The Walking Dead universe features the talents of a massive number of actors who have also appeared in horror movies throughout their careers. One actor featured in the third season of the main series is well known for his roles in iconic horrors such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006), Rob Zombie's Halloween (2007), and The Devil's Rejects (2005)
Lew Temple, who portrayed Axel, a member of the prisoners' group in TWD, most recently appeared in the true crime horror Ed Kemper from indie studio Epic Pictures' horror label Dread. This film, directed by Chad Ferrin, known for Pig Killer and H.P. Lovecraft’s The Old Ones, is one of several biographical horror films to be produced by Dread. The movie dramatizes the murders committed by Ed Kemper, a serial killer who is currently serving eight concurrent life sentences.
The next installment of Epic Pictures' series of true crimes is Dorothea, which is also directed by Ferrin. This story follows Dorothea Puente, a serial killer granny, who lures unsuspecting people into her boarding house, where she kills without remorse and buries secrets in the garden.
Susan Priver (Ed Kemper, Night Caller) leads the cast as the titular character, and Temple portrays a man named Billy "Hurricane" Hodges. They are joined by Brinke Stevens (House on Haunted Hill, The Devil’s Disciples), Ginger Lynn (The Devil’s Rejects), Brenda James (Slither, Stargate: Atlantis), Cassandra Gava (Conan the Barbarian), Cyril O’Reilly (Porky’s, Murder, She Wrote), Ezra Buzzington (The Artist, Ed Gein), Robert Miano (Fast & Furious, Minx), Brandon Kirk (Ed Kemper, Scalper) and William Salyers (Mass Effect 3, Batman: Arkham Shadow).
Dorothea recently premiered at the Valley Film Festival, where it was well-received. Ferrin had this to say about the audience reaction at the festival: "After the world premiere at the Valley Film Festival, I am confident Dorothea will be a success." The audience loved it; there was such great energy from the first frame to the last, pulsating through the crowd. I've never had a more positive screening in my career. And with the amazing job Dread did with the release of Ed Kemper, I know Dorothea is in the best possible hands.”
The official synopsis for Dorothea reads, "Dorothea is a chilling true crime horror that unearths the monstrous secrets of Dorothea Puente, a soft-spoken grandmother who drugged, murdered, and buried her elderly and disabled tenants beneath her garden. Behind her warm smile lurked a predator who used kindness as bait and survival as justification. As the story peels back layers of trauma, deception, and calculated cruelty, it reveals a harrowing portrait of a woman shaped by abuse and driven by greed. Dorothea forces audiences to confront the terrifying truth that real evil often hides in plain sight."
The film will see a limited theatrical run beginning October 31 and then release for rent, purchase, or via VOD on November 4. Check out the official trailer for Dorothea below. Next up in the series is Richard Ramirez, aka Night Stalker, who murdered 15 people in the Greater Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area in the mid-1980s.
Temple and two of his fellow TWD actors, Josh McDermitt and Ethan McDowell, appeared in the dark comedy from Danny McBride, The Righteous Gemstones. All three appeared in the opening episode of the fourth and final season of the HBO series, which also featured Bradley Cooper.