Scare Me director, Josh Ruben, takes another stab at horror-comedy with Werewolves Within. Based on the Ubisoft video game of the same name and written by Mishna Wolff, the film follows a group of suspicious small-town residents who are snowed-in at a local inn. A werewolf has been terrorizing the town and they now suspect the creature is hidden amongst them. It's up to forest ranger Finn (Sam Richardson) and postal worker Cecily (Milana Vayntrub) to uncover the truth and keep the peace as life-threatening accusations fly.
In an interview with CBR, Werewolves Within's lead and producer, Sam Richardson -- best known as Veep's Richard Splett -- delved into the horror-comedy subgenre. Richardson also discussed what it was like working alongside co-star Milana Vayntrub, the behind-the-scenes nature in Werewolves Within's snowy set and his love of video games and humble K/D.
CBR: What was it that attracted you to Werewolves Within as an actor and producer?
Sam Richardson: When I was reading the script, it felt like I hadn't read anything like it before. I'm a fan of genre -- horror movies, monster movies and mystery. Like the idea of a Clue-Esque, Hot Fuz-Esque, comedy was really appealing to me. Having seen Josh Ruben's previous work, I was really excited to be a part of that.
I'm so happy to see you in a lead hero role. Finn has a certain level of authority but also a little underconfidence, especially in the beginning. Did you do any kind of prep work to get into his headspace?
Not trope, but that sort of energy of the "nice guy" is something I've tried to study and play with a little bit. So for Finn, the perpetual, malignantly nice man was an exciting and interesting thing. Having played Richard Splett in Veep, [Finn's] a person who's so nice, it's a problem but also propels him forward. The idea of a character who is truly nice to a fault, where maybe it holds him back from what he could be, I was really interested in that.
He is also a character who has leadership thrust upon him where he has to become the authority. He's a park ranger. He's not a sheriff. So who should lead people? There's that feeling that people who become police officers, people who become sheriffs, want, in some ways, to tell people what to do -- whether they know it or not. They're like, "I want to be in charge. I want to tell you what to do. I'm the big guy in charge." Finn, he doesn't. He just likes nature. He wants to make sure nature is okay. So, the idea that he's put in charge of all these people, and he's sort of a nice and accommodating guy, that's a huge struggle. So, how does he deal with that? I thought that was an interesting energy to play and dive into.
Werewolves Within has a large ensemble cast. However, you do a lot of work with Milana Vayntrub? Do you want to talk a little bit about what it was like working with her?
Milana was really great to work and play with. I knew Milana a little bit before, not super well. But in this, we get to work together and hang out and it was really great. She's wickedly smart and wickedly conscious and purposeful with what she's doing and what she needs to get out of the character. To say impressed seems a little dismissive, but I really was [laughs]. Truly, she's really great!
The film's cinematography is beautiful. The location is very Fargo-Esque with all the snow and small-town tropes. Can you give us the details on that? Where did you shoot? What was it like?
We shot up in the Catskills in the upstate New York area in this lodge. The majority of the movie is filmed there. It was a really cool building. Matt Wise, the [Director of Photography], was really cautious -- because we shot with one camera -- of what the movement was and the perspective. And Josh Ruben, the director, had such a specific view of what he wanted from every angle and every shot. He's a brilliant director. So, seeing him get to do that -- have a vision and execute -- shows. It was a really fun thing.
Also, so much of this movie is set in a snowed-in town. Snow was not always our best friend. We had to make up the snow some days. But I think it looks good. I don't think you can tell [laughs].
You have a strong background in comedy, which this film has a lot of. However, it also has a little bit of horror. What was your process for meshing those two genres together?
I'll say the challenge was [the film] was a fun exercise and interesting thing to try and tackle -- playing humor while also playing fear. There's a level where you don't want to go silly, but you also don't want to go too serious. I'm going to use the word "serious." I feel like we are serious through most of this. Nobody is telling jokes on purpose. I think it's a fun thing to get to play because -- even thinking of an audience -- you want to be on board. You want to follow these things and get to like these characters, so when that character is scared, you are also scared for the character. You're taking that dimension that you identify with them, and you like them enough to follow them and follow their emotional trajectory as well. I think that was a fun challenge.
We do in comedy, not automatically, but good comedy plays these levels anyway. You have to get [the audience] on board with [the character] doing something unlikeable. You still have to side with [the character]. You have to play with emotion a lot in comedy. So, I thought it was a fun ramp into doing a horror-comedy as well.
Is there a scene your most excited for audiences to see?
I'm excited for audiences to see the end of the movie. The run-up to the end of this movie is really fun. No spoilers, but the run-up to the end is a really exciting thing [laughs]. They do a good job. You really don't know [who the werewolf is].
I heard that you are a video game fan yourself.
That's very true. I built my own computer. I'm standing right next to it, actually. It's got pretty high specs. I play VR, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, all of the above.
Can you give us an idea of the games Sam Richardson might be playing at any given time?
Truly, Call of Duty. I'm on Call of Duty all the time. I don't have a great K/D ratio, but I do stack up numbers pretty well. I'll get like 30 kills, 20 deaths on there. I’m good [laughs].
Werewolves Within is directed by Josh Ruben and stars Sam Richardson, Milana Vayntrub, George Basil, Sarah Burns, Michael Chernus, Catherine Curtain, Wayne Duvall, Harvey Guillén, Rebecca Henderson, Cheyenne Jackson, Michaela Watkins and Glenn Fleshler. The FILM arrives in theaters June 25 and VOD July 2.