1 of 5 | Jae Matthews wrote “My Animal.” Photo courtesy of Brian Jones
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 8 (UPI) — Boy Harsher singer Jae Matthews made her screenwriting debut with the werewolf film My Animal, which will be released in theaters on Friday. Matthews revealed that music took over her original dream of becoming a screenwriter, but her experiences caring for her ailing mother in Clinton, N.Y., in 2017 inspired her to create My Animal.
“Being confronted with the mortality of your parents is already a challenge,” shared Matthews during a recent Zoom interview with UPI.
According to Matthews, the emotional stress was amplified by the fact that she had to live in her childhood bedroom and confront the angst she experienced during high school.
Matthews attended SUNY Purchase and the Savannah College of Art and Design graduate school, where she met bandmate and romantic partner Augustus Muller. Her first screenplay caught the attention of first-time director Jacqueline Castel through producer Michael Solomon.
“I never expected it to be my first film,” admitted Castel. “It was something that was more attainable compared to my other projects, so it quickly became a priority.”
My Animal features Bobbi Salvör Menuez as Heather, a hockey goalie cursed with transforming into a werewolf during every full moon. Heather develops feelings for figure skater Jonny (Amandla Stenberg), but she keeps both their relationship and her werewolf curse hidden from others.
The decision to make both characters ice skaters was influenced by Matthews’ upbringing in Clinton, although she herself never skated.
“While writing the script, it was deep into winter during hockey season,” Matthews shared. “Hockey is such a passionate sport. I love the idea of a sport where you have permission to beat the [expletive] out of someone.”
Matthews explained that she began to explore Heather’s expression of rage as a metaphor for her own anger, which led to the expansion of the film’s themes.
“What better way to depict that than by transforming into a violent creature?” Matthews pondered. “It became a metaphor for their sexuality and the transformation that arises from accepting and embracing one’s true self.”
Castel also felt a connection to the sexuality portrayed in Matthews’ script. The LGBTQ relationship between the characters is met with mockery and disapproval from the local community.
“I think a lot of people feel shame, especially when they’re younger, regarding who they’re connected to or attracted to,” explained Castel. “When I was a kid, films like this were what grounded me and made me believe that everything would be okay, that I could overcome anything.”
The intimate love scenes between Heather and Jonny were inspired by erotic films. One particular scene written by Matthews involved Jonny feeding Heather a raw egg yolk, a concept she had witnessed in Jean-Luc Godard’s film Weekend during her high school years.
“The most alluring thing was seeing a woman artfully play with a whole egg yolk,” Matthews recalled. “That imagery has always resonated with me, especially when I’m trying to describe my attraction to women and how that works.”
Castel also drew inspiration from the Japanese film Tampopo when executing the egg scene. In Tampopo, a heterosexual couple share an egg yolk between their mouths during a sensual moment.
“They keep passing it back and forth while kissing,” Castel explained. “Then, in the final moment, the woman has a distant look in her eyes, bites down on the yolk, and it drips down her chin.”
When it came to depicting the werewolf transformation, both Matthews and Castel chose to be more descriptive about the love affair while keeping the transformation sequence more subtle. Heather’s transformation is conveyed through a series of cuts between Menuez and a wolf.
“I found it more interesting for her to become this other entity in a violent way,” Matthews stated. “I was more intrigued by the concept of violence than by the classic transformation scenes found in movies like American Werewolf in London. We’ve all seen those and can visualize the bones popping and so on.”
During editing, Castel experimented with different shots to create the subtle montage seen in the film. She preferred an abstract approach to portraying the transformation rather than a literal one.
“I embraced the abstract nature of it,” Castel explained.
Another personal connection in the film is that the score was composed by Matthews’ partner, Muller. It marked Muller’s first film score, and Matthews wanted to give him the space to work on it.
“Our studio is in our house,” explained Matthews. “I would step out because I didn’t want to be influenced in that way. Boy Harsher is more collaborative, but this was all Gus.”
Matthews has written other scripts that are less personal, and Castel has several projects lined up as a director. However, the production of these projects is currently on hold due to the ongoing strikes involving the Writers Guild of America, the Screen Actors Guild, and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. Matthews did mention that one of her projects expands on a character introduced in a Boy Harsher music video called “The Runner.”
“I wanted to create something that wasn’t as personal because when you’re too close to the material, it becomes incredibly challenging,” Matthews acknowledged. “It’s difficult to be vulnerable.”
For Matthews, having one personal film is enough.
“I’m grateful that I did this and that it’s out there,” Matthews expressed.
My Animal will be available for video-on-demand starting September 15.
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