The 411 Interview: Dominic Luongo Image Credit: Sara Manzella Dominic Luongo is a writer, director, producer, and actor who has been involved in the entertainment business, according to his IMDB page , since at least 2006. Luongo has appeared in such movies as Brevity (2010), Game Changers (2016), Widow’s Point (2019), Darkness Binds (2021), Guns of Eden (2022), and Unbillievable (2023), among others. Luongo’s latest movie is the horror/supernatural-comedy Couple in the Woods , which he also directed and is currently available to watch for free on Tubi (you can check it out here ).
In this interview, Luongo talks about starring and directing in Couple in the Woods , working with co-writer and co-star Sara Manzella, and more. ** Image Credit: Doom Lounge Productions Bryan Kristopowitz : Why did you want Couple in the Woods to be your first feature film as a director? Dominic Luongo : Fun fact: The very first feature-length movie I ever made was shot on the family camcorder using action figures voiced by my friends. I didn’t have a computer back then, so I had to edit the whole thing in my middle school’s creepy basement.
So yeah, everyone has to start somewhere—and I’ve been starting for nearly twenty years. I graduated from film school around 2004/05, eager to make a feature right away. But I also wanted to break into the business, and somewhere I took a left turn into acting, directed some music videos and shorts, and suddenly, it’s twenty years later and I found myself asking, “How did I get here without making that movie?” That question led to more questions: What experience do I have? What’s in my wheelhouse? What am I actually looking for when I’m endlessly scrolling through streaming menus? As I started answering these, I began writing—writing about what interests me, the kind of characters I wanted to play, the jokes I wanted to tell, and finding ways to involve the amazing, talented people around me.
BK : Did you always intend to both star and direct Couple in the Woods ? DL : Yes, absolutely. One: I love directing and also being the editor I can direct for the edit. Two: I love acting, and knew what takes I wanted to get on both sides of the camera.
And Three: I knew Oliver was going to be put through the proverbial “wringer” and I would rather take the brunt of that. I’ve been taking hits on camera since 2001 and I have the receipts to prove it. BK : Your name appears multiple times in the closing credits for Couple in the Woods .
Just how many jobs did you have on the movie? DL : One. I had one job, to make the best movie I possibly could with the resources we had. That “one job” just happened to include: writing, directing, editing, acting, et al.
BK : Where was Couple in the Woods made? DL : That would be right here in beautiful, sunny Buffalo, NY and the surrounding Western New York area. BK : How did you approach your character Oliver? DL : When writing Oliver, I took aspects of my own personality and amplified them. I deal with anxiety, so we made Oliver even more anxious and jumpy, which creates a fun dynamic with Meg, who’s more of a quippy, “shoot first, ask questions later” type.
Oliver and Meg are opposites, and that contrast is really funny, so we played it up whenever we could. As an actor, I had to find ways to torment Oliver so he could react, which was a fun challenge. Beyond my own personality, we also drew inspiration from movie characters, hinted at through Oliver’s wardrobe.
He wears a blue dress shirt, which is an obvious reference, and a green jacket, which might not be as obvious—unless I’m standing next to a Great Dane. Image Credit: Doom Lounge Productions BK : How did you cast Couple in the Woods ? DL : Sara and I were casting as we were writing. As soon as we finished a scene, we already had our cast in mind for those characters.
We were incredibly fortunate to land our dream cast—everyone you see in the movie is exactly who we envisioned while writing. We knew we wanted to set aside voice cameos for my sisters and Sara’s brother Andrew. We’d worked with Golden Groves and Michael Buttino on a few other movies, and they’re always so fun, talented, and great to work with, so we had to bring them on board.
Rick Matthews and Clayton Williams are both hilarious stand-up comedians, and we knew they’d make some fantastic choices in their roles. For the park ranger, we cast Brian Burch, who’s dating Sara’s sister Carolyn (who handled wardrobe and catering along with Sara’s Mom). He’s naturally funny, so we thought he’d be great on camera.
Our flashback victim is the wonderful Daniel T. Martonis, who also served as our Location Manager. The song the Occultist sings along to was written and performed by my lovely mother Maria Peach.
And I know this is a casting question, but I have to mention our amazing crew—they really came through for us every day. BK : Describe your working relationship with co-star Sara Manzella, who plays Meg. DL : Our working relationship is very intimate and creatively fluid.
We split the duties, with Sara handling producing and me directing. We do a lot of impromptu brainstorming with no boundaries—one of us might be in the bathroom while the other is shouting ideas through the door. But seriously, it’s a real treat to live with the love of your life and get to rehearse, bounce fun ideas off each other, and be creative all the time.
We really wanted to be in something where we could play a fun, funny, bantering couple, and this project gave us the perfect opportunity to do that. BK : Is it correct to call Couple in the Woods a horror comedy, or is it more appropriate to refer to it as a supernatural comedy? DL : See, whenever anyone asks us what it is we’ve been billing it as a “spooky comedy”, similar in tone to Young Frankenstein , Hubie Halloween , and Goosebumps . However, it’s labeled on Tubi and Prime as a “comedy, horror”, with comedy always listed first.
One thing to understand is that once you hand your movie over to a distributor, they only have the classic video store aisle genres to stick your movie under when they’re pitching it, and, ultimately, the streaming service decides. Image Credit: Doom Lounge Productions BK : How long did it take to make Couple in the Woods , from finishing the script to completing post-production? DL : From soup to nuts, it took us just under a year. We started brainstorming script ideas in late spring 2023 and had a finished script by mid-to-late July.
