What started as a screenwriting exercise turned into a midnight monster movie fueled by margaritas, kung fu, and a werewolf in full prosthetics. In Werewolf Margarita, filmmaker Jax Deerman Kinlaw unleashes a horror-comedy that doesn’t hold back—combining sharp genre instincts with chaotic energy and a deep love for collaboration. We sat down with Jax to talk about bar fights, allergies on set, and how this outrageous, blood-soaked love letter to creature features was born.

1. Origin Story — How did Werewolf Margarita come to life?

This whole project stemmed from an exercise I did in a screenwriting class back in film school. The assignment was to pick a random song lyric out of a hat and write a 10-page screenplay based on that lyric. I was lucky enough to get the song lyric, “I saw a werewolf drinking a piña colada,” from the song Werewolves of London. I was stoked that I finally had an excuse to write a werewolf script. The original title was Werewolf Piña Colada, but I decided to change it to Werewolf Margarita since it rolls off the tongue better.

2. Collaboration — What was your creative process with the cast and crew?

My favorite part (and the most important part) of the whole process was the artistic collaboration with my cast and crew. I always came to set with a very clear vision of what I wanted. But at the same time, I always encouraged my cast and crew to give their creative inputs. I trusted their individual talents and because of that, each scene turned out better than I could have ever imagined.

3. Production Nightmares — What was the biggest challenge during filming?

The biggest challenge we faced during production itself was shooting at the “house” location. We had one night to shoot at this location, and the tricky part was, our werewolf character had to be in the prosthetics/makeup chair for six hours. We planned around it well, but it was a lot to get done in one night. We started shooting at 5 p.m. that night, and we didn’t get out of there until 7 a.m. the next morning. It was a grueling shoot, especially because the house owner had cats and I’m severely allergic, so I kept having asthma attacks all night. I probably used my inhaler 20 times. But thankfully, I had an amazingly talented cast and crew. Everyone had such a great attitude. We were still all laughing and having a good time as we were racing against the rising sun to get those last couple of shots.

4. Creating Suspense — How did you use cinematic tools to build tension?

The key to creating an atmosphere of suspense was using the many tools of cinema to tell the audience how to feel. The way that the characters are framed in each shot. The lighting. The score. The pacing. All of those aspects of cinema can be used to tell an audience how to feel about a given situation. So, every artistic decision we made was calculated in a way to try to use those tools to create the unique atmosphere of the film and build tension. My DP, Gabe Fermin, and I had a lot of pre-production meetings that centered around this subject. In post, it largely came down to creating a score that would complement the tone of the film. My composer and I spent a lot of time experimenting with different sounds and styles in order to create a score that matched up with the pacing and the mood of the film. Pacing was another important factor in building the tension. We actually had to go out and shoot an extra scene during post-production so that the timing and pacing of the film would feel natural.

5. Personal Favorite — Do you have a favorite scene in the film?

My favorite moment of the film (that doesn’t contain spoilers at least) is definitely the bar fight. I honestly just love fight scenes. Watching kung fu movies as a kid is what inspired me to be a filmmaker in the first place. The bar fight was the first fight scene that I’ve choreographed and directed myself, and I think it turned out really well, so that scene holds a special place in my heart.

6. Festival Reactions — How did the audience respond at Sinister?

The audience reaction at Sinister was better than I could have ever expected! Such big crowd reactions at all the right points in the film. I was most impressed by how well the comedic aspect of the film landed. I wrote it as a horror comedy, but I did not expect the audience to find it THAT funny. There were multiple points during the screening where the entire audience was roaring with laughter. It was honestly one of the most vindicating experiences I’ve ever had. I’m so thankful I was there to witness it!

7. Follow the Project — Where can people find you online?

My Instagram tag is @jaxkinlaw

Official Instagram account for the film: @werewolfmargarita