Sian Altman is no stranger to tense horror-thrillers – having starred in the likes of Firenado, Croc!, The Area 51 Incident, and The Rise of the Beast – but WOLF GARDEN marks her first time working with talented filmmaker Wayne David on what’s been described as a ‘classy, elevated horror’.
The film, currently riding up the charts (according to Rotten Tomatoes, it’s the fourth most popular streaming title this week), tells of a young man who sees visions of a creature in the woods.
Firstly, congratulations – the film is getting a lot of traction! I hear WOLF GARDEN was shot in the UK – same territory as, and I must ask if this was intentional, AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON?
There’re definitely a few references to American Werewolf in London in the film but we’re a UK team so it was always the intention to shoot locally, yeah.
Why do you think the UK terrain lends itself so beautifully to movies like this?
The UK is known for having loads of beautiful rural areas (and lots of terrible weather!) so it works great for a film like this. The area we shot in isn’t far from London but there were so many forests and fields and beautiful landscapes around that really add to the feeling of isolation for the main character, William and the overcast skies are perfect for giving that eerie horror style atmosphere.
And where about in the UK was it shot?
Hertfordshire!
Looks like a lovely area. You’ve been in a lot of projects, would you say this is this one of the big ones though?
I’ve actually been lucky enough to have some amazing opportunities throughout my career so I wouldn’t necessarily say this was my biggest break but it was a fantastic film to work on and I loved the script as soon as I saw it!
I auditioned for Wayne [David], the director, a few years ago for a different film. I think that film ended up not going ahead because of the pandemic but Wayne carried on writing and came up with Wolf Garden. When it came to casting he got in touch and asked if I wanted to audition for Chantelle.
Amazing! Was it shot pre or post pandemic?
We were out of the worst of the pandemic when we were filming so we no longer had lockdowns in the UK but Covid was still rife and everyone was wearing masks on set and testing regularly.
Hard time. How alike are you to your character?
I try to bring something of myself to every character I play so there’s definitely a bit of me in Chantelle but I wouldn’t exactly call us alike. Chantelle is a bit of a mystery character in the film, often you’re not sure if William’s visions of her are genuine memory, present day events or something entirely in his head. It was a lot of fun playing a character that goes through so many different variations and emotions.
Who would be the ideal audience for the pic, in your opinion?
Anyone who loves a film that makes you think. It will definitely appeal to horror fans but it doesn’t fall into all the usual tropes of horror either. It’s more of a psychological drama where the story gradually unfolds to reveal what is really happening. I think there’s something in it for most people.
Do you feel there’s a sequel in the concept?
I don’t want to give too much away but I think the film definitely works better as a standalone story.
Oh, exciting! What else do you have coming up?
I just finished shooting a film called Warhol which was adapted from a short by the same director (Adam Ethan Crow). It was an amazing team to work with and a really brilliant script so I’m excited to see that one come together.
I also played the lead in a TV show, House of Helsing, which should hopefully be coming out later this year.
WOLF GARDEN is now on digital from Gravitas Ventures
Synopsis: A man who has gone into isolated hiding is haunted by visions of the woman he loves and a mysterious creature in the nearby woods
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