Director Sid Knox is sprawled across the floor as Octavia Red kicks him in the stomach.
“Where’s my money, motherfucker?” she yells.
It looks like a shakedown, but it's all part of the performance as Red portrays her character on the set of Elegant Angel's new feature, "The Devil in Her."
After taking a few more kicks as he walked Nade Nasty through the fight choreography, Knox steps aside, leaving Red and co-stars Nasty and Seth Gamble to jump into action.
Today, Knox is filming wraparound scenes for the feature, which follows Serbian crime boss Ivana, played by Cherry Kiss, and Italian mob boss Anthony, played by Danny Mountain. Their uneasy alliance keeps the peace as they share neighboring territories; that peace is shattered when Ivana sets her sights on Anthony's turf, igniting an all-out mob war.
Red stars as Natasha, a lifelong streetwalker recruited to assassinate Anthony, only to find herself caught in a dangerous web of betrayal, double-crosses, and supernatural manipulation.
“It’s a straightforward yet complex character,” says Red, whose pink wig and leopard-print jacket were inspired by Natalie Portman’s sex worker in the 2004 drama “Closer.”
"Ivana wants Natasha to assassinate Anthony, but she has to learn to play chess instead of checkers," Knox explains. "Unbeknownst to everyone, her advisor turns out to be the Devil. He's been orchestrating the whole thing, and it's all about the double crosses along the way."
Seeing Red
Today's shoot takes place at Cinepacks Studios in North Hollywood, where Knox is filming the feature's dialogue and action sequences. While the studio doesn't permit the adult portions of the production, its Chinatown-inspired backlot — lined with weathered storefronts, graffiti-covered brick walls, and neon accents — provides the perfect backdrop for the film's gritty mob drama.
"Most of the movie takes place in Ivana's office, including the big confrontation between the two crime families,” Knox explains. “We're going for a Quentin Tarantino-style standoff shootout — with a happy ending."
Before the fists start flying, Red makes a slow, deliberate walk to Natasha's familiar corner beneath a lone streetlight. To heighten her entrance, the crew positions the lights so the shadow of nearby window bars stretches across the pavement while the boom mic captures the sharp click of her stilettos.
"I was told she's supposed to look like a hooker who's had it rough," says makeup artist Jenn Marie. "So we gave her a vampy look with a smoky eye and full lashes."
Red settles against the brick wall, one heel propped behind her, and calls out to a passing john.
"Hey, handsome! You looking for some company?"
Nade Nasty's unsuspecting john takes the bait.
"What kind of company?" he asks.
"The kind you never forget."
The two disappear into the night, only for Nasty to come stumbling back into the street with his pants around his ankles as Natasha gives chase. The mischievous Cyrus, played by Gamble, sticks out a foot, sending the fleeing john tumbling onto the pavement and right into Natasha's waiting boot.
"You think I'd suck your nasty-ass dick for free?" Red screams, punctuating every word with another kick.
After shooting more than a half-dozen takes of Red kicking Nasty with convincing fury, everyone feels like they’ve got it, and Knox agrees to move on. Nasty finally takes a bow, having relished the chance to do his own stunts, even though he had no idea he’d be doing so when he showed up to set that morning.
“It's always fun to do scenes like that, but it's scary, too, because I have to be sure I don’t kick him in the ribs or crotch while still delivering a believable performance,” Red says with a giggle.
Red stepped into the lead role just days before production after the original performer was injured, giving her only two days to prepare.
"Octavia really saved the production by stepping in on short notice," Knox says.
With little time to spare, Red immersed herself in Knox's 28-page script while juggling wardrobe preparations, testing, and a surprise visit from her mother.
"I'm still slowly absorbing all the information coming my way," she says. "But I work best when I take things day by day."
For Knox, however, "The Devil in Her" had been taking shape for months. Inspired by the action of "John Wick" and the supernatural intrigue of "Angel Heart" and "Good Omens," he set out to make a gangster film with a devilish twist.
That vision led him to cast fellow director Gamble as Cyrus, the mysterious force pulling the strings behind Natasha's journey.
"At first, I wanted Seth's character to be kind of comedic, like David Tennant in 'Good Omens,'" Knox says. "But as I started writing, it made more sense to make Cyrus a little mysterious and kind of a dick."
For Gamble, the role offered a chance to put his own spin on one of history's most iconic villains.
"I've seen and done it all," he says. "At this point, I'm just fucking with people and playing with their minds. I'm living through Natasha and her experiences, which makes it a very layered role. It's an opportunity to play my interpretation of the Devil and make the character my own."
The Devil Is in the Details
Knox is only on day one of a four-day shoot, and the clock is already ticking. He has to be out of Cinepacks Studios by 6 p.m., before the production moves to another location for the film's first sex scene. More scenes remain to be shot over the next two days, leaving little room for delays as the ambitious production races toward the finish line.
For now, however, the focus shifts to two car scenes featuring Natasha and her handler, Vigo, played by Alex Ladd. As Red and Ladd rehearse their lines inside makeup artist Marie's Mercedes SUV, the makeup artist applies the finishing touches to Red's hair, steam rising from the curling iron as she works.
"Natasha has finally transformed into this classy damsel in a black strappy dress," Knox explains. "She's being dropped off at Anthony's place to assassinate him, but she's having second thoughts. Vigo tells her it doesn't matter; she has to do it, or she's dead. He's a little like the henchman in 'Anora.' He knows she's in a tough spot and wants to protect her. There's a real camaraderie between them because they're both under Ivana's thumb."
As for whether Natasha follows through with the mission, Red isn't saying.
"Natasha has a similar start as Ivana, so I think her trajectory will be very similar," she teases.
The coy exchange is cut short when the Mercedes' alarm suddenly erupts inside the studio, sending everyone scrambling for the keys.
"I almost shit myself," laughs Gerrick, Knox's longtime friend and B-camera operator. It's a brief moment of comic relief during an otherwise demanding schedule, with Knox aiming to deliver a final edit by mid-August ahead of the film's planned fall release.
Despite the occasional interruption, Knox never loses sight of the bigger picture.
"This is probably my biggest production for Elegant Angel," he says. "It's a fun story, and we've got a really great cast, which is key. They really saw the vision and let me cast a couple of bigger stars, and that made all the difference."
The admiration is mutual.
"I'm fortunate to perform for some of the best directors in the industry, and Sid is one of them," Gamble says. "It's really great to be on one of his sets."
As the final setup wraps and the crew begins packing away lights and cameras, the day's devilish mayhem gives way to satisfied smiles all around. Not bad for a director who spent the morning beneath Octavia Red's boot and lived to tell the tale.
