Photos courtesy of Olivia Davis
In hard times, many of us turn to comfort — to inspiring stories that make us remember what it is like to be our most carefree. Stories that make us feel at home.
This notion is precisely what the 2020 film, “Killian and the Comeback Kids,” is all about. “Killian” is the story of a young, biracial musician who finds himself in a post-grad slump in his childhood hometown. He breaks out of the throws of the capitalistic, societal expectation of productivity and starts a band with a group of local musicians. On the surface, this film is a fun musical — but upon further examination, it is groundbreaking by truthfully and expertly centering on a new generation’s search for fulfillment.
The film’s soundtrack is on all streaming platforms and its screenplay was recently preserved in the Academy’s permanent Core Collection. Featured in the film is creator Taylor Purdee, who is the first biracial director-star of African American descent to have a film theatrically released in the United States in the 21st century. Academy Award-winner Lee Grant also plays a central role in the film.
It is quite apropos that such a film would be released — unplanned — in the midst of a global pandemic. “Killian” has returned to the popular culture discourse in the past few months, as it is being released on at-home streaming platforms.
Emily Mest stars in the film as one of the musicians, Melanie. Mest is an actress on stage and screen and a singer-songwriter. She is best known for her portrayal of Nurse Amelia Emerson in the Netflix series “Ratched” (2020) alongside Sarah Paulson and in the FX series “American Horror Story: Apocalypse” (2018) as Casey. She spoke with grain of salt mag about her experience in “Killian,” Ryan Murphy’s shows and the importance of her multi-disciplinary work in acting and singing.
While Mest is a Los Angeles based artist, “Killian and the Comeback Kids” did not come out of Southern California culture, she noted.
“For ‘Killian,’ Taylor Purdee and I went to a performing arts high school together, and we were close friends. He came to me with this project and sent over the script. It all happened really quickly; I flew back home to Pennsylvania and it was a summer thing. It was only a couple of weeks that we shot it, and it was like a little summer camp for all of us, which was so fun. I got to shoot it in my hometown and sleep in the bed that I grew up in while shooting this movie, which is just so wild. It was a great time.”
Being back in Pennsylvania with childhood friends allowed Mest to revert to a calm, laidback state.
“There was a day that we were shooting in this field. It was this long couple of hours where we were just in the field and singing and improvising and running around. That was just a magical summer moment, captured on film. I don’t think there’s any acting in that part of the movie. That day was my favorite.”
This childlike “summer camp” experience is actually quite contradictory to Mest’s own upbringing, which was infused with professionalism and dedication.
“I was five when I saw my first play, and my mother remembers me turning to her and saying, ‘I want to do that.’ She immediately got me in some classes just for fun,” Mest said. “I got really serious about it really quickly. I started working professionally by eight, and then was touring the country by 11. I moved to LA by 18. I just was on the fast track. I started in musical theater. Doing music and acting at the same time is kind of my dream. I’ve never faltered — there’s nothing else I’ve ever wanted to do.”
Mest has a vast musical background, both in musical theater and as a songwriter, releasing “Laurel Canyon” in 2018. This makes “Killian”’s musical aspect especially relevant to her work, as all of the music in the film was shot and recorded live.
“Being live was a learning curve, for sure. I think it adds to the film in a lot of ways, having it be live and really collaborative in the moment on set. We had to learn all the harmonies and everything, which is why I think it was important that they cast people that had a musical theater background, because we were able to pick up the harmonies and learn the songs pretty quickly.”
“You have to be able to do something a couple takes. Growing up doing theater, you have only one chance, so you have to nail it the first time. You don’t get to roll another tape. I think that’s super helpful on set coming from that background.”
As Mest has been back in Los Angeles working on other professional projects, she finds that time has shown that “Killian” is just what’s needed at this moment.
“To me, this is a cute summer film. I think it’s exciting for it to come out on video on demand right now, because everyone’s watching stuff from home. It would be really fun to watch with friends. It’s all about hope. Movies are all about hope,” she said. “I think that that’s the main takeaway that I hope people watching the film feel, and I hope that they feel that it’s never too late to follow your dreams. Life has its ups and downs, but if you’re passionate about something like Killian is in the movie, then you can make it happen.”
Mest’s other prominent works include Ryan Murphy’s “Ratched” and “American Horror Story.” In the former, she acted with Sarah Paulson, and in the latter, she was directed by her.
“Watching Sarah on set is magnificent. For ‘Ratched,’ I did a scene with just her and I, and I learned so much just from that one day of shooting that scene, just from watching her and taking it all in like a sponge.”
For AHS, Paulson directed Mest. “That was so fun, and an honor to get to be directed by Sarah. I think that was the first thing she ever directed. God, she was so good. I love being directed by other actors,” she said. “It’s one of my favorite things. I got to work with Kathy Bates, which is insane. I mean, she’s one of the best actresses we have.”
The commonality in Melanie from “Killian,” Nurse Amelia from “Ratched” and Casey from “American Horror Story?” They intrigued Mest.
“For me, it’s not about likable characters, it’s about interesting characters. Somebody that you just want to know more about, and I’m kind of all over the map. I love comedy. I love drama. I think I’m just drawn to characters that intrigue you. They don’t have to be the most kind or moral people. You just want to know more about them.”
“The dream would be to combine music and film, which is why ‘Killian’ was so perfectly matched for me. I would love to do another musical film after this; that was always my dream since I was a little girl. I’m missing musical theater right now, and I’m getting a little bit of the New York bug to get back.”
“For me, during the pandemic, huge escapism came from watching Netflix and watching films. That’s why I create, because of what film and music do. There’s so much beauty in art, and so much to learn. There have been moments in my life that you need to turn to your favorite film for comfort. You listen to your favorite song, the song that makes you feel better. I want to be a part of that for somebody else, you know?”
“Killian and the Comeback Kids” can be watched on Amazon Prime Video, Vudu and Virtual Cinemas. Emily Mest can be followed on Instagram at @emilymest for her latest updates.