Interview: The Well with Claudia Gerini

The Well is a new film from director Federico Zampaglione which is a brilliant supernatural tale starring Claudia Gerini (Diabolik, Love and Bullets, John Wick: Chapter 2) and Lauren LaVera (Terrifier 2). It is a tour de force of horror and drama with a captivating story and great performances and direction all round.

In the film, Lauren LaVera steps into the shoes of Lisa Gray, a talented art restorer with aspirations of reviving historical masterpieces. Her journey takes her to the quaint village of Sambuci, where a chilling task awaits her – the restoration of a medieval painting that has endured the ravages of fire.

Within the serene yet enigmatic confines of Sambuci, Lisa crosses paths with the mysterious Duchess Emma Malvisi, portrayed by the captivating Claudia Gerini. The Duchess, shrouded in an aura of intrigue, welcomes Lisa into her world, but it is her daughter, Giulia, who captures Lisa’s attention. Giulia is a young woman plagued by severe personality disorders, making her presence in the Malvisi household all the more perplexing.

As Lisa delves deeper into her restoration work, she unwittingly uncovers a malevolent force, one that ties the cursed painting to a grotesque monster, born of ancient myth and unspeakable pain. This revelation sets in motion a chain of events that will test the boundaries of reality and plunge Lisa into a realm where the supernatural and the everyday collide.

Claudia Gerini interview

The Well has recently had its Italian premiere at the Trieste film festival where it was well received after the world premiere screened at Sitges Film Festival 2023. To celebrate the release of the film, Gavin Brown caught up with star Claudia Gernini to talk all about the movie and the character she plays, as well as discussing various topics including working with loved ones, her return to horror movies and what she has coming up.

Hi Claudia, thanks for talking to us at Love Horror. First of all, can you tell us a bit about The Well and Emma the character you play in it?

Emma is a very interesting character for me to play because there is a lot of contrast. She is a woman with a lot of contradictions, she is very strong, but at the same time, very fragile. She’s very into her youth, to stay young and to stay beautiful. There is a theme about eternal life, so she is she’s ready to do whatever it takes.
She is a duchess so has a lot of noble behaviour but has isolation from the rest of the world. She needs to be in  control of everything, especially her child. This is my third movie with Federico, and it has been interesting because it’s a horror, but it’s also a drama so it is different from a lot of other horror movies.

How was it delving into the world of horror movies again for you?

It was very, very liberating in a way, because with a drama, you always have to be really in balance about being too dramatic. With horror you can push until the end without being exaggerating. For example, the last scene where Emma realises that the the curse is over and gets older, one hundred years old in one minute, the screaming and the desperation you just go till the end, you don’t have to as a normal!
I really love the layers that Emma has, so the drama and being a very lonely person, she’s not a happy person anymore and I liked the way that, with Federico, we could deliver a character that with very strong characteristics. She’s kind of crazy character of course and everything is kind of supernatural, so also the acting can be  more crazy

How did the shooting of the film go?

We filmed in this real castle and I swear it was haunted in a way, but in a good way! We shot in Sambucci, a real little village outside Rome and I liked the atmosphere of this castle. We had a great time I have to say,  we were very inspired by this castle because There was this amazing park and a labyrinth in the garden. A very beautiful and interesting location.

How was the experience of working with with your own daughter Linda, in the film. That must have been quite special for you?

Oh my God! It was something that I appreciate so much and that was one of the experiences that I will never forget in my life. My daughter loves acting and  she’s very keen to be the character. She’s very intuitive with the character and it was one occasion to be with her father and her mother on set and we really enjoyed it. we had a very harsh scene together but we  had so much fun being not ourselves, because I’m always very nice with my daughter, we get along very well.

How was it also working with Federico again on this movie?

Federico is a very demanding director, he wants what he wants, and he’s very sure of himself, but at the same time, he’s very energetic and creative and enthusiastic. It’s really fun to be his actor in the movie because it gives you a lot of passion and when he’s on set, when he’s directing, it’s like a kid, he has this amazing energy and I really like to work with him. It’s our third movie together and because we’re not a couple anymore, it’s even more interesting because we are just sharing a passion for cinema and he has this kind of enthusiasm that is contagious.

The Well has recently had its premiere and has featured at many film festivals. What has the reaction to the film been like so far?

The audiences have been enthusiastic, applauding when an arm gets chopped off or something! The horror audiences, they are really fanatics of blood! They love the strong scenes and the audiences have been having so much fun.

Are you a fan of horror and Italian horror in particular and what are some of your favourite films?

I’m very old style and I like the classics. All of Dario Argentos films of course. With Lauren being in the film, I watched both of the Terrifier movies, and wow!

You also have your own directorial debit coming up with Treadmill (Tapirulàn in Italian). Can you tell us about that?

Treadmill is my debut as a director, and I star in the movie too. That was such an experience for me. It was beautiful. I really liked to direct other actors. It’s a psychological thrillers and it has one location and one character. It has been a very interesting and great experience for me and I will direct again, I hope a soon as I find the right story to tell.

You are also starting in Sara, the Netflix crime drama. Could you tell us a bit about that?

I play Sara, head of the Secret Service in Naples and that’s an amazing project. because it already had success as a book, and the series, it’s action and also a thriller/drama. My character, she’s a leader and hat I love about Sara, is that everything is done on the womens side, there are many men but the woman is the point of view. There are fragile but powerful women who risk their lives and I really appreciate that style.

Are you working on anything else that you can tell us about?

I am working a on a noir movie called Il Corpo which means The Body. It’s an amazing story and I play the powerful CEO of a pharmaceutical company who dies but her body disappears from the morgue so you go backwards to find out what happened. It’s a great character and I’ve had so much fun.

You’ve appeared in films like John Wick 2 and Passion of the Christ. How was it working in those films?

Those two films are a big piece of my heart. Keanu Reeves was such an inspired and generous and down to earth person. I love Chad Stahelski, the director, and I feel very lucky to have worked with him a and Keanu. Mel Gibson is my favourite director in the world alongside Scorsese so Passion Of The Christ was amazing. I feel so lucky to have worked on it and those two movies are highlights of my career for sure.

We’ll share more news on the release of The Well in the coming weeks.