Local actress to play lead in horror film

STOCKHOLM — Madeline Lupi, 12, of Stockholm and a seventh-grader at Hardyston Middle School, has a leading role in the soon-to-be-released horror film, “Where Demons Dwell: The Girl in the Cornfield 2.”
The film will be released on Amazon Prime on Friday, Jan. 13, after its premiere screening at 10 a.m. Jan. 7 at Bow Tie Cinemas in Red Bank.
Lupi plays Tiffany, a girl struggling with the loss of her sister the year prior in “The Girl in the Cornfield.” In the sequel, Tiffany meets a young woman who appears to be haunted by The Woman in White, the same spirit responsible for her sister’s death. Tiffany feels compelled to make sure her new friend doesn’t suffer the same fate as her sister.
“Madeline has been in every feature-length film of mine since we met, and that’s a testament to her ability as an actress and how pleasant she and her parents are to work with,” Producer and Director Ryan Callaway said. “When working with minors, you often audition both the kid and their guardian, because you’ll be spending a lot of time with both. Madeline’s parents have been incredibly patient and helpful behind the scenes. Madeline, herself, is fun to be around, and she brings a maturity to her acting performances that is rare even with adults.”
“Where Demons Dwell: The Girl in the Cornfield 2” is Callaway’s fourth full-length movie to date. He released the first film, The "Girl in the Cornfield", on May 13, 2016, followed by an Amazon Prime release on Oct. 10. More than 400,000 minutes were watched on Amazon Prime in October alone. In that film, two women and Tiffany face the horrors of the evil Woman in White.
From an acting standpoint, Lupi loved the challenging nature of playing Tiffany, stating her character displays a wide range of emotions throughout the film.
“I hope to be in more feature films and becoming a better actress, in general,” she said. “I want more interesting roles that show more of a character and not just a little girl with a smile on her face. That was one of the reasons I loved playing Tiffany.”
Lupi is not new to acting; she has had 50-plus film projects that have included feature- and short-length films, TV shows, Web series, commercials, and book trailers. She’s been in 12 theater productions, including “The Secret Garden with Hexagon Players of Mendham.”
She was nominated for the 2016 NJ Perry Award for Ensemble for Outstanding Musical Theater production for “Billy Elliot.” In film, she’s been nominated for eight Best Actress awards, and won two of them at the 2016 Christian Film Festival and the 2016 Universal Film Festival for her role as Alice in “Milkshake.”
Lupi explained that her mother introduced her into acting.
“I never really thought about it, but when I started, I loved it immediately,” she said. “I love being different people and becoming more and more grown up along the way.”