Ella Purnell: Lessons from a world in quarantine

Ella Purnell in “Army of the Dead” —PHOTOS BY CLAY ENOS

The irony of it all hasn’t been lost on Ella Purnell. The 24-year-old British actress, who plays Dave Bautista’s estranged teenage daughter Kate in “Army of the Dead,” said she found it “weird” to see the world somewhat transmogrify into the film she acted in two years ago, long before the pandemic stopped the whole world on its tracks.

And it looks like “Army of the Dead” has also resonated with viewers—in fact, it has been the No. 1 film on Netflix Philippines since its launch last Friday.

“It was weird filming it, especially given what was going on at the time (in 2019), politically,” said Ella when we asked her what her takeaway was from director Zack Snyder’s latest film. “But it was even weirder watching the movie two years later and seeing these quarantine camps and how people reacted to this deadly and highly contagious disease.

Strength, beauty

“But, really, the one thing that I’ve taken from that whole experience is the strength and beauty of how humans have been facing this mass trauma that has happened to the world. Add to that how we go about grieving for the people we lost [to the virus] and coming to terms with the way our world has been drastically altered. “In the film, the Zombie Wars have been going on for years and years before the movie picks up in present day. Even though it has been contained in one state in the United States, it has had a direct impact that helped shape every single character in ‘Army,’ emotionally and psychologically.

“We shot this film two years ago in quite a different time and administration. For volunteers who worked in refugee camps, there were talks about the things that went on in them: sexual assault, the separation of mothers from their children by building a wall between them, etc.

Purnell (right) with Dave Bautista

Badass façade

“Then, we had all of that stuff in the script about this abusive security guard Burt Cummings, played by Theo Rossi, who’s a fantastic actor! It was really, really uncomfortable watching him abuse his power in that way!

“In the real world, however, as you watch the way people deal with heavy life-and-death situations, you realize this is no longer a game or a movie—this is real life as we know it! And it surprised me how courageous people have been. That’s why I believe in the movie a little more now, because we’ve all collectively lived through this difficult time.”

As for the alpha zombies in the movie, don’t be fooled by Ella’s calm façade and perception of bravery. She said she isn’t really as fearless as her badass teenage character. “There were definitely moments when it freaked me out,” she said, referring to the violence in the film. “I don’t like blood and guts and gore and all that stuff. And so, the fake blood and fake deaths were definitely freaky for me (laughs)!

“This was especially true when we got up close to the people portraying the creatures and you see the details of the prosthetics on their faces, all that hair and those creepy contact lenses. They looked reptilian, so it was quite hard to have a conversation with them without feeling uncomfortable. But after a while, you get used to them. You learn everyone’s names and you begin talking about how your weekend went (laughs).”

Ella said it was as much fun working with director Zack Snyder.

“Zack is one of the main reasons why I wanted to do the movie,” she disclosed. “I love his energy, creativity and passion. He is a master of the genre, to the point where he’s really such a zombie nerd. He’s very hands-on. He pays attention to every tiny detail.

“More than that, I like the way that Zack works. He allows actors to improvise, which shows in his movies—it’s very raw, very real and organic.

As for Dave, who plays her guilt-stricken father, Ella has nothing but compliments for the Filipino-American wrestler-turned-movie star.

“Dave is fantastic! It was a real pleasure to work with him,” Ella said. “He’s got so much emotion behind his eyes. Looking at the guy, you wouldn’t expect him to have such depth, but he’s really wonderfully sensitive. Moreover, Dave was a fantastic leader on that shoot in Albuquerque—which took four months to make. It was really hot, but the great company made it so much bearable and fun.”