Jane Widdop Loves The “Heart” Behind ‘It’s A Wonderful Knife’

It’s A Wonderful Knife centers on Winnie Carruthers (Jane Widdop), a teen who saved her small town from a serial killer. The thriller, directed by Tyler MacIntyre (Tragedy Girls) and penned by Michael Kennedy (Freaky), is a direct homage to Frank Capra’s It’s A Wonderful Life. Widdop talked to Deepest Dream about their latest film, their work in Yellowjackets, and when they realized acting was their vocation.

A year later after dispatching the killer, Winnie (Jane Widdop) is still understandably traumatized by the events. Frustrated that her family members as well as her classmates are acting like nothing ever happened, Winnie wishes she was never born. The rest of the narrative has Winnie realizing that her wish has been granted and now her hometown is basically Hell on Earth. The ensemble includes Joel McHale (as Winnie’s dad), Justin Long as a power hungry real estate agent, and Jess McLeod as Winnie’s introverted high school classmate.

***check out our review of It’s A Wonderful Knife on YouTube and on our CinemAddicts podcast:

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I asked Tyler about just casting you because this movie really hinges on you on your performance. You are the anchor of the narrative. And he was just throwing some praises on watching you in Yellowjackets, and I know it was critically acclaimed. I read some of the spoilers in layman’s terms. What am I missing from Yellowjackets? And on the flip side, were you a fan of Tyler’s work, especially movies like Tragedy Girls? So those two things. 

Jane Widdop: So you haven’t seen Yellowjackets? 

Yeah. I’m sorry. 

Jane Widdop: No, you’re good! I just wanted to clarify. I think the great thing with Yellowjackets is that I haven’t seen a lot of other shows be able to do is really tie in the past and the present and be able to flashback so well, and they just, they cut it in so perfectly and you’re never like, oh, I want to go back. 

And I love that. The writers are so brilliant. They apparently have a five season arc plan already thought out in their heads – it’s crazy. I just love the mystery element behind Yellowjackets. 

If you’re a fan of horror, if you’re a fan of true crime, anybody can find something to love in that show. 

What was the second part of your question?

Were you a fan of Tragedy Girls or Tyler’s work before jumping into It’s A Wonderful Knife? 

Jane Widdop: Yeah, I definitely loved Tragedy Girls. I was also a really big fan of Freaky, which Michael Kennedy did. So that was super cool. Just seeing these two come together, they’re so brilliant. They were able to mesh their ideas for this project so well, and it was so cool to be able to see that. 

On the meshing part. Can you just analyze or just inspect how there’s so many different tones in this movie. And I think that’s the selling point. Just talk about finding that balance within comedy, horror, slasher, thriller. Then the most important – the importance of family. Just what was the balance of finding all those things? 

Jane Widdop: I had to go through the script and just really find those elements because there’s not a lot of comedic elements for Winnie. Everything is funny to everybody else except for Winnie. She’s going through all this stuff. 

So I wanted to make sure that I was really grounded in that. There was a certain thing that kind of followed through with Winnie being grounded with all this craziness that’s going on. That was really important to me. And I think that that was really important to Tyler as well. 

It was hard, but it was easier once I got to work. Once I was on set and I was able to play off of my other brilliant fellow actors, that really made it just ten times easier to find those moments. 

So we reviewed your film and my co-host was saying, gosh, your work with Jess is amazing and it really stole the show. Just talk about that bond you guys had. Did you have to work a lot to get there, or was it a natural, innate connection because you guys really pull off a great partnership in this film? 

Jane Widdop: Actually it was a big surprise. The first time we met, we went to a kind of director’s workshop (so we could) work shop through a few scenes. That was three days before we started filming, and we immediately had this chemistry in the scene. 

It’s funny because as we got to know each other, Jess and Jane, as humans, do not have chemistry like (it) would never work. But when Winnie and Bernie come together on the screen, there’s a beautiful chemistry. That is just kind of one of those movie magic things.

