Scott Glenn may have checked out of “The White Lotus,” but he is still being trailed by another murder mystery. The actor returns to his real-life veteran roots for indie “Eugene the Marine,” directed by “Dixieland” filmmaker Hank Bedford.
Glenn stars in the film as Eugene “Gene” Lee Grady, who has become a recluse since the death of his wife. However, as he starts to befriend a new neighbor (Shioli Kutsuna) and begins flirting with a potential love interest (Annette O’Toole), secrets from his past come to light. Jim Gaffigan also stars. The logline reads: “A former Marine fights to keep his life from unraveling as his son tries to force him out of his longtime family home and a series of gruesome murders begin targeting the people around him.”
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Glenn, an iconic star who also recently appeared in series “Bad Monkey,” spent three years in the United States Marine Corps. The role of Gene fit Glenn perfectly, so much so that the actor even did his own stunts.
“I remember some days walking onto the set — one of the parts of the set decoration is my life,” Glenn told Variety. “[My real-life wife] Carol and I are the wedding pictures. But there’s one shot of me that I think was taken after I got out of Parris Island, where every Marine goes through something called IT, or infantry training regiment. I’d look at that thing in the morning thinking, ‘I look like I’m 12 years old in the picture.’ But if someone had told me when that picture was taken it was going to be set decoration on a movie — forget about playing the lead, but that I was going to be acting at all, I would tell them they were out of their fucking mind. So much of my life feels like it sort of looped back on itself doing this.”
The 85-year-old actor added that “Eugene the Marine” helmer Bedford “let me do pretty much anything I wanted to with the character,” and make Gene his own.
Bedford told IndieWire that the film, which was shot in 16mm, is a “love letter to the worn-out VHS tapes from my childhood.” Bedford said, “It’s a handmade horror film with humor and heart. Centered around an aging former marine whose regimented life is starting to crack, it blends elements of different genres from the ’70s and ’80s, resulting in a vintage deliver-for-the-audience film. We shot on Super 16mm in order to achieve the right look and feel — particularly for the giallo-style zooms. I’m also extremely proud of the haunting original score by Angela Aki and Hajime Kawauchi. The final product is an unpredictable, wild ride full of suspense, fun, and classic horror gore. It’s a truly independent film from start to finish.”
“Eugene the Marine” will be self-distributed in late 2025. Check out the teaser, an IndieWire exclusive, below.
