"The Gallows" Female Lead a Scream Queen In-The-Making‏

Promising new actress Pfeifer Brown makes her feature film debut – and as the female lead no less – in New Line Cinema's creepy horror thriller “The Gallows.”

In the film, twenty years after an accident caused the death of the lead actor during a high school play, students at the same small town school resurrect the failed stage production in a misguided attempt to honor the anniversary of the tragedy—but ultimately find out that some things are better left alone.

“The Gallows” also stars Cassidy Gifford (“God’s Not Dead”), Ryan Shoos (“As Night Comes”), Reese Mishler (the web series “Youthful Daze”) under the direction of Chris Lofing and Travis Cluff, who wrote the screenplay.

“Pfeifer is a drama queen, literally,” Lofing smiles. “She’s obsessed with theater, it’s in her blood. She led the charge to honor the anniversary of the ill-fated school play by reviving it and, of course, she’s the star, she’s in charge of printing the programs, and she invited the handsome football star to join the cast.”

The character, according to Lofing, “is based on a couple of friends of mine from high school. I did a few plays, was in a few drama classes, and there’s always that one kid who makes it their entire life,” he comments. “The girl who’s the complete control freak, who if you miss a cue or misplace a prop, well, it’s the end of the world. That’s who came to mind when we were writing Pfeifer.”

Pfeifer Brown, who plays the young thespian, affirms, “My character just loves performing, both acting and singing. Her mom was involved in it when she went to school, and she got her daughter into it. Pfeifer has gotten the lead in everything she’s ever auditioned for and has taken it upon herself to be in charge of pretty much every aspect of the production. She’s definitely the type that sees theater as a dying art, and she’s singlehandedly going to bring it back. And because this particular play was never finished, she feels like it’s her duty to the boy’s family, to the cast and crew back then, to see it through, to finally put it to rest.”

Though the character of Pfeifer is generally annoyed with Ryan’s habit of filming everyone and everything that goes on, Brown says, “I thought the found-footage idea was brilliant. I read the script and I loved it. There were so many twists and turns, I just couldn’t put it down.”

In the script, the primary set is a darkened auditorium, and Brown allows that the site itself was fear-inducing. “Like our characters, we were locked in a dark school in the middle of the night. It felt like we weren’t supposed to be there!”

Brown is a Springfield, Missouri native who has always been passionate about performing. Her professional journey began at age 16, when she sang her way to the Top 50 on “American Idol.” After her success on the show, Brown set her sights on Hollywood and made the move to Los Angeles at the age of 18 to pursue a career in the entertainment industry.

Shortly after making the move from Missouri to L.A., Brown booked a lead role in "The Gallows,” which will be her first feature film to hit theaters.

Opening across the Philippines on July 22, “The Gallows” is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.