While many moviegoers have a favorite genre, projects like Novocaine cross over multiple. The wildly gory action/adventure film is also a comedy at heart, despite how many injuries Jack Quaid's title character deals with throughout its runtime. And there was a clever way that he and the cast/crew were able to keep track of his injuries while filming the project.
CinemaBlend's Novocaine review praise the movie's action, which puts its hero Nathan into all sorts of horrifying and bloody conflicts. Only time will tell if this new release ends up ranked as one of the best action movies, but the gore in Novocaine won't be forgotten soon. As you can see in the video above, I had the chance to speak with Jack Quaid and Amber Midthunder about their work on the new movie, where the latter actress told me how production was scheduled. In her words:
We shot this movie relatively chronologically. The first kind of third of filming was just the Nate and Sherry rom-com. And then the middle portion was a very solid 2 or three weeks where everyone was off from work except for Jack. And he was shooting this John Wick action movie. And I visited him on set a couple times and every time I would see him he’s just like so locked in, so on another planet, so deep in the work.
This is actually pretty surprising. Most movies aren't shot in order, allowing certain locations and/or actors to be used in their entirety before moving on. But that's not what down with Novocaine, which won at the box office upon its opening weekend. While this put all of Nathan and Sherry's love scenes at the start of production, it also meant that Quaid's injuries were able to build in severity as filming continued.
While some folks had issues with Novocaine's villain, the audience score and critical score are both solid on Rotten Tomatoes. In our same interview, Midthunder shared how "disconnected" she felt from the movie's violence throughout most of filming, sharing:
So I felt disconnected from it, so being able to be a viewer and watch it; I saw this movie alone in a screening room and I was fully curled up in my chair, sideways watching through my fingers as if I did not know. As if I had never seen anything, did not read the script, nothing.
Sounds like, despite being the movie's female lead, the Prey actress was able to really enjoy Novocaine as an audience member. Shooting the movie chronologically might have given Midthunder some time off from filming, but it also no doubt helped Jack Quaid and company keep track of the countless bloody injuries the movie's protagonist deals with throughout its runtime. The star of The Boys (which is streaming with an Amazon Prime subscription)
Those were kind of my favorite days. Because yes I was doing a stunt or something and Amber would be come in with a smoothie, she’s had a full night’s sleep. You have a friend, I have an arrow through my leg.
Clearly not all film roles are created equal. While Midthunder eventually got in on the violent fun of Novocaine (and definitely has experience with action and blood thanks to Prey), she also got to have some weeks of relaxing in the midst of filming. Although its sounds like absence made the heart grow fonder, and she and Quaid were excited to finally reunite on set when the time called for it.
Novocaine is in theaters now as part of the 2025 movie release list. We'll just have to wait and see how it continues to perform at the box office, and if we get a sequel.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
'Love A Little Violence Like That On Set': Black Bag's Marisa Abela And Michael Fassbender Hilariously Broke Down The Hand Stabbing At The Dinner Party Scene
I Did Not Have Picture This' Luke Fetherston Hiding Around Corners And Scaring His Co-Star Simone Ashley, But Their BTS Shenanigans Are Adorable
