A Cure For Wellness is one of the most twisted, ambitious genre movies to grace mainstream theaters in quite a while. Honestly, I have to ask – how did Gore Verbinski get this wicked fairy tale made? Call it Lovecraftian Shutter Island, or come up with an equally descriptive identifier. No matter what you say, Verbinski deserves acclaim just for pushing cognizant limits of gonzo absurdity far past blockbuster boundaries. It might have been a better 100-minute movie versus the current 140-something-minute running time, but faults be damned. If you love your mysteries slippery, wet and deranged, check out my review of Verbinski’s latest to get the spoiler-free skinny.
This past week, I was able to sit down with the cast and crew to discuss their new spa-getaway nightmare. Participating in video interviews in New York City were stars Dane DeHaan, Jason Isaacs and Mia Goth, along with director Gore Verbinski. I didn’t have time to drink from the eel-tank water cooler (seriously, there were real eels swimming around for all to see), but I did chat with the whole lot about A Cure For Wellness. Somehow I managed to walk out without being recruited into some weird Swiss Alps vacation stay, although that doesn’t sound like a bad escape right about now.
Each interviewee shed a different light on their thrilling mystery. DeHaan, for example, talked about the physical challenges of some big-time underwater stunts, and his new aversion to the dentist. Isaacs, who plays the film’s “villain” Volmer, exposed the man behind the madness. Goth, in all her innocence, explained how a fake fire turned into a real on-set inferno – which only made Verbinski’s job easier behind the camera. I didn’t ask the director about such an experience, but instead walked through the process of getting such an ambitious film made for big bucks in today’s franchise/remake studio world.
Up above you’ll find our conversation with DeHaan, while the rest will follow throughout the week. Take a look and see what he had to say, and be sure to check out A Cure For Wellness when it opens on Friday.
