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NEW
YORK, May 13, 2003 - Glass Eye Pix is pleased to announce
that the cast and crew of its latest horror flick have
left their temporary home in Southern Maine to return
to New York City.
THE
OFF SEASON was shot in a motel in Old Orchard Beach, Maine,
a town that neighbors the one in which writer/director
James Felix McKenney grew up and shot his first feature,
CANNIBALLISTIC! (2001„Now available on Spectrum/Dead Alive
DVD and VHS).
While
filming, the cast -- which includes Christina Campenella
(THE ADDICTION), Don Wood (CANNIBALLISTIC!), Angus Scrimm
(PHANTASM), Larry Fessenden (HABIT, WENDIGO) and New York
performance artists Jamie Sneider and Francine Pado --
stayed at the Waves and Viking motels where the film was
set. Fessenden also produces.
In
the beginning, THE OFF SEASON appears to be the story
of a young couple from New York City moving up to Maine
to get away from it all. Soon, strange things begin to
happen in the one-room apartment that they occupy -- things
that the once close couple cannot discuss with each other.
This is not a typical ghost story resulting from a tragic
death, but the tale of a place haunted by guilt and the
fear of abandonment.
Unlike most traditional ghost stories, which take place
in an old mansion, castle or other giant structure, THE
OFF SEASON is about the haunting of a tiny room. The main
characters have nowhere to hide when confronted by unhappy
spirits. It can be easy to run away and slam a door between
yourself and something that scares you, but few things
are more terrifying than being forced to look the source
of your fear directly in the eye.
On
the casting of Angus Scrimm (best known for his portrayal
of "The Tall Man" in the PHANTASM film series), McKenney
says, "I wrote the script with Angus in mind for the role
of the eccentric former rodeo star, Ted, but I doubted
we would be able to get him for the movie. When we found
out he was going to be on the East Coast in April, we
decided to give him a call and arranged our schedule to
accommodate him. He was absolutely wonderful to work with
and even wrote two songs for the film!"
McKenney
continues: "I've always enjoyed films like PHANTASM that
are able to combine a dead serious tone with some oddball
characters and scenes that make the scary moments that
much more frightening. It is this type of non-traditional
tone