Twists are a big part of the movie-going experience, especially for the horror genre—just look at all the Saw movies. But it's rare when a movie has such a big twist that it changes the entire film halfway through the experience. Well, that's exactly what The Cycle does, and before we dive deeper, if you haven't seen the movie, it might be best to turn back now.
When The Cycle, which is now streaming on Shudder, first starts out, it introduces itself as a simple, dark murder investigation storyline in the vein of True Detective. Dr. Meg Garland's (Daredevil: Born Again's Deborah Ann Woll) life is turned upside down when the body of her estranged father is found alongside other brutally mutilated corpses. The first half follows her, alongside Jeffrey Donovan's Marks, and other police members, as they earnestly try to figure out who is responsible.
However, halfway through the movie, the truth is revealed: it's actually been a werewolf this entire time. As it turns out, dying does not break the werewolf curse. So, every full moon, the corpse of Meg's father turns into a werewolf and brutally slaughters anyone nearby.
At Fantastic Fest 2026, The Direct sat down with The Cycle director Jordan Downey, alongside stars Deborah Ann Woll and Jeffrey Donovan, to discuss why they decided to make a secret werewolf movie and how they worked alongside the film's incredible practical effects.
Why Did Jordan Downey Make a Secret Werewolf Film?
"No One Has Ever Made a Secret Werewolf Movie."
- The Director: "What led you to make this a secret werewolf film?"
Jordan Downey: Well, it started with the idea that a corpse could reanimate into a werewolf. That the werewolf, you know, lore would still transform you even after death. Then we figured, okay, well, what do you do with that? Like, because just doing werewolves coming back from the dead in a graveyard, like 'Return of the Living Dead' or something, that felt a little a little campy for that.
That led Downey down the path of initially framing the narrative as a police procedural, which would give that reanimated werewolf corpse a great starting point.
Downey: So we were like, oh, you probably would do a police procedural because then you'd find the the body the next day, after the maulings. And what a cool way to have a mystery that you don't know that you're getting a werewolf movie. So not only is the twist of this this switch of what a werewolf could do part of the what makes it unique, but also the fact that no one has ever made a secret werewolf movie. So that is unique as well, and and you wouldn't see coming, so
Deborah Ann Woll and Jeffrey Donovan on Working With Those Crazy Practical Effects
"Don't Create the Fear, Create the Monster..."
- The Direct: "The practical effects are awesome, but I'm curious [about] the practicalities of filming [these] really intense scenes, especially with a lot of motions, with those with those practical effects and the limitations that come with them, but still making it seem convincing..."
Deborah Ann Woll: I mean, look, one of my acting mottos or something, you know, a credo that I take that works well in this scenario is don't create the fear, create the monster. So it isn't about trying to figure out how to portray fear. It's to make something really scary in your imagination, look at it, and take it in. And it's seven feet tall, it's got long teeth, and it's dripping with the blood of its last victim. And create something scary, and you will then become scared. It'll affect you rather than you being affected.
Woll noted that in the case of The Cycle, many times, "half of [their] work is done for [them] because there is actually this terrifying physical thing in front of you."
Woll: And so, in this sense, you know, half your work is done for you because there is actually this terrifying physical thing in front of you. And as long as I can imbue that with life, and Trevor is behind those eyes, living and breathing and making all kinds of noises. You know, it's just additive. So I can't say there was really any moment where it took me out to have the puppet. It's much harder to act with tennis balls and green screens. I really appreciated every physical bit of it.
Jeffrey Donovan: Create the creature, not the fear. That's really—I'm going to use that. That's a T-shirt... I just pretend a lot. No, you know, I think, to her point, a tennis ball or a piece of tape on a lens is oftentimes what we're acting with, whether it's a creature or my scene partner while [I'm] saying I love you to the right top corner of a mat box on a camera. So, our job ultimately is that when you see it, you believe we're actually turning and saying that to the person when they cut to the opposite, it's someone else.
Donovan went on to praise both Deborah Ann Woll's leading actor abilities and director Jordan Downey for making The Cycle the high level of quality that it is.
Donovan: To her credit, again, there's a moment in the movie where she's listening to her father on that VHS tape. That actor was not there. That VHS tape was not there. She had a substitute actor in there, and all that [there] was, [was] his voice. But you believed it because of her craft, and it's just kind of a testament to Jordan, what he created, and her leading this movie. I don't think there's a false moment in it because these two created such a high bar to try to achieve.
The full spoiler conversation with The Cycle cast and director can be viewed here:
