At first sight, Samantha is a rather inconspicuous housewife, sharing household with her successful husband and his son from a previous marriage. She is loved, admired and envied by her closest acquaintances but nobody can imagine what’s really going on behind that appearance of normality.

Debbie’s role is, for her fans, a pleasant digression into the field of the erotic/psychological thriller genre. Drama takes the place of screams and sexuality replaces horror. A good opportunity to show, once again, the remarkable acting qualities of one of the true icons in horror movie history.

Brandon is the son of Samantha’s husband, Harold. He seems to be an easy going, somehow lonesome kid, who loves to tease his stepmother and everyone around him but who knows very well where the joke stops and is smart enough not to push things too far.  One might thing that everything looks pretty good and no big problem has to be expected from such a neat character in a clean middle class household. Except for some ripped memories.

A born actor, Jesse Kozel started playing at a very early age. That gave him a vast experience that has made him the talented and versatile actor he is now. We are very glad we could get him not only to play a leading part but also to act as Executive Producer for our movie.

We find Samantha 30 years later spending her final days in a home for seniors. Her dialogue with Brandon is the connecting thread of the whole story. Their conversation opens a series of reminiscences that not everyone is happy to relive.

The role of the elderly Samantha is played by Deborah Breuner. Deborah has spent a great deal of her life onstage as an actress, a singer, a dancer or all together. Her multiple talents lead her to participate in classical recitals as well as in jazz concerts, in dramatic plays as in TV commercials.

Scene from the movie YEAR - www.mikecarrollfilms.comS

After 30 years, Brandon comes back to Samantha with an unusual request. Their conversation brings us through the whole story and lets us understand the, trully weird, backgrounds of a most atypical relationship between both central characters.

The part of the mature Brandon is in the very able hands of Blair Leatherwood. This most talented and experienced stage actor has played leading roles in numerous productions and in all types of genres in his hometown of Sacramento, California, and has participated in several independent movies in the late years. We are very glad that one of them is ours.

Lynn is Samantha’s friend. That means, she’s one person that Samantha visits regularly and with whom she entertains some kind of a relationship. The problem is that Samantha doesn’t have the highest regard for her very naïve and apparently submissive friend and, in the back of her head, she despises all she represents, perhaps because she sees herself in her relationship with her own husband.

Tara Cardinal plays the role of Lynn. Tara is a young, extremely talented actress, who has a vast experience in many fields of filmmaking; as a performer, producer, stuntwoman, assistant director and a long etcetera. She joined the cast of Ripped Memories at the very last minute and we couldn’t be more fortunate that she did.

Elen

Elenita is Samantha’s maid and companion. She’s a Mexican girl who has shared the family household for too long and who has learned to feel the outmost contempt for every male in the house. She talks to Brandon but she doesn’t like him; she has to endure abuses by Brandon’s father and she hates it. Of course, there is always a way to get even with those who have done us wrong.

Elina Madison plays Elenita. And how. She’s an actress able to combine every facet of acting, from dramatic, to humorous to sensual, and she does everything good. She has been seen before in the most diverse types of roles and here she demonstrates that her talent should be considered for every kind of production in the future.

Harold is Samantha’s husband and Brandon’s father; a successful, ruthless and abusive man.

We were truly lucky to have been able to get a quality actor to play the part. Bill Oberst Jr. puts all his talent and experience in a supporting role and makes something truly memorable out of it. There is no sufficient room here to mention all his accomplishments, especially on stage, or to describe his talents, but we encourage you to look for yourself. To have some idea of his career visit his Wikipedia entry, and to have a notion of his quality, look in the Thesaurus under “great”.

Sally is the pretty girl Brandon is crazy about. We don’t know exactly who she is but she looks just lovely and not at all willing to commit herself in a relationship with the young man.

Upcoming young actress Charlotte Gallagher plays Sally and the few minutes she’s on screen she makes everything else disappear. Her role is crucial for the plot and the way she delivers it is something to be seen. We hope to see a lot of her in the future too and, after watching her performance in Ripped Memories, it is not difficult to predict that we will.

Lieutenant De Angelis is the investigating officer in a murder case. An experienced cop who has seen everything but nothing like what he’s facing now. The subject of his questioning doesn’t seem to be a very approachable person and his efforts don’t seem to be going anywhere.

David Acton has built a whole body of work playing cops and we can see why. He’s very good at it. Of course he’s a versatile actor and we expect to see him in many other different parts, but we couldn’t resist to ask him to play the Lieutenant in Ripped Memories, and he did it in a very interesting different way as other similar roles he has played in the past.

Richard is Lynn’s husband and Harold’s business partner. His personality doesn’t differ a lot from his associate’s and Lynn has to pay for being linked to such a guy. Although she has her resources too.

Jose Rosete is a young but experienced actor, who has been in many movies in different capacities and who has obtained several awards for his artistic performances. To have him playing an important but short character role in our movie was an unexpected luxury.

Sheila Ellis plays the friendly nurse who is in charge of taking care of the elderly Samantha.

Sheila was one of the first actors to be cast in the production and I’m very glad we did. This young actress from Wisconsin is a very serious and competent professional with a great attitude and a lot to give as a performer. We hope to see her in many other projects i

Rock is Brandon's faithful friend. He's slightly nuts and pretty naïve but his obvious infatuation with Samantha leads him to the most extreme compromises.

Kevin Allen plays Rock during a creative pause of his numerous artistic activities. He has an impressive academic background as a graduate from Booker High School Visual & Performing Arts Center with an Arts Diploma in Theatre Arts and a title of  Bachelor of the Arts in Theatre at the University of Central Florida. Kevin can’t be a more pleasant person to work with. Talented, disciplined and friendly, his participation in the movie was a true joy for everyone involved.

Victor is a friend of the family and Samantha’s personal analyst. He’s a psychologist and a frequent visitor in Harold’s house.

Victor is played by actor and radio man James Bartholet. James has a long artistic trajectory, spread in the most dissimilar fields, as well in movies as in theatre, having achieved remarkable successes in all of them.