So it was really cool to be able to do that. We actually did not plan for them to have a romance. It wasn’t in the script. And Jess and I just saw this chemistry, and we brought it up to Michael and Tyler and they were all for it. 

It just really helped. It’s one of my favorite parts about the film and it’s just crazy to me that it it wasn’t there in the first draft. 

This is an entertaining film, but I think this movie has a lot to say about being kind to people. And most importantly, don’t ignore someone who’s right in front of you. Did you like that little element as well that’s thrown into this?

Jane Widdop: Oh yeah. The thing that (drew me) to this project was the heart behind the film and just how you never know what’s going on in somebody’s head unless you walk a mile in their shoes.

It was so beautiful to be a part of a story like that and to be able to hopefully reach out to some young queer kid that’s really going through a hard time and help them understand that it’s not always going to be like this. 

There are things that you can look forward to. High school is a hard place for a queer person. It’s putting yourself in another person’s shoes and really understanding what they’re going through.

What has been the last several years been like for you with this film as a lead and working on Yellowjackets? What have you been able to process just building upon building really good stuff on your resume? 

Jane Widdop: I’m a child actor. I started doing this when I was 6 or 7. But when I started working on Yellowjackets, I had a castmate come up to me and we were hanging out, and they asked me if I wanted to be an actor. 

It was the first time that anybody had ever asked me that. And so I kind of spent the entire time while working on Yellowjackets deciding, “do I want to do this?” And I do. I absolutely love it. Every day when I leave home to work, I have an adrenaline rush. I love my job, which I know I wouldn’t get with anything else like that.

So it’s been really cool to be able to find myself as an actor. And not a lot of people have that opportunity. I’m really, really grateful that I was able to have that. 

I am also working on getting my bachelor’s degree just because that’s a goal for me. 

What are you studying or what are you aiming for? 

Jane Widdop: English. I hope to one day write a script. We’ll see. I love English and that’s what I want to major in. 

I’m still acting, still auditioning. I know we just had a strike, so things have been a little slow for a minute, but I’m really hoping that this pilot season will kick up. 

Well, look, I don’t have talent as an actor, but what is the unlock as far as calming your nerves when the cameras rolling? 

Jane Widdop: You know, I think there are there’s not nerves about being in front of the camera. There’s nerves about how is this going to play? Have I done the right research? Do I know where I’m at in the scene? Am I making the right choices? 

You always have that. And especially with a role like this, who knows what somebody would do in that type of situation? We don’t go into alternate realities in the normal world. So it was cool to be able to find those elements and try to understand what it would be like to have your family not recognize you.

The nonchalance about the tragedy was just really heartbreaking. Watching a family ignore and trying to move past trauma. It was hard to take. 

Jane Widdop: So yeah, it is hard to take. But there are a lot of people who go through traumatic experiences and their family just completely ignores them. This story really does a great job of explaining how that can affect a person and how we have to make sure we take care of our loved ones.

Can you name one of your all-time favorite movies?

Jane Widdop: I really love the movie X, and I feel like there’s not a lot of people that know about it. It’s a trilogy horror. I’m not sure if they’ve made MaXXXine yet, but there’s one where it’s kind of in the middle. X, Pearl and MaXXXine. 

I love the whole vibe of how they’re able to keep it in the same universe. I always love things like that. But yeah, I think that it’s a really underrated horror film and a lot more people should watch it. 

So finally, come holiday season, are you going to be shamelessly playing this in front of your family, or are you going to be a little bit more discerning and let them go about their own way? 

Jane Widdop: I have a feeling my family will be playing it whether I want it or not, but they are my biggest fans and it will be blasting throughout the house all year round. It doesn’t even matter for Christmas (laughs). 

Well congratulations on your movie. Eventually next time we talk, hopefully I can talk to you about Yellowjackets. Congratulations on your journey for getting a bachelor’s degree. And I’m looking for that script! 

Jane Widdop: Yeah hopefully me too. Thank you!

It’s A Wonderful Knife is now streaming on Shudder and is available on Digital and On Demand.