Anna Daniels
Grimes made his acting debut in a little film called All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, and if this is where you recognize him from, good on you. One of the first starring vehicles for Amber Heard (Aquaman), the ultra low-budget slasher flick began making the film festival rounds in 2006, but due to a series of complications involving its distributor (complications which ended in said distributor’s bankruptcy), the flick wasn’t available in the U.S. on any platform until 2013.
Directed by Jonathan Levine (The Wackness), All the Boys Love Mandy Lane leaned into its miniscule budget, sporting a down and dirty, grindhouse aesthetic and isolated setting that’s been compared favorably to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, one of the greatest horror films of all time. Mandy Lane is a pretty damn fine example of the post-’80s slasher genre, lovingly recalling that golden era while still being infused with a sense of nihilism that is distinctly of its era.
In the film, Grimes portrayed Jake, one of a group of popular kids obsessed with Heard’s titular character (and in the habit of bullying her unstable best friend Emmet) after she blossoms over one summer. Jake met his end early in the flick, and even if he hadn’t, it’s safe to say that Mandy Lane — with its release held up for so many years — didn’t increase his visibility much. The actor would take on a number of bit roles in film and television over the next several years, landing his next high-profile gig (strangely enough) in 2013, the year Mandy Lane finally made its stateside debut. Unfortunately, it was one that would end in controversy.
Written by: Looper
