In the heart of the Oregon wilderness, a reclusive Woodsman (Ivan Martin) stumbles upon a teenage runaway, Dani (Maddison Brown), barely clinging to life. What begins as a reluctant act of rescue turns into a journey across the state—one that challenges both of them to open up, face their pasts, and find the courage to begin again.
This story comes to life in “To Kill A Wolf,” the debut feature from filmmaker Kelsey Taylor. It’s a moving, intimate film about unlikely connections and the healing power of trust, now screening in select theaters and joining the virtual lineup for The Popcorn List: Pop Up Series.
Cinema Femme had the joy of sitting down with Kelsey to talk about bringing this story to the screen, the inspiration behind her first feature, and the experience of seeing audiences connect with it.
What inspired you to take on this project, and what drew you to this particular fairy tale—or to the idea of reimagining fairy tales in a modern context?
People keep asking me that, and honestly, I didn’t have a good answer for a long time. But through the process of talking about this film, I realized that everything I write is essentially an adaptation of something. I grew up on mythology and folklore—especially Greek myths, which I was obsessed with as a kid. So everything kind of stems from that love.
I’d still love to adapt the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice someday—or even something like the Loch Ness Monster. These legendary stories really spark something in me. Little Red Riding Hood is just the tip of the iceberg.
Also, I love cheesy adaptations of fairy tales—like the kind Hallmark used to do, or even The Tenth Kingdom. I just love a good mashup.
Oh my God, I love The Tenth Kingdom!
Right? So good!
Credit: To Kill A Wolf (2024)
I wanted to touch on the grooming aspect of the film, because I think it’s so important to bring those kinds of stories to the screen. It actually reminded me of “Palm Trees and Power Lines” by Jamie Dack—I interviewed her about that film, and it was the first time I’d seen that subject represented in a narrative in such a raw way. I thought you handled it really powerfully here as well. Can you talk about your approach to portraying that dynamic?
Yes! I actually spoke with Jamie about it, because I loved her short film version of the feature—and how she handled the subject matter of grooming. I feel like it’s mostly something we see in documentaries, or sometimes in books. But in terms of narrative films, it’s still very rare. And it’s one of those topics that’s so unsettling and sad, especially because it’s so prevalent—and yet people still don’t really talk about it.
I think we’re starting to have more conversations about consent now, but grooming really blurs those lines. When someone invests time in walking someone into a trap, that person can end up believing they did consent—and that’s heartbreaking. What I hope this film makes clear is: no, this is absolutely not okay. Even if everyone involved is technically an “adult,” it’s still manipulative. It’s a power imbalance. And I’ve been fascinated hearing people’s reactions—like, when did the red flags go off? Some say it was the bathroom scene. Others say the kitchen, or the garage. Some people don’t see it coming at all.
That, to me, says we need more education. Because unless we talk about it, it keeps happening.
Yeah, and I think a lot of people respond with, ‘That happened to me too.’ So many of us have those experiences, especially from when we were really young—and now we finally have a name for it. That’s what makes it so important.
Exactly. Almost everyone has a story. That’s been one of the most astonishing things—how many people come up afterward and say, “This brought up a lot for me.” I think we just push those feelings down and keep going. So I hope this film gives people a safe way to start that conversation.
I loved your cast! Ivan (Martin) was incredible—so much nuance in that performance. And your lead actress, Maddison Brown, was amazing too.
Ivan came to us through another film we worked on called “High Heat.” It’s an action comedy, and we spent a week doing night shoots together. There wasn’t always a ton to shoot, so we’d just hang out, joke around, and come up with weird stuff to film. He’s such a good actor, and we really loved his unexpected choices. So when we were working on this film, we said, “Let’s find a way to work with Ivan again.”
So my cinematographer and producing partner (Adam Lee) and I went back to the script and did another draft with Ivan in mind. It added this kind of quirky humor to the role. I always joke that he once asked, “What if the woodsman smoked weed?” At first I said, “No, that’s not what I envisioned.” But then I started thinking—why not? And we never actually show that happening, but the idea of that version of the character definitely influenced the next draft.
Through “High Heat,” we also met Kaitlin Doubleday, who played the aunt. She’s hilarious and just totally down to experiment and play with the material, which is so important when you’re finding the right collaborators.
Maddison came to us through Ivan’s manager, who was just amazing. I’m usually pretty wary of reps—they’re not always looking out for the filmmaker—but in this case, she really stepped up and helped connect us with the rest of our cast. That was a first for me, and I’m really grateful.
I also wanted to ask about working with your colorist—Mikey Pehanich and your DP. The look of the film really stood out to me. Was the darker tone a conscious choice from the start, or something that evolved in collaboration?
No one has ever asked about the color before! Thank you!
So yes—Adam, our cinematographer, is incredibly talented. What he shoots already looks beautiful straight out of the can. He customizes his approach to fit each project, and we’ve collaborated on pretty much everything. He also shot my short film “Alien: Specimen,” and he’s just a total chameleon.
That said, Mikey was a total godsend. We don’t always get to work with a colorist, but when we do, it adds a whole other layer. Mikey brought so much subtle depth to the look of the film. Sometimes Adam and I go back and compare it to the raw footage, and we’re just like—wow, we thought this looked good already, but Mikey really elevated it.
We’re not afraid of darkness in our images. I mean, yes, it’s scary when your film goes out into the world and you have no control over what screen it’s being watched on—some projectors just don’t handle dark scenes well. But Mikey managed to bring richness and cohesion to it all. Like, there’s a scene with Danny’s bag, which was this super bright pink—and somehow it just works. That’s all Mikey.
Credit: To Kill A Wolf (2024)
What do you hope people take away from your film?
That’s a great question. It’s something I’m still figuring out, especially now, during the distribution phase—trying to define who our audience is and how to reach them.
What’s been a beautiful surprise is that just when I think I’ve figured out who the film is for, I’ll meet someone totally unexpected who connected with it. So I think the common thread is empathy. I hope this film resonates with people who want to understand why people do what they do—even when they don’t agree with it at first glance.
We live in such a polarized time. I think we could all benefit from taking a moment to walk in someone else’s shoes, or just look a little deeper. For me, there’s redemption for almost everyone. And that’s the kind of world I’d like to live in.
There’s so much we could dive into, but I was looking through your website and your commercial work. How has the transition been from doing commercial projects to creating something more personal like this?
Yeah, I started out in commercial work. And honestly, DPs don’t get celebrated as much as they should, so I think it’s kind of cool that I came in from that side.
So many directors are trained to focus on “performance, performance, performance,” which is important—but I’m also really drawn to visuals. You’re building a world. That’s what excites me.
I’ve always really admired Patty Jenkins for that reason—she came up as a camera assistant. For the longest time I was like, “Oh hey, someone else made that leap! Maybe I can too.” It’s not the most common path, but it’s absolutely possible.
