The new Under Wraps remake is coming out 24 years after the original. The film industry has improved greatly in the spans of 24 years when it comes to effects, and it’s exciting to think about the similarities and differences that we’ll see. YEM had the opportunity to sit down with Alex Zamm, director and co-writer of the movie Under Wraps. Alex Zamm passionately shared about what makes the remake unique.
“Ours is a very contemporary movie. It embraces now,” Alex said. He added that while there were hundreds of digital effect shots (many which will go unnoticed by the audience), the team did use quite a bit of the latest technology to pull off a lot of cool scenes. Alex said that makeup and costume had gotten better over the years. They were able to make the mummy suit lighter and less bulky.
“It [the suit] enables Harold (Phil Wright) to move fluidly, and that was essential for me because Phil Wright is a dancer and choreographer, and we want to embrace his performance and movement ability. So he had a dance, and this is one of the special things we added to the movie. We’re using silicone [for the suit]. Silicone moves more fluidly, beautifully with the actors, seamlessly capturing their performances. We wanted to still keep Harold a monstrous creature, but to have Phil’s performance come through,” Alex said.
Being a part of the Under Wraps movie was an opportunity that Alex gladly took on.
“I was a big fan of the original movie, so when I was given the opportunity to come on to co-write and direct it, I was thrilled,” Alex said. “It was an enormous honor and responsibility to bring it [Under Wraps] to a new generation. I take that part very seriously.”
“There’s a mystery for the kids, there’s many elements for me to play that I was very attracted to when the project came along. And there’s so many monster movies are about vanquishing the monster and this is one of those few movies like E.T. or Iron Giant in which it’s about protecting the monster,” Alex said.
Another important part of the movie that is important to Alex is the friendship dynamic between the characters.
“Under Wraps does have those spooky moments and some couple scary moments, but also really a lot of heartfelt and a lot of comedy and really dials in the drama of the friendship. You have three very different friends. One’s very adventurous, one’s very cautious, and one’s very fearful, and the other one is very headstrong. But we can all be different but all find ways to navigate and embrace what’s different about each other to be stronger together,” Alex said. “The other appealing part of the friendship is that they all gain new perspectives through Harold. Harold is an unlikely source of change for them. It’s a friendship with a monster. That’s the central core of the piece – it’s kids who become friends with a monster, and a monster should traditionally be feared, but it’s really giving people an opportunity to examine the things that we’re fearful of because they’re new or different maybe should be looked at with an open mind, and all of the friends gain new perspectives through each other.”
