One thing that’s blatantly obvious in actress/screenwriter/director/producer Michele Martin’s (Blue, The Last Rampage) directorial debut HOWL, is just how passionate she is about the narrative and message she wants her audience to take home with them.
A dark re-imagining of “Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf,” the film follows Dulcina (Martin), a young woman who, against her doctors’ advice, leaves the sanitarium to watch over her grandmother’s house, a remote cabin in the middle of a frightening forest. On her arrival, she starts to spiral into madness but will she let it devour her, or will she embrace her true nature?
Speaking of one of her co-stars, Kenny Johnson (Blade, “Bates Motel”, “The Shield”) who she specifically reached out to for the role of Levi in the film, Martin had the following to say:
“Kenny and I worked together as actors on Blue, and we have a very similar approach to the work…he is completely unafraid and 100 percent in. That excites me…because I am the same. Also, I love that dark deep material doesn’t intimidate Kenny, nor does a young female director. He has always treated me with great respect and respect for the work. So, I knew he would be perfect for the role.
It feels electric working together as actors, and that makes everything easier …to already understand and know your cast…how far they are willing to go, especially for a first time director who is also in the lead role. I’m a bit intense and so is Kenny and that is exhilarating!”
With HOWL now available on all streaming platforms, SCREAM caught up with Johnson who revealed why the themes Martin addresses in the film seduced him and described the experience of getting to share the screen with his daughter.
Words: Howard Gorman
