Ethan Embry‘s Deputy Ren Accord discovers Alma, played by Li Jun Li (Sinners), walking down the street covered in blood in the exclusive clip from Alma & the Wolf below.
“It was pouring down rain,” Embry recalls. “There was a 40 to 50 mile an hour constant wind, with occasional 60 mile an hour gusts. We had just lost any of our tents set up; they had blown into the Pacific Ocean. LiLi, the absolute monster that she is, is walking down the street in boxer shorts and a crop top and no shoes on. She was out there for a sold hour and a half. It was so cold. I remember that being one of the days that I bowed down to LiLi.”
“That’s the first time you meet Alma,” adds Li. “We don’t really know who she is, but I always felt like there was something quite off about her, and you can’t really put your finger on it. That’s what’s really fascinating about the opening of the film.”
A blend of psychological horror and supernatural mystery with hints of folk horror and body horror, Alma & the Wolf sees paranoia spread through the small town of Spiral Creek in the wake of a violent animal attack. When Deputy Accord gets too close, his reality begins to fracture.
“I loved how crazy it was; from situationally to, you know, you have a wolf man running around and people puking and turning into goats,” says Embry. “I loved how dark emotionally it gets. And I loved what it was going to take to make it. It was a challenge on the page. You read something like that, and you wonder if you can physically accomplish what they’re asking, and I love that. I love being put to a challenge.”
“This movie can really tell you something about addressing your mental health issues sooner than later,” notes Li. “I think, when you are aware that you have a problem and you wait too long, it might be too late to turn back.”
Directed by Michael Patrick Jann (“The State,” Drop Dead Gorgeous), Alma & the Wolf hits select theaters and Digital this Friday, June 20, via Republic Pictures.