Almost Mercy Set Visit Turns Up Director Tom DeNucci Plus Stars Bill Moseley and Danielle Guldin
Steve Barton
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When asked what the hometown of horror is, Providence, RI, doesn’t immediately come to mind. But Woodhaven has become a prolific horror studio, located right in the heart of New England, and we recently visited the set of their newest film, Almost Mercy.
The location was a no-tell motel where, if the walls could talk…OMG, the stories they would tell! It was the perfect setting for one of the key scenes for the film. Director Tom DeNucci took some time out of his shooting schedule to talk about Almost Mercy and the progress of Woodhaven Productions.
“The film is definitely darker, definitely more sinister. It has a lot less of the campy throwback horror-comedy,” DeNucci said. “However, it does have a very slick, cutting and mean dark comedy to it, which is fun. I’ve never had a chance to flex those muscles before. That I attribute to getting to work with B. Dolan, who I co-wrote this film with. He’s just so dark and he’s got this sinister sense of humor that is so funny and it really translates onscreen in this film where we’re saying one thing with the voiceover but seeing something totally different and messed up stuff and that’s a nice juxtaposition. It’s been a real pleasure to work with B. Dolan on this movie. He’s such a talented guy, and I hope we make a couple movies again down the road because we really had a blast writing this thing together.”
With Almost Mercy being the third film he’s directed, DeNucci finds himself comfortably settling into the role.“After making a few films, what I’ve learned now is the editing process is really such a key part of filmmaking,” DeNucci said. “I’m spending more time thinking, ‘What am I going to want later on?’ And I don’t want to end up saying, ‘Damn, why didn’t I shoot that one extra shot that would have taken five minutes and made this cut work smoother?’ So it’s really about knowing how you’re going to cut the film, and this is the first movie where I’ve really, really tried to hone in on editing the movie in my head as we go along. I think that’s something that comes along with making a couple of movies.”
He continued on his personal growth as a director. “I felt stronger about making decisions, going, ‘No, this is how we want it,'” DeNucci said. “And being able to collaborate with everyone on my team to really get what I wanted, whereas before I was willing to be complacent and settle for some things and now I realize I’m fortunate enough to have a great crew and people around me who can make my wildest dreams actually come true. So I’m even more willing to say, ‘No, no. That’s not exactly how we want it. We know we can do better.’ I realize the crew is here to make the vision true, equal to you wanting to make it happen. They want to make it happen, too.”
The fact that Woodhaven has been able to bring in some of the biggest names in horror is not lost on DeNucci. He has a great appreciation for the legendary names he’s worked with. “You make your first movie, your second movie, you’re just happy to be there,” DeNucci said. “My first couple movies I was just happy to be there and have the job and tell a story and happy to be working with the actors I’ve worked with like Eric Roberts, Michael Berryman, Tony Todd, Sully Erna, Joey Fatone. Just getting to work with those guys is exciting for a 20-something-year-old guy coming up. Like, ‘Oh my god, I’m working with these guys I grew up watching!'”
He continued, “Now I’m at the point where it’s like, ‘All right, I can work with these guys. How can we take this and make it even better, something different and not just another cult movie that tries to be something that it’s not and goes on Netflix and nobody ever sees it again?’ We’re really trying to make a movie that makes a statement and this film deals with a lot of very current issues and I think people are going to find that it’s very relevant for what’s going on today.”
DeNucci is part of a team at Woodhaven that continues to work together and improve their product with each subsequent movie.“It’s a pleasure to be making films with Woodhaven Productions because with each film we try to raise the bar,” DeNucci said. “We’re not just making these things to crank out horror movies like it’s an assembly line of content. We’re really trying to get better every time and there are a lot of young filmmakers who’ve gotten to cut their teeth on these films and it’s been a pleasure to work with them and the experienced guys as well. We’re getting better with every film, and I don’t think that’s going to stop. We’re just going to keep getting better.”
Next, the uniquely gorgeous Danielle Guldin was gracious enough to talk about her experiences filming Almost Mercy. The combination of her landing the lead role of Emily in this film as well as additional work earlier this year has the young actress elated with her success. “I had a great year,” Guldin said “I did an episode of “Law and Order” and I have an episode of “Unforgettable” coming up on CBS so I’ve had a great year. But nothing compares to being the lead in a feature film. This is my first lead in a feature. It’s the first time in my life I actually get to wake up every day and do what I love. It’s an awesome feeling. I couldn’t feel more privileged right now to be working with so many talented people. To go from a day player one year ago to now being the lead in this latest production, I’m just so honored to be a part of this amazing group. It’s a dream come true.”
An actress with an extremely diverse background, Guldin manages to channel inspiration from her past. “I draw a lot on past experiences from my own life,” Guldin said. “As an actor, you need to be aware of who you are and how you can use your own life when you’re doing some work. And there’s nothing to be afraid of. I’m a former United States Marine, and that works very well for me in this character. To be in the military, you have to be able to get into a certain mind frame of power, and that experience helped me to be able to channel Emily’s power.”
Guldin talked more about her character, the complicated Emily.“The film is told from the perspective of Emily,” Guldin said. “She’s the stereotypical outcast. This is a classic story of revenge, and she is a beautiful but misguided soul. She has a great personality. She’s very funny and has the snarkyness of youth, and she uses it. She feels she’s much more intelligent than her peers and most of the adults in her life. She doesn’t really subscribe to any kind of authority figure, and I think that really, really works for her. She has a skewed god complex, and I respect that about her. And she follows a paradigm that’s been set until she realizes she can create her own future. I find that very empowering.”
Guldin also feels that Emily is more than another character in a horror movie. She’s a character from which women can draw inspiration. “Something that’s really important to me in life, as a female, is not being a victim and being a powerful woman,” Guldin said. “In creating this character, the most important thing that I could do was pass that on from myself. There is a culture of young girls that succumb to society, and Emily is not that girl. Emily is a powerful female. And I needed her to be that. She needed to be a powerful girl that other girls could get behind.”
And, fresh off a plane, horror legend Bill Moseley arrived on set prepared to take on his role of the reprehensible Pastor Johnson.“I feel good about it,” Moseley said. “I’m playing a pastor of questionable morals. And, of course, that’s my wheelhouse. I feel good about that. I’m really looking forward to working with Tommy, and I’m looking forward to kicking ass, horror or otherwise. And I’m happy to be in Providence.”
The film also features performances by Kane Hodder, Nick Principe, Jesse Dufault and David Gere.
Almost Mercy already has a distribution deal in place with Screen Media and Universal. This was set up by Woodhaven’s president and CEO Chad A. Verdi, the film’s producer. Verdi, who is currently working on three feature films with Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese (Bleed for This, Bad Hurt and Silence, stated, “Almost Mercy is in post-production with a release date in early 2015. I will soon announce our next feature film through Woodhaven’s 10-picture deal with Screen Media Films with a start date in early 2015.”
Be proud, Rhode Island. You’re becoming a hotbed of horror!
To keep up-to-date, visit the official Almost Mercy website, “like” Almost Mercy on Facebook and follow Almost Mercy on Twitter (@Almost_Mercy).
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