The high-profile actor stars in an unconventional zombie film called Die Alone, which was shot in the Regina area and is now finishing its second week at Southland Cinemas.
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Saskatchewan’s sprawling landscape might be a punchline for some visitors, but the joke fell flat with Carrie-Anne Moss.
It was Moss’s first-ever visit to Saskatchewan, but perhaps not the last.
Asked for her impression of the so-called flat, boring prairie, the Vancouver native flipped the script with a heartfelt endorsement of her Saskatchewan safari, which included several days of shooting in the picturesque Qu’Appelle Valley.
“It’s so beautiful there,” Moss said in a recent phone interview. “I really did love working there — fell in love with it. Such a beautiful landscape.”
OK, but did we mention the winters?
“I’m a winter person,” continued Moss, who has travelled the world during her celebrated acting career. “I’d never been (to Saskatchewan) but I always wanted to so that was cool. I love what I do for work because I get to go to these locations, set up a little house and pretend I live there for a minute and get to really feel it.”
When it was all said and done, he described the finished product as a “love letter to Saskatchewan.”
“I think Lowell and the cinematographer really captured it in a beautiful way,” Moss said. “It’s just stunning. I love being in nature so it reminded me of my life where I live (in New England). Of course it’s different but similar in certain ways. The people were really lovely. We had an amazing crew of local people but also people from all over. I love the community vibe of coming together to tell a story. I had a really great time. I could have stayed a little longer — wasn’t looking to leave.”
“I don’t understand why they would want to take that tax credit away,” Moss said. “I’m sure they have their reasons, but I hope for the region that you (develop) a bustling film community because I think you really could. You could tell so many different kinds of stories with that landscape.”
Die Alone’s cast features well-known actors like Moss, Douglas Smith (Don’t Worry Darling), Kimberly-Sue Murray (V Wars), Frank Grillo (Captain America), and Jonathan Cherry (House of the Dead).
Most of them are Canadians, including Regina’s own Amy Matysio (WolfCop).
In the film, Smith’s character wakes up with amnesia to find that the world has been reclaimed by nature and overrun by mysterious zombielike creatures. He embarks on a search for his missing girlfriend (Murray), which sends him down an uncharted path fraught with dangers.
“Lowell wrote this really incredible story that definitely has the zombie or the apocalyptic kind of theme in it, but it definitely is a love story. I would say as someone who’s not really into the horror genre personally, it’s so much more than that,” said Moss, whose character — a “salty survivalist” named Mae — helps Smith on his journey.
“I loved everything about (Mae). She is so funny, she is so capable. She’s eccentric and free in that eccentricness and she’s not taking any shit from anybody. I really enjoyed (making the movie) and I’m looking forward to people seeing it. I look forward to Lowell being recognized as a great director, because he is. He has a strong vision and he’s a gentleman. He cares a lot, he has a beautiful heart and he’s also creatively very talented. So (with) that combination, I think he’s going to go really far.”
Likewise, Dean was thrilled to work alongside Moss, whom he described as a “dare-to-dream” actor for the role.
“Carrie-Anne Moss was the first person we even considered going out to (recruit) for the role and she responded very positively in a way that made me very excited,” Dean said. “Never in my wildest dreams would I have assumed we would get her in this film but I couldn’t imagine the film without her. She is just so amazing. We’ve all seen Carrie-Anne Moss as formidable and strong and such a good actor but I think this movie shows a very interesting, different side of her that I hope people are really blown away by.”
Moss has appeared in dozens of films and TV projects but is best known for playing Trinity in The Matrix franchise. In addition to her “very strong friendship” with co-star Keanu Reeves, she also praised visionary filmmakers, the Wachowskis, for their part in an experience that “shaped me into who I am today.”
“I loved making those movies, I loved playing Trinity, I loved everyone involved,” added Moss. “It definitely opened up my entire career so I‘m infinitely grateful. And, at the same time, the movies themselves have impacted culture. People love to talk about it.
“It’s definitely something I hold very, very close to my heart.”
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