Woe deals with some very heavy topics, such as suicide, loss, mental illness. What message do you hope viewers will take away from the film?
For a long time, I was searching for this secret ingredient that would put everything into place. I remember always thinking I had to figure it out. I never knew what it was, but it was always like, “I need to be alone so that I can figure it out, and then life will be ok”.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. It’s a forever-evolving struggle that you get better at managing. I hope the movie shows that and ends on the hopeful idea that you can ask for help when you are going through that spiral of anxiety and depression. You don’t need to push everybody aside and figure it out on your own and be super strong and tough.
Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness. It doesn’t mean that you can’t do it on your own or that you need to bring in someone smarter or better than you. Everyone goes through these feelings of inadequacy, and that’s what makes us human. Human contact and relationships are so important and integral for working through these things.
You’re not alone, call your friend or your mom. They’ll probably be happy to hear from you. Answering the phone and making a phone call can feel impossible, and you don’t have to do it every single day, but reach out to someone and you will feel better.
The film ends in such a way that leaves the door open for future stories in the world of Woe. Do you see the film’s story continuing in a sequel?
No, I don’t think so. All of the actors and people that came together to work on the film, I’m going to try and work with on the next one. I don’t think a character from Woe will be in another movie, but I think a lot of the same ideas are being looked at.
I think that we want to make something different, with a different environment. This movie means a lot to the folks that worked on it and to myself. It definitely came from a dark place, and not that we’ve figured anything out, but I think that for the next time we would move into a bit of a warmer place.
I want to get Adam back, I want to get Ryan back, I want to get James Russo back, I want to get Jesse back, Michael Lincoln the DP. I would love to work with the same band of people and push ourselves to make different types of movies.
Are there any projects you are currently working on that we should keep an eye out for?
I’m writing for a thing I hope to film next summer in Massachusetts. That is a bit of a horror-noir type of thing, but that is a little bit aways. I’m producing a friend’s found footage movie, and his script is really good.
I don’t think I’m supposed to say anything, he’s trying to keep it all under wraps. He’s a friend and a filmmaker, and I’m going to try and help him get it made, and do whatever I can to help. That one is supposed to film at the end of this summer, so that would be in the near future.
Adam Halferty, who plays Charlie in the film, is a super talented musician and he’s got a new record coming out soon. We are working on some music videos and some stories through film which may coincide with the album. I hope that will be the end of summer, beginning of fall.
I was fascinated with the character of Charlie. What can you tell us about the character that we wouldn’t know just from watching Woe?
He’s a complicated character in the sense that he doesn’t give much out. The movie is about being trapped, and a lot of the time you are trapped in your own head, and you are not allowing anybody from the outside to enter your space and help you.
Adam is a close friend of mine, and he’s acted a little bit in some of the shorts I’ve done, but he’s never taken acting classes or anything like that. I’ve always drawn to him as a personality and as a presence. Adam’s face to me says a lot, and he says a lot in his eyes. The challenge was to see if he can emulate what depression and anxiety and being closed off can feel like with it still being engaging.
There’s so many movies about mental health and struggling through that, so many great ones, and a lot of the time, they are very big performances. Joker, for example, mental illness doesn’t always look like that. Sometimes it’s like, “I don’t even have the energy to be like that”.
When you’re feeling that way, and you’re feeling depressed, and you feel like you can’t give anything to anybody else, it’s a really empty feeling. That’s what we tried to capture with Charlie, and I think a whole movie of just that could be really dull. That’s why we added some horror elements, and the Benjamin character, who is trying forever to bring Charlie out of the hole that he’s in.
We tried to show that Charlie kind of can’t get out of the hole. Unfortunately, it’s not always a happy ending when you’re dealing with this stuff if you don’t confront the things that are bringing you down or get yourself to a place where you can ask for help.
Charlie doesn’t have that traditional arc that you see in a lot of movies. We wanted to show someone where things are unraveling even worse. He doesn’t really overcome the struggles that are plaguing him.
Thank you for speaking with me today, do you have any final words for our readers today?
The movie is now available on Amazon, Vudu, Apple TV, Youtube and Vimeo, so check it out if you like psychological horror!
Woe is available to stream today. What did you think of what Matthew Goodhue had to say? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below or over on our social media!
KEEP READING: WOE MOVIE REVIEW: A HAUNTING PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR
