Erica Mena is swapping reality TV drama for a whole new kind of chaos—aliens, screams, and survival.
The Bronx-born Dominican-Puerto Rican star, best known for her run on Love & Hip Hop: New York, is officially stepping back into Hollywood with Run, a sci-fi horror flick that hit theaters nationwide on August 29.
The project brings Erica Mena back together with filmmaker Chris Stokes and producer Marcus Houston, the duo who first gave her a shot in The Stepmother series.
“To be back with the people who believed in me from the beginning is such a blessing,” she told Latin Times. “I’m still in a ‘pinch me’ moment.”
Her role in Run takes her into new creative territory while keeping the raw edge fans know her for. What starts as a carefree girls’ trip quickly unravels into a terrifying alien invasion.
For Mena, that shift hit close to home. “It starts off like you’re about to go on this fun vacation with your best friends, and then suddenly it turns into a nightmare,” she said. “This movie is for us, for Latinas, for Black people, for minorities. It’s about our people fighting back.”
Horror, she admits, feels natural. “I’m a Scorpio, so horror and Halloween have always been my vibe. Screaming without guilt feels good, it’s therapy for me.”
At 37, Mena is balancing acting with motherhood—raising an 18-year-old son in college and two younger kids, ages five and two.
“My kids keep me flaca, grounded, and always on the go,” she shared. “They push me to reach my highest potential. Motherhood isn’t easy, but it’s the most grounding experience of my life.”
From modeling to reality TV to acting, her career has spanned it all—but this new chapter feels like growth. As she put it, “I want people to see that we belong everywhere, even in sci-fi horror.”
