For more than two decades, Jeff Wadlow has made a career out of throwing young people into impossible situations.
Whether it was the deadly mind games of Cry Wolf, the brutal underground fighting of Never Back Down, the supernatural curse of Truth or Dare, the twisted fantasy of Fantasy Island or the nightmares unleashed in Imaginary, the filmmaker has become one of Hollywood's most consistent voices in genre entertainment. His latest project, Prime Video's The Devil's Mouth, available now July 29th, continues that tradition, but this time his protagonists aren't seasoned horror veterans. They are two actors best known for making audiences fall in love.
Gavin Casalegno, whose portrayal of Jeremiah Fisher turned The Summer I Turned Pretty into a global phenomenon, and Lana Condor, beloved for Netflix's To All the Boys I've Loved Before franchise, leave romance behind to lead an underwater survival thriller where a group of college friends becomes trapped inside a flooded cave system in Thailand with a deadly bull shark.
For Wadlow, casting actors with passionate fan bases wasn't a gamble. It was an opportunity.
"They are tough, but they're passionate," Wadlow told this reporter when asked about the devoted followings surrounding Casalegno and Condor. "I have tremendous respect for passionate fans who love storytelling as much as I do. So I hope they watch the movie. I hope they like it, and I can't wait to hear from them."
The confidence comes from experience.
Since making his feature debut with the cult horror film Cry Wolf in 2005, Wadlow has repeatedly worked with rising young actors before they became household names. His filmography spans action, comedy and supernatural thrillers, but horror has remained his creative home.
Over the years he has directed performances from Lucy Hale, Michael Peña, Maggie Q, Michael Rooker, Kathryn Newton and now Casalegno and Condor, balancing scares with character-driven stories that appeal to younger audiences.
That audience, however, has changed dramatically since Cry Wolf debuted in theaters more than 20 years ago. "If I had the answer to that question, I would be running all of Hollywood," Wadlow joked when asked how Gen Z consumes movies differently than previous generations. "I think we're seeing the audience surprise us."
Instead of seeing streaming platforms as competition for movie theaters, Wadlow believes audiences simply want quality stories wherever they choose to watch them.
"I'm hoping that we're moving towards a kind of best of all worlds situation where the theatrical experience will be thriving," he said. "But if you want to consume stories on your different devices, whether it's on your phone or on your big screen TV at home, you have that ability. Ultimately, for me, that's what it's about. How do we tell as many stories as possible and reach the widest audience as possible?"
That philosophy made Prime Video a natural home for The Devil's Mouth, a film that combines blockbuster production values with intimate psychological tension.
Although marketed as a shark thriller, Wadlow says the creature is only one part of the story. Like many of his previous films, the real conflict comes from watching ordinary people discover who they truly are under extraordinary pressure.
"What I love about horror movies or thrillers, or anything that feels dangerous or scary, is that it's a cathartic release," he said. "It's a way for us to experience these things, have these feelings in a safe environment."
He continued: "It's also a great way to watch characters grow and change because when they're in these extreme situations, they have to reveal their truth."
That emotional foundation was matched by one of the most ambitious productions of his career.
Wadlow spent six months filming in Thailand, combining breathtaking real locations with technically demanding underwater sequences. While audiences will experience the caves as terrifying, the director remembers the shoot as one of the highlights of his career.
"I had the best time in Thailand," he said. "I absolutely love it. I was there for six months on this movie... It was the adventure of a lifetime."
For Casalegno and Condor, The Devil's Mouth represents more than another starring role. It is an opportunity to step beyond the romantic characters that made them famous and prove themselves in one of Hollywood's most demanding genres.
Wadlow, meanwhile, is betting that today's audiences are ready to take that journey with them. After spending more than 20 years turning fear into entertainment, the veteran director believes passionate fans don't follow actors because of a genre. They follow them because they care about the story.