We shot the film over seven non-consecutive days, propped open my eye-lids A Clockwork Orange style, and jumped straight into post-production. By April 2024, we had our final cut ready and immediately moved into the distribution process. BK : What was the hardest part of making Couple in the Woods for you, both as an actor and as the director? DL : Balancing those two roles, of course.
There are times where you want to see playback for a take you just did, but you’re also burning daylight and you have to make tough calls, especially since we had a very specific schedule to stick to (that, yes, I demanded of myself). As a director, I very much wanted to create something that was fun and funny, with a little pinch of weird, and, of course, a dash of spookiness—all things I love in movies. I also wanted to sneak in some deeper meaning for anyone who, like me, enjoys digging into a film for its sub layers.
Getting the specific shots was also a challenge. I geek out over things like using framing to show character dynamics. For example, whenever Meg and Oliver aren’t seeing eye to eye (which is often), I’d separate them, give them each their own frame to occupy, to visually show their different perspectives.
But when they’re experiencing something together, they share the frame. I love details like that in movies, it gives the viewer an extra something to munch on. However, it required a lot of careful planning while also staying in character as an actor.
So, the challenge was spinning those responsibility plates—keeping the creative vision on course while also being present in the moment as an actor. It was a lot, but it was also really rewarding. BK : How did you get into movie making? DL : Oh, that’s a long story, but I’ll boil it down to the notable bits.
My family always had a camcorder around (even a Sony Betamax), so my sisters (Heidi and Ingrid, who actually have voice cameos in the movie) and I would grab it and make sketches. I’d call up my friends, and we’d make movies. Now that you mention it, one of the first things I made, aside from that action figure movie, was a Mel Brooks-style spoof of Scream —so, yeah, that tracks.
In high school, I was that kid with a camcorder, always filming everything and exploring every possible angle. As a family, we were always going to the movies or renting them, and I even did the cliché stint working at a video store that will remain unnamed. Eventually, I studied Film at University of Buffalo and graduated with a bachelor’s in Film Interpretation, all the while obsessively reading about filmmakers.
BK : Any moviemaking heroes? DL : How long do you have? If I were to answer this question in full, we’d be here all day while I recite IMDb ad nauseam! My brain is a jumble of movies and directors that live there rent-free. To keep it concise, here are some of my moviemaking heroes who directly influenced Couple in the Woods : The Coen Brothers and Tricia Cooke for their blend of dark humor and unique characters. Sam Raimi (of course) for his inventive style and willingness to be weird.
Kar-Wai Wong for movies like Chung King Express that move at the speed of thought. Farah Khan for her vibrant, energetic approach to filmmaking. Luis Buñuel for being surreal and thought-provoking.
Nacho Vigalondo for being inventive and unconventional. Edgar Wright for his dynamic, fast-paced style and creative direction. Thomas Lennon for his humor and unique character portrayals.
Shane Black for his clever dialogue and genre-bending films. Julio Torres for his imaginative and surreal humor. Alain Resnais for making a bizarre movie like Last Year at Marienbad and getting away with it.
And all the indie directors like Jim Cummings, Jane Schoenbrun, and Mike Cheslik who are out there making unique and funny films. Each of these directors brings something special to the table, often showcasing something different and, yes, sometimes a little (or a lot) weird. Their unique visions and styles have inspired me to push the boundaries of my own work.
BK : Any upcoming projects you can tell us about? DL : Right now, it’s all about promoting Couple in the Woods . We’ve sent it out into the world and are eager to get it seen and enjoyed by as many people as possible. We’re especially lucky that its release coincided with the autumn months, and we’re hoping it finds a spot on people’s Halloween playlists.
BK : What do you hope audiences get out of Couple in the Woods ? DL : We aimed to create something fun for the spooky season that also has layers for those who want to dig deeper. There’s some underlying allegory and subtle details, like the broken clock in the cabin and Oliver’s broken wristwatch, that hint at deeper meanings. We’ve also included jokes and clues that point to the allegory, but I don’t want to give too much away—I love puzzles, so hiding clues and seeing how people piece them together is part of the fun.
Additionally, we wanted to tell a “golden fleece” story, where characters pursue something they desire but eventually have to let it go despite their efforts. It’s a narrative that resonates with me, much like in Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade , The Goonies , or similar stories. There’s something very relatable about those kinds of movies.
BK : Any chance of a Couple in the Woods 2 ? DL : Hey, I’m not ruling anything out — if any studios want to slide into our DMs we already have a pitch for a Couple in the Woods series ready to go. BK : Do you personally believe in the power of crystals? DL : Listen, I’m no expert on crystals, but I’ll say this: some of my favorite fiction features crystals in prominent roles. Think of Star Trek with its dilithium crystals, Final Fantasy and its association with crystals, or Sonic the Hedgehog with its Chaos Emeralds (c’mon, those are crystals).
Even Star Wars relies on kyber crystals for lightsabers to function. And, of course, there’s The Dark Crystal . Image Credit: Doom Lounge Productions ** A very special thanks to Dominic Luongo for agreeing to participate in this interview.
Couple in the Woods is available to watch for free on Tubi (check it out here )! Check out my review of Couple in the Woods here! Check out the official Doom Lounge Productions Facebook page here ! Check out Dominic Luongo’s IMDB page here ! Dominic Luongo image courtesy of Dominic Luongo. All other images courtesy of Doom Lounge Productions..
