“I don’t know if there is a message or a moral in this story, but I do think the movie itself, to me, functions to pose questions and make you feel uncomfortable,” Aussie actor Aisha Dee says, weighing in on the overall intention of dark comedy/horror film, Sissy.

“Psycho”, “Disney” and “pop” were the three words used by Sissy‘s editor, Margi Hoy, that Dee deemed the perfect words to describe this satirical slasher.

Directed and written by Hannah Barlow and Kane Senes (who made an appearance at Supanova in Sydney earlier this year), the Aussie flick sees Dee play Cecilia, a famous wellness advocate. Despite Cecilia’s bubbly personality shown online, she despises being called “Sissy”, an old nickname that triggers traumatic memories of her school bully, Alex (Emily De Margheriti), who drove a wedge between 12-year-old Cecilia and her best friend, Emma (Barlow). A decade later, Cecilia bumps into Emma, who immediately invites her to her hen’s party at a remote bush property in hopes of reconnecting. What can go wrong for Cecilia? Apparently everything, the moment Cecilia comes face-to-face with Alex – Emma’s best friend.

“Starting the script, [I was] like I know what this is and I know what I am walking into, and it constantly subverted my expectation of what I thought was gonna happen next,” Dee tells Supanova.

“When I thought I knew these characters, something else kind of happens. But initially, my biggest feeling reading the script was that I love Cecilia so much, and I wanted the best for her, and I felt really defensive. Like I cared for her. Really deeply.”

Dee’s empathy for Cecilia’s past made the process smoother of getting into the mindset of the young woman. “It didn’t feel like a story about someone losing their mind or spiralling out of control, going on a murderous rampage. To me, I always saw this journey from her as someone stepping into their power, finding their voice and becoming themselves.”

Dee expressed her surprise when she was informed of the film’s location. “Canberra has some really incredible nature and the landscapes are completely intact because people don’t really film in Canberra,” Dee gushes. “It was just this isolated thing, and it was just us there. At least, for me, I felt like I could really concentrate and not get distracted by the rest of the world.”

Dee has an eclectic resume to date, finding success in previous roles in The Saddle Club, Channel Zero, Sweet/Vicious, The Bold Type and more. She’s hitting her stride with future projects in the works but there is a role Dee dreams of playing.

“I love Josephine Baker. I think she is one of the most incredible women in history,” says Dee, “But you know it will happen at the right time.”

Even with her dream role in mind, Dee explains that she connects to roles that interest her: “I don’t really have much of a list of things I have to do. If it feels like something I haven’t done before, and it feels like something that is a bit weird and kind of a bizarre choice, then that’s the thing I want to do.”

‘SISSY’ WILL BE IN CINEMAS NOVEMBER 3, WITH HALLOWEEN SNEAK PREVIEWS FROM OCTOBER 27