Home Interviews Actors and Directors WILD EYED AND WICKED: Actor Molly Kunz Talks About Her New Fantasy/Horror...

WILD EYED AND WICKED: Actor Molly Kunz Talks About Her New Fantasy/Horror Film!

0

Introduction

In Wild Eyed and Wicked, Lily Pierce is sick of being haunted. She decides to reconnect with her estranged father, a disgraced history professor, and learn how to draw upon a time of steel and blade—a time, long ago when armor-clad knights rode out and dueled monsters to the death.

Synopsis

Wild Eyed and Wicked follows Lily Pierce (Kunz) in her attempt to strike back at the medieval creature that’s haunted her family for generations. She must reconnect with her estranged father, Gregory (Michael X. Sommers), a disgraced history professor, and learn how to draw upon a time of steel and blade when armor-clad knights rode out and dueled monsters to the death.

Lily’s therapist (Colleen Camp) and girlfriend (Claire Saunders) attempt to help Lily navigate the childhood loss of her mother, Silvia (Stefanie Estes). On the anniversary of her mother’s death, they encourage Lily to accept her father’s invitation to visit him on the farm where Lily grew up.

Production

Wild Eyed and Wicked is an ultra-low-budget Fantasy/psychological horror film shot in 16 days. The film stars Molly Kunz (Widows, The Irrational), Michael X. Sommers (Sense8), Stefanie Estes (Tales from the Loop), and Colleen Camp (Clue). 

The real-life family farm outside of Philadelphia where the movie was shot is also where the
film’s writer/director grew up and now lives. The film screened at Dances With Films NYC in December 2023 and had its world premiere at The 30th annual Austin Film Festival in  October 2023. It won the “Dark Matters Feature Audience Award” and the Austin Film Festival and Moviemaker Magazine named the film’s writer/director, Gordon Shoemaker Foxwood one of 2024’s “25 Screenwriters to Watch”

Interview

Cinema Scholars’ own Glen Dower sat down with actor Molly Kunz to discuss her new feature film Wild Eyed and Wicked. They spoke about writer/director Gordon Shoemaker Foxwood’s vision for the film, how to portray a dysfunctional character who is also the film’s lead, and the physical challenges of filming scenes while wearing forty pounds of armor, among other topics.

(Edited for content and clarity)

Glen Dower:
Molly Kunz, how are you, Ma’am?
Molly Kunz:
Hi Glen, I am great. How are you?
Glen Dower:
I’m good thanks, and thank you for your time today to discuss Wild Eyed and Wicked. And first off, what a great title! I went into this movie fresh, and whoa. I was blown away. Were you the same when the script came across your desk?
Molly Kunz:
Yes! Very much the same! I had no idea what to expect. I thought, ‘Hey, that’s a cool title. Let’s see what this is about.’ And I was just floored. It’s so many different things and so many things I didn’t expect. I was incredibly impressed by how the story was drawn out, and how Lily’s character is fleshed out. I thought, “Wow, I’ve never seen this concept before. And how cool!”
Wide Eyed and Wicked
Michael X. Sommers and Molly Kunz star in “Wide Eyed and Wicked” (2024). Photo courtesy of Big Bad Film/Gravitas Ventures.
Glen Dower:
Very cool. A modern gothic, thriller, chiller, horror. Let’s talk about the horrific prologue, with young Lily. From your point of view as an actor, how did you place yourself in Lily’s timeline, knowing that young Lily, having been played of course a child actor, had been through this event, witnessing what happened to her mother?
Molly Kunz:

That moment in young Lily’s life changed everything for her and severely impacted how she lived her life, and understandably so. I wanted to make sure that it was clear that this was something she’s been living with. Yes, she’s traumatized, but it’s that calcified trauma. It’s that wound that you never clean and dress and let heal, and so it just keeps getting worse and worse and starts taking over more of your body and the infection grows.

I didn’t want it to be so obvious that she was completely dysfunctional because I don’t think that’s how it works. I think she has survived through her life up until this point with this trauma and she’s getting by, but she’s not good. She’s not okay. And that sort of the jaded protectiveness and defensiveness that one person would develop because of their daily experiences just can’t open up. “I can get through, but I have to muscle through it.” “I have to white knuckle it and I can exist, but I can’t thrive.”

I think that was what I wanted to show and I also wanted to make her relatable in that way. Most of us don’t go around thinking “Our wounds are open for everyone to see.” So, I wanted to be sure that she had enough relatability so that people who haven’t experienced trauma that is as severe as hers but have still struggled as we all do in life.

Glen Dower:

Because she is functional. As you say, she has a job and she has relationships that she’s trying to develop, but there’s always something holding her back that is, obviously, her past. She is fully fleshed out and I think that must be something to do, of course, with the director, Gordon Shoemaker Foxwood, who is also the writer. How important do you think that was as he clearly had a vision, and was bringing his own words to life?

