Posted in: Horror, Interview, Movies | Tagged: Briarcliff Entertainment, frank grillo, Steven C. Miller, werewolves

Werewolves: Frank Grillo & Dir on Classic Horror Inspiration & Action

Werewolves director Steven C Miller and star Frank Grillo spoke to Bleeding Cool about their latest Briarcliff supernatural action thriller.

Director Steven C. Miller (Line of Duty) and star Frank Grillo (Creature Commandos) share a passion for classic '80s horror and action films, and their latest film, simply titled Werewolves, from Briarcliff Entertainment, delivers on both fronts. The film follows a world where a supermoon decimated humanity by turning all exposed into werewolves. The survivors from its previous event attempt to find a cure to prevent further devastation from the latest Supermoon. Miller and Grillo spoke to Bleeding Cool about the film's twist on the traditional lycanthropic tale, working with Matthew Kennedy's script, comparison to an entry in The Purge franchise, and the special effects.

'Werewolves' Director Steven C. Miller and Star Frank Grillo on Action Horror Film's Themes

Bleeding Cool: 'Werewolves' is certainly a spin on the genre. We're used to seeing more traditional narratives of werewolves where lycanthropy is passed down by a bite, scratch, or curse. Turning this to some biological affliction, something else. Steven, what inspirations did you draw from that helped bring Matthew Kennedy's script to life?

Miller: I watched old-school horror films and loved The Howling (1981) and Fright Night (1985). Those movies spoke to me, and I was interested in how they dealt with the werewolf from early on.

Grillo: Dogs Soldiers (2002).

Miller: 'Dogs Soldiers' was so good.

Frank, this is certainly within your wheelhouse in terms of the action, and I think back to things to compare 'Werewolves' to, and I think of 'The Purge: Anarchy' (2014). How do you compare playing the psychological balance of Wesley's journey of being the hunter and the hunted?

Grillo: I described the movie as 'The Purge Meets Werewolves.' From the beginning, when I read the script, I called him. I said, "This is 'The Purge: Anarchy' with werewolves." We had to make some adjustments so it wasn't too close to 'The Purge.' Look, in any great horror script, you have got to balance what's going on in the world. The circumstances with real-life drama and the heart of the movie are my character trying to save my family and coming to terms with a part of myself that has been shut down. That's the emotional part of myself, and that's what audiences need to connect with. You then must suspend disbelief from the rest of it and go, "We want him to live and save them." That's what excited me. It was a well-balanced script.

Miller: The audience needed something to connect with, and I feel like the world, in general, has gone through enough with the pandemic. This type of movie resonates with that and allows them to think about how they would protect their family in this situation. That was something cool to see.

What went into the casting, and was there anyone else you had penciled in aside from Frank?

Miller: It was always Frank. Frank was the guy we knew early on and the only guy to bring this to life. His vibe, the way we saw the tone.

Grillo: Well, there was Tom Cruise and Glen Powell.

Miller: Tom was running, and we couldn't catch him [Both laugh]. Frank was the guy we knew would bring the right vibe to this movie, and we got it right away. He read it. We probably called the day of

Grillo: I loved it. And yeah.

The context I was trying to ask was whether there was anyone else in the cast aside from Frank who was already penciled in that you had in mind for their roles.

Miller: No. Lou Diamond Phillips was someone I immediately thought of because of the way he brings Gravitas to the character. I loved his feelings in the movie. We talked about how nostalgic he feels, a little bit like he's "an 80s character brought to life." He was someone I immediately thought of, and Katrina Law was someone we were excited about in Ilfenesh [Hadera]. I loved both characters on their respective shows and hoped to get them on set. We were lucky enough to get them.

Frank, can you tell me your dynamic with Katrina [Law] and Ilfenesh [Hadera]?

Grillo: I got to tell you; we were shooting the movie in Puerto Rico right from the jump. I love them both. They were both great actors, not hard to look at, and they were fun and game. They're both games, and we had a good time. We had a lot of laughs. We had practical seven-foot wolves on set. It lends itself to a lot of comedy.

Miller: Frank's right. You must be at the top of your game when you're making a movie like this because there's so much intensity happening. We're throwing them through blood, the wall, and through rain.

Grillo: I'll tell you a quick, funny story. There was somebody on 'The Purge' who just would not buy into what was happening, and he got cut out of the movie.

Miller: That's what happens when you don't buy it, and for our film, they bought it. They had a good time. Everybody was there to have fun with the movie.

What was the most difficult sequence to film?

Miller: For me, the most difficult sequence is the downtown sequence, where we have probably had seven wolves going all the time. Everyone's in costume with Frank and Katrina, and they also have to deal with these wolves all around them. We had a massive set that day. They're firing guns. We have tons of explosives going off, pyrotechnics left and right. It's such a huge event. It's a big movie.

Grillo: The movie looks huge. I've watched it on a big screen, and I'm like, "Wow! This looks like a big studio movie," I don't know how you did it. We have a great DP.

Miller: Brandon Cox did a great job with this movie, and I thought the Puerto Rican crew was fantastic. It also helps when everyone's having fun; I felt like our set was a lot of fun, which always bleeds into the movie.

What went into the creature designs? Did you have the same actors in costume, or did you guys have different people in there? Did you try to balance between the practical and the CG?

Miller: The guys in the suits were led by Ian Whyte and Ian Feuer, both classically trained performers. They've been in tons of movies like 'Prometheus' (2012) and things like that as the creatures. Those guys were there all the time. We did pull in some basketball players from Puerto Rico who did fantastic jobs in the suits, which are heavy, not to mention hot. We shot in Puerto Rico. It's difficult, but they did a great job. Blending the CG with some of the werewolves. To be honest with you, there is no CG on these werewolves. The CG is done in some of the transformation sequences, but when the werewolves are on screen, that is the werewolves, and we didn't touch them.

Grillo: Even when their mouths come out, that's…

Miller: That's what we did on screen, right? What's crazy about that and we were talking to Alec [Boskovic]. I promised him when we showed a wolf on screen that I wouldn't touch that wolf up later. Whatever we shot, that's what they were on-screen on the day. Just some coloring, but we never enhanced the wolves at all.

Werewolves, which also stars James Michael Cummings and James Kyson, is in theaters.

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