THE REPUBLIC: YES Cinema to screen new horror film starring Columbus native Chasten Harmon
July 27, 2023
Columbus native actress Chasten Harmon returns to the big screen at 10:01 a.m. Saturday at YES Cinema in downtown Columbus and in theaters across the country.
The Los Angeles resident stars in the independent horror thriller “The Mistress,” also available via video on demand.
In the film, newlyweds move into their dream home where they discover 100-year-old letters from a young woman who committed suicide after being abandoned by the home’s owner. Parker struggles with ghostly disturbances, while Maddie suspects he’s hiding something dark from his past. Playing the married couple, John Magaro co-stars with Harmon, plus Kat Cunning, Aylya Marzolf, Alexandra Grey, James Carpinello and Rae Dawn Chong.
Randy Allman, executive director of Lincoln-Central Neighborhood Family Center that operates the nonprofit YES, is excited about the showing.
“Chasten is an extremely talented actress and we have thoroughly enjoyed everything she has been involved with,” Allman said. “It’s a privilege to highlight such high-quality work and her fans continue to flock to see her on the big screen. She and the material that she is involved in will always be welcomed at YES Cinema.”
Last year, she starred opposite Tony Award and Oscar winner Billy Crystal during a run in Broadway’s “Mr. Saturday Night.” Columbus singer Janie Gordon, who worked with Harmon when the actress was in her teens, called her “awesome” in that stage role.
Harmon was not available for comment because of the current Screen Actor’s Guild strike.
“The Mistress” has already been the recipient of several awards, winning at the Los Angeles International Film Festival, the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival, and being awarded Best Horror at the Sevilla Indie Film Festival, as well as being part of the Official Selection at Los Angeles Horror Film Festival, Tucson Film and Music Festival, Unrestricted View Horror Film Festival, and the Polish International Film Festival.
Harmon, who also has acted in television series such as “Damnation” and “Elementary,” is known to be straightforward and high energy. Most recently, she has ramped up her Plush Armour knitting business into a full-fledged mentoring, coaching and workshop website especially for Black women, at plusharmour.com
“For me, it’s about taking back our power from the (entertainment) industry,” Harmon said in a Republic interview last year. “One of the things I don’t like about the industry is that they tend to teach you a disempowered mindset. They teach you to fawn and to people please.”