Molly Kunz:

Absolutely. He knows this story in and out and that is what’s beautiful about having the same writer and director. There are no competing visions. He and I also had a very similar vision going into the project. So we were on the same page. Even just getting to know him, I knew the world because I was getting to know him. We also filmed it on his family farm in Pennsylvania. There’s so much history there. The location and being physically in the space were so helpful for fleshing out that world for me. You can just feel it when you’re there. Gordon has thought so much about this project and knew exactly how to say what he wanted and what he needed. He was wonderful to work with.

Molly Kunz stars in “Wide Eyed and Wicked” (2024). Photo courtesy of Big Bad Film/Gravitas Ventures.
Glen Dower:
That’s excellent. Let’s talk about another member of the cast while we can. Michael X. Summers plays your estranged father in the film. How did you all develop that relationship?
Molly Kunz:

Michael’s great. I think he added this level of quirky awkwardness that informed my approach to Lily’s relationship with her dad because he was playing this character. Yes, he’s been a bad dad. But part of it is he’s just bad at knowing how to interact with people generally. The moments where Lily starts to grow is when she can start to see him as a person, as a whole person, instead of just as a parent. I think all of us have had that experience growing up.

There’s the moment when we realize our parents are people, they’re real people with all the implications that it has. They’re flawed just like everybody else. And I think the way that Michael plays the vulnerability of his character was very informative and very helpful for me because there are moments where Lily can’t get past, “You’re my dad, and you’re supposed to be my dad.” But then she sees something in him, and it becomes “Oh, you’re a person too. And, I guess, as a grown-up now, too, I have to find compassion for you. I have to find seeing you as a person and as a human being.”

I think the moment in the barn door, where we have this little conversation and he says, “I know I’m bad at this. I know I’m bad at showing you that I love you. I know I’m bad at knowing how to help you. But I want to try.” Lily lets that be enough and I think that’s huge. I was so happy with how that whole interaction went. Also, of course, as a person, he’s just a total delight in the character and I had a blast.

Glen Dower:
That’s really good news. As we’ve said, Lily goes through emotional turmoil from the first moment of the film pretty much all the way through, but I just want to talk about the physical side of your performance. As we saw in the trailer – you suit up. You get to wear a suit of traditional armor! What was that like in preparation for those moments? Are we talking about strength training? Are we talking about a stunt double underneath the armor where it’s just you put it on, then that’s it, or are you out there swinging?
Molly Kunz:

I had done strength training in preparation because I knew I would be doing a large chunk of it myself. And I did. I also had broadsword training and fencing lessons. So I had a little bit of a foundation going into it. Plus, the armor. So, there are moments of fight sequences that are – when she has the helmet on – a stunt double. Also, the actual riding of the horse because it’s just not safe to get on a huge animal like that clanking around with armor and scaring them. That had to be done by someone else. The director’s wife, who owns the horse, had this relationship with the animal, so it was safe for her to do that.

But wearing the armor, for those hours, it was an extra forty pounds. Just chain mail and plates. Then you also have your shield and sword and then the helmet too sometimes! It was physically very demanding and challenging, especially when you have this breakneck speed of a shoot. We’re shooting long days and we’re shooting nights, and it was incredibly demanding. But I was so excited to take that on. It’s so fun and you put it on and you’re like “Yeah, I’m a badass! Look at me!” I would never have that opportunity and just so cool and difficult, but that’s why we do it.

Michael X. Sommers stars in “Wide Eyed and Wicked” (2024). Photo courtesy of Big Bad Film/Gravitas Ventures.
Glen Dower:

You must have thought for one moment, “Seriously, how did those knights do this hundreds of years ago?!”

Molly Kunz:
Well, when I put the helmet on, I was like, why would you ever do this? You’re like, what would make me better in this fight: if I had no sensory input to go off of? I can’t hear anything. I can’t hardly see anything. Everything I try and say is garbled. Yeah, that was like, why did they do this!? I see why we got rid of this. But yes, the majority of it was me and I was really happy that I got to do that because what an experience. And I got in such great shape during that movie too. I was like, wow, cool.
Glen Dower:
Perfect. And just one more question for you, Molly, before we have to end. What would be your elevator pitch for this movie? I think an audience who is perhaps coming out of the Hunger Games-type genre, or adults still looking for more fantastical stories. What are your thoughts as a leading lady?
Molly Kunz:
I think I would say this is a movie, unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. It’s genre-bending. It’s heartfelt. It feels intimate and incredibly epic at the same time. And it’s about fighting the battle within ourselves and kind the most universal theme you can get. And I don’t think there’s anybody who the movie’s not for really.
Glen Dower:
Perfect. Well, Molly, thanks so much, and the best of luck with the release!
Molly Kunz:

Thank you so much, Glen.

Wild Eyed and Wicked is produced by Big Bad Film’s Powell Robinson and Patrick R Young and will be released by Gravitas Ventures across North America on June 11, 2024, on TVOD/Digital and cable On Demand, with a worldwide release coming soon.

Read more Cinema Scholars interviews!

A LOT OF NOTHING: An Interview With Writer/Director Mo McRae

An Interview With THE APOLOGY Writer/Director Alison Star Locke

Keep up with Cinema Scholars on social media. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instagram.

Exit mobile version