Exclusive: Olivia Applegate and Jessica Frances Dukes on Their Wild Organ Trail Ride

If 1883 crawled into a covered wagon with Little House on the Prairie, and combined the filmmaking DNA of Clint Eastwood and Quentin Tarantino, it might look something like Organ Trail. Contrary to what the title leads viewers to believe, it’s a not a total blood fest in this western thriller from first-time feature-length screenwriter Meg Turner. With director Michael Patrick Jann (Reno: 911, The Good Doctor) at the helm, the story is a sight to behold, and its female characters stand out.

Sometime after the American Civil War, the Archer family embarks on a new life out west. Abby (Riverdale’s Zoé De Grand Maison), her Pa and Ma (Mather Zickel and Lisa LoCicero), and brother Travis (Lukas Jann), painstakingly move through the ordeal when a mysterious stranger, Cassidy (Olivia Applegate), helps them out. That proves to be deadly as it captures the attention of a treacherous gang, whose leader, Logan (Sam Trammell of True Blood), quickly take Abby and Cassidy, forcing Abby to discover a way out of their dire circumstances.

The film ultimately morphs into a gripping revenge-type adventure with, of course, some blood spilled on the “trail” along the way. Organ Trail is also a unique outing as it spotlights strong female characters—refreshing considering that Hollywood typically loves to shine to light on men in Westerns. Olivia Applegate and Jessica Frances Dukes shared more about the film with MovieWeb.

Olivia Applegate on Organ Trail’s Intense Shoot

MovieWeb: What a high-stakes thriller. What stood out for you, particularly your character, Cassidy, who is vital to how things play out?

Olivia Applegate: For starters, doing a Western was always kind of a bucket list thing. It’s a fun thing to get to do as an actor. Beyond that, I typically get cast in like, sweetheart roles, or maybe professional-lady roles or whatever. But Cassidy is quite a departure from that. She’s not who she says she is, initially. She’s a bit brooding and a darker character and gets to be a bit of a badass in the movie. That was really appealing to me. What also stood out to me was the script, and just how cold it would be [outside filming], and how hard it would be. But the character was so worth it to me, I just found her so compelling.

MW: Can you share a few challenges you face during this intense shoot?

Applegate: It was the first film I’d ever been on where you sometimes had to be snowmobiled to the set. We were shooting in some remote locations. Sometimes the food had to be sledded in for lunch, and you’re hanging out and warming tents. Then there’s also a bathroom tent, and so that was new for me. But I was all about going along for the ride. It was an adventure. That’s one of the cool things when you’re in the entertainment business. Your office can be a mountain range in Montana. But I love the great outdoors. I grew up camping. We were always out, getting into the woods and stuff. So, for me to wake up and go outside every day for work was like such a delight.

Related: Organ Trail Review: Great Villains Separate This Typical Revenge Western Movie

MW: Can you share more about the film’s strong female characters, yours included? We’re seeing more of these characters and it’s great.

Applegate: I’m so grateful that I’m having a career in this era as a actress, because some of the roles are getting pretty juicy. I’m excited about it. I really wanted to make sure that my character’s humanity was very clear. That she’s a human, she’s a flawed person. She’s a person who’s doing the best with what she’s got. And she’s really been through something.

Applegate: When I was first reading the script and talking with Michael Patrick Jann, the director, he was talking about that there’s Cassidy, my character, and then there’s Abigail, Zoe’s character. And Zoe’s character, Abigail, has a secure attachment to the world. My character has an insecure attachment to the world. Cassidy expects people to betray her, she expects the world to be a dark and evil place. And I think a lot of people can relate to that, especially coming out of a pandemic. Cassidy really recognizes that. But I think she goes on a beautiful arc back to having a sense of purpose and being able to trust and connect again, and I thought that was really beautiful and deeply human, and I wanted to convey that sense.

MW: So, why do we love Westerns so much?

Applegate: Right? Hopefully people are itching for more. We love Westerns because they deal with the unknown in interesting ways — new territories and whatever. It’s like a deeply human thing to want to explore the proverbial Wild West, whatever that is. It’s just removed from regular life enough to be really interesting, but still very relatable.

Related: Best Westerns Set in the Snow, Ranked

Jessica Frances Dukes on Strong Female Characters

MW: The characters’ fight to survive the bad guys here is intense. What were your thoughts about the script and your role in Organ Trail?

Jessica Frances Dukes: I had never seen a Western or horror, or drama that centered around woman power. The women in the movie are so strong, they’re so resilient. I was attracted to that in the script, especially the way they must come together to defeat the evil. I love that it’s all about female empowerment, then the character of Nora—I don’t want to spoil it—but Nora being a part of that fight was special for me. I connected to it immediately.

MW: Why is it a perfect time for this kind of movie to come out?

Dukes: Great question. I think everybody loves some women kicking some butt. The women in this story… they have so many trials and tribulations, especially the main character that we follow. It’s just timely, I think, to see that version of the West like this. You know, most versions of those stories back then we always saw the male hero. It’s cool to see a female hero in the story.

MW: It’s shifting the paradigm in a way.

Dukes: I agree. That’s exactly it. The environment women were living in at that time, they just had to deal with everything from the weather to raising children to keeping the household together or bringing in the cattle. I always think about how strong the women were. So, to have a movie that shows that, it’s absolutely beautiful.

MW: Surely there were some challenges during the shoot you can share.

Dukes: I’d only done one or two fight sequences before. So, to be able to be a part of a massive fight sequence was very challenging, but also fulfilling and exciting to learn how to create that scene. Then watching the stunt people, who were brilliant, bring it to full fruition. But yes, it was absolutely challenging. And it was one of our longest shoot days to get every single sequence within that final big scene. It was just epic. I’m excited for young girls and young women to see this story and to feel empowered. I’m excited for them to feel like they can escape whatever trials and tribulations they’re in, and that we can lean on each other to really save the day.

Organ Trail is available to purchase on digital platforms beginning May 12, 2023, from Paramount Global Content Distribution.