It’s hard to imagine how being locked inside of a sauna with two beautiful women could be a bad thing, but such is the case in 247°F.

Scout Taylor-Compton plays Jenna, a girl who experiences unspeakable horror when the car she is a passenger in becomes involved in an accident that claims the life of her boyfriend. Unable to escape the wreckage, she is traumatized at having to view the mangled corpse until help arrives.

A few years later Jenna, along with her friends Renee (Christina Ulloa), Ian (Travis Van Winkle) and Michael (Michael Copon) travel to a lakeside cabin for a carefree weekend retreat. The fun quickly becomes a nightmare when three of them end up getting locked inside of a compact, hot sauna. As fear begins to set in and Jenna reconnects with the claustrophobic horror of “the accident”, things quickly spiral out of control.

247°F reunites Scout with Tyler Mane, who plays Ian’s uncle, Wade. The pair previously worked together on the Rob Zombie Halloween remakes.

As a fan of horror and psychological thrillers, I really enjoyed this movie. It’s definitely a different take on the genre, which as of late has gotten quite stale at times. There are no slashing hockey mask wearing madmen or demonic spirits menacing the group. Rather, it’s the power of the mind and realization that there may be no escape that becomes the real horror. The question quickly changes from how they got locked inside to how long can they last?

I had the pleasure of speaking with Christina Ulloa about her role and experience working on 247°F.

goJimmygo: Tell me a little bit about your character, Renee.

Christina Ulloa: Renee comes across as someone who thinks that everything revolves around her and someone that’s maybe a little bit spoiled. But when you look at it, she’s really a good friend and a loyal person. Once you get past that first layer of her sassy sort of vibe, she’s a good person at heart.

Where was the movie filmed?

We filmed in the Republic of Georgia and were there for about a month. It’s a beautiful part of the world to be in. It’s very European. Everywhere you looked you could see the mountains or the water. Traveling to that unique part of the world was incredible. That and getting to work long hours. I shot 23 out of 27 days. That was the best.

There certainly wasn’t much to worry about in terms of make-up or wardrobe.

Not really. There wasn’t much of that. [laughs]

What was the chemistry like among the cast?

When you’re on location and stuck like we were, both literally and figuratively in this case – [laughs], you bond quicker and spend more time together than if you just went home every day after work. We all formed genuine friendships and that chemistry really comes across well on-screen. It was a lot of fun.

How would you describe 247°F?

It’s psychological in that it plays into the common theme of just feeling trapped. I think that’s something everyone can relate to. Whether it’s a relationship, a career or just life in general. We all deal with having to overcome conflicts that suffocate us in any aspect of life.

How do you think you would react to the situation of being locked inside of a sauna in real life?

I like to think that I would find some super human strength to bang the door down [laughs]. I certainly know what it feels like to feel claustrophobic and the desperate sense of needing to get out.

247°F will be released on October 23rd by Anchor Bay Films. The Blu-ray™ and DVD includes audio commentary with writer / producer / director Levan Bakhia and deleted scenes.

Article first published as 247°F : Suspense/Thriller That Turns Up the Heat on Technorati.