulling away. She is having a hard time.

“The film is gruesome but it is fun gruesome and it's got some really, really cool effects. It is gruesome entertainment and definitely what I would call fun horror. And that's the beautiful thing about horror. You can have so many different types. You can have horror for 15 to 18-year-olds or you can have the more sinister stuff. That's the great thing about the genre. There's so many different ways that you can do it. You can also have horror that has a really gruesome impact which I really enjoy because I love watching it and thinking how on earth did they do that. I always love trying to figure out the effects because so much time and money is put into them. And the good thing is that they are doing fewer effects afterwards now. They're trying to do more on set. It has become much more old school. And it's so much better. I think when the effects are put on afterwards you can tell. It's a bit like an AI photo. When you see it you think it looks human but it's still not quite right.”

It was a happy film to make despite the subject matter, Bella says: “If you were to walk onto the set, you would have found really, really good vibes. In between scenes we had to stop laughing and just try to get into the mood. There's such a lot of support. We have an intimate scene where we share our feelings and we had a workshop before doing it. Everyone is so keen to make it work and the whole thing was great fun to do.”