atie Cassidy may have a famous last name (her dad is '70s pop idol David Cassidy) but this actress is making her own way in the movie biz. After a brief stint modelling, Cassidy landed supporting roles in When a Stranger Calls and Click. Now she's one of the leads in the remake of the horror classic, Black Christmas. Tribute's Bonnie Laufer Krebs spoke to Cassidy about the thriller and landing the juicy role of Lucy Ewing in the upcoming movie adaptation of TV's Dallas. What's with you and the horror films? When I did When a Stranger Calls, it was just a small role and I never actually got to do the full on screaming, running from the killer, which I thought ultimately would be really fun. So when Black Christmas came along, I was like, "you know what? I really want to go for it and I want to be in it." Having said that, I do think Black Christmas is going to be my last horror. [laughs] Can you set up the story for us? It starts off with this boy who lives in this house and his mother is really mean to him. The mother ends up killing her husband and then leaves the son up in the attic while she goes off, gets remarried and starts a whole new family. There is a lot of flashback at the beginning to set up the story but I remember the first time reading the script it really scared the crap out of me. Fifteen years later, we're in a sorority house and it's the house the little boy lived in. We're just hanging around, the weather's really bad, creepy things start happening. We don't really know what's going on. Do you think this will be a big breakout role for you? I just thought I was being given a great opportunity. It was the biggest role I had ever been offered and I really wanted to prove I could do it. The character I play is also a younger, quiet, innocent girl who starts to experience some pretty horrific things and it seemed like it was going to be a challenge for me. You have quite a number of co-stars in Black Christmas. How did that go? Believe it or not, we all got along! People would think "here are all these girls working together, it must have been cat-fight hell." But actually, they were all really sweet girls and we totally got along. They were all very professional and fun to work with. Plus Oliver Hudson is the cutest thing on the planet. Not only that but he's so sweet and charming. You re-recorded "I Think I Love You" which was your father's (David Cassidy) biggest hit when he was with The Partridge Family in the '70s. What's happening with your singing career? You know, I was young when I did that, it was fun, and it was just kind of like "whatever." I like to sing but I always wanted to act. So I kind of just did it, at 16 years old or whatever it was. It really was just a fluke. It's also calmed down as far as people talking about my dad. At first it was overload, but now we've been separated in two and I am glad because I never wanted to get a leg up in this business only because my last name was "Cassidy." What is the status on the big screen adaptation of Dallas? Dallas is supposed to start in March. It's crazy. I was in Atlanta and they called because most of the cast dropped out except for myself and John Travolta. But I just can't believe me, out of all people, would be the one with him there. They're waiting for rewrites but I've still got the part. You beat out a lot of actresses like Jessica Simpson and Kristin Cavallari for the role. I was so excited because the director sat me down and told me I had it. I think they (the producers) were really happy, because somebody, not to say that the others (actresses) wouldn't have, but I genuinely appreciated it. You know what I mean?