O’Dessa is a reminder that dreamers make the world go ‘round. The film, directed by Geremy Jasper, starring Sadie Sink as O’Dessa, Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Euri and Regina Hall as Neon Dion, follows the plight of what it means to live a life under the guise of another person’s aspirations and the power of having the courage to dream (and seek out) your own visions.
According to an official film description, “Set in a post-apocalyptic future, O’Dessa is an original rock opera about a farm girl on an epic quest to recover a cherished family heirloom. Her journey leads her to a strange and dangerous city where she meets her one true love — but in order to save his soul, she must put the power of destiny and song to the ultimate test.”
Regina Hall on becoming a villain through Neon Dion
Regina Hall is nearly unrecognizable as O’Dessa’s arch-nemesis in the film. With eyebrows that are nonexistent and a taser glued to her side, it’s the first time that Hall, known for more comedic roles like Brenda Meeks in the Scary Movie franchise or one of four members of the Flossy Posse in Girls Trip, has played a villain.
In more recent roles, Hall has been showcasing the range of her acting chops, leaning into her more serious side. Whether it’s through her portrayal of Trinitie Childs in Honk for Jesus: Save Your Soul or her forthcoming role in Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, Hall continues to be the gift that keeps on giving — and her performance as a villain in O’Dessa highlights her ability to truly get into character.
“Once I read the script, and I saw the backstory of what happened to her, I realized she didn’t have a lot of love,” Hall told Blavity’s Shadow and Act in a recent interview. “Like, the closest thing she would have to connection was Eurie, but that connection [was] so much based on control and power. You can never have intimacy when that exists, and I did feel for her. I felt that’s why she was so jealous and so threatened by these two, and really had to try to keep them apart because the love was a threat to her because she didn’t know how to give or receive it.”
She added, “I think that’s probably a big part of the darkness that exists, you know, in a lot of people. What’s that quote? I have two monsters that live inside of me. I have two beasts that live inside of me. And then the question is, who’s the strongest? And then the answer is, the one I choose to feed. Did I say it wrong? It’s something like that. But it does make me believe that there is a hole in [Neon Dion’s] heart.”
How ‘O’Dessa ‘helped both Kelvin Harrison Jr. and his character Euri evolve
Art imitates life in O’Dessa for Kelvin Harrison Jr., who is also on quite the journey. He is intentional about the roles he takes on and chooses those that help him grow and enhance his craft.
“I wanted to continue to stretch my instruments in myself and discover new things,” Harrison told us. “And I think what I love about all the characters is that I learned from them. And it also brings maybe some of the habits that I don’t want to keep, and becoming defeated in life is not something that I want to embrace ever. I think Euri’s struggling with that disease of feeling like life is too overwhelming and that there is nothing left except just to conform and play by the rules and just get by every day, and the excitement, the individuality, the beauty of our souls start to dim, and we love him when he lights up.”
“We love him when he’s like, truly living his best life, you know, and embracing every part of himself in the fullness when he’s being excited and kind of like manic at times as well,” he continued. “There’s just so much youthfulness in him. And I think I wanted to remind myself, and also audiences, that would want to go on a journey with me and watch all these movies that I do, that youthfulness is something that they should preserve in their life and embrace because it’s really beautiful.”
The Searchlight film initially debuted during the 2025 SXSW in Austin, Texas and is now streaming on Hulu.
