Ethan Embry and Li Jun Li Bare Their Horror Teeth in ‘Alma and the Wolf’ Trailer [Exclusive]

Ethan Embry (Can’t Hardly Wait) is a father struggling to find answers in Collider’s exclusive first look at the trailer for Alma and the Wolf. There’s plenty here for horror fans to sink their teeth into aside from the appearance of Embry, who will soon join the cast in Kevin Williamson’s Scream 7. Joining him in a co-leading role is Sinners star Li Jun Li, who plays the mysterious woman at the center of the story. But wait — there’s more! The film is the latest feature-length project to come from Michael Patrick Jann, who recently took audiences on a bloody ride courtesy of his 2023 flick, Organ Trail. If his name sounds familiar, but these two films aren’t where you’re placing him, try the iconic 1999 ahead-of-its-time feature, Drop Dead Gorgeous. In addition to the exclusive release of the trailer, Collider was also given the chance to interview the director via email, which you can read more about further down.

Thanks to the atmospheric vibes, the eerie setting is immediately established at the top of the Alma and the Wolf trailer, even before we meet Deputy Ren (Embry) and his son, Jack (Lukas Jann). Following a rushed but loving exchange, the former heads out on a “last-minute date,” and the latter takes the family’s dog for a walk — only to disappear into the mist. The following day, Deputy Ren launches a full-blown investigation into the case of his missing son, whom he believes to have been carried away by a wolf. The intrigue deepens when Deputy Ren’s date (Li) finds herself embroiled in the conspiracy, and the town becomes fully engulfed in a wolf-obsessed frenzy.

We know what you’re thinking. For a inventive who has spent so much of his time in the realm of comedy, this seemingly piercing switch to horror seems out of place for Jann, but, as he reminded us:

“Traditionally, comedy and horror have a strong creative relationship… Jordan Peele, Zach Cregger, Joe LoTruglio are comedy guys who’ve done amazing work in horror recently. Comedy and horror are kind of the dark and light side of the same coin. Comedy truly deals with the darker side of humanity. It deals with personal suffering but does it with a light touch; the consequences of the action in comedy FEEL lighter. Whereas in horror, the point is that the threat is going to hurt. My lifelong love is movies, the art of cinema, and I’ve spent my whole life studying and practicing it. So over the years, I’ve stored up lots of ideas, things I wanted to do with character and even landscapes and costumes and pacing and music and tone that just aren’t appropriate to comedy stories. ALMA and ORGAN TRAIL allowed me to shoot those darker and more pointed arrows that I’ve been wanting to shoot. The ability to mix tones in ways that are surprising and fresh is very important to me as a filmmaker, and horror films not only allow that kind of bold mashup of tones, they practically demand them. My horror movies have a fair bit of comedy in them, but my comedies have very few exploding bodies and raw burned flesh. With some notable exceptions. (Annette’s beer can hand from [Drop Dead Gorgeous]).”

In addition to using horror as a way to mix tones and get a little darker with things, Jann called Alma and the Wolf, “not just a genre-bender, it’s a genre-breaker,” adding that he had “a lot of fun riding the conventions of different horror genres… folk horror, body horror, monster movies” and taking audiences on a descent into “true madness.” Meanwhile, the themes of family struggles and trauma are at the very beating heart of his novel film, which has an even closer bond to Jann than it appears on the outside.

“It’s also about a very flawed man trying desperately to redeem himself, and it’s about the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves to get through the day. And it is definitely about the relationship between parents and children… in fact, the role of JACK, who is central to the film’s mystery, is played by my son Lukas (and he’s awesome!).”

What’s Next for Michael Patrick Jann?

After two movies that align closer to horror, we wondered if Jann was going to stick with the sinister or move to some lighter fare. Comparing Organ Trail and Alma and the Wolf to Drop Dead Gorgeous, he said, “They are all explorations of how to persevere through suffering, and they are all very boldly structured to undermine expectations, to never be boring by completing the arc you may think they’re limning, and to go in directions the audience can’t see coming.”

In the future, though, Jann has a different plan, explaining,

“That being said… after two movies where the point was to torture the audience, I’m wanting to make something colorful and delightful, and friendly, while still being unexpected. My next film is going to be an out-and-out comedy and a damned delightful one at that, fun and warm-hearted and a bit surreal. I’m working with my great friend and longtime collaborator, the insanely talented Thomas Lennon, and we’re making something special.”

We obviously couldn’t let Jann go without asking him about the possibility of a follow-up chapter to Drop Dead Gorgeous, and fans will be thrilled with his eager and hopeful answer.

“For sure! I feel like when the movie came out initially, its audience didn’t yet have a voice in the media. But it’s been kept alive on the internet and revival houses by the people it was always intended for… the smart outsider audience…and I feel like the culture has caught up a bit with the mix of emotional warmth, and the non-judgmental and yet totally judgmental brand of silliness and grotesquerie. I would LOVE to pick the story up 25 years later with the next generation… sort of like Apollo did for Rocky, but with more open-handed slapping and hair extensions.”

Check out Collider’s exclusive first look at the trailer for Alma and the Wolf above and watch it in select theaters and on digital on June 20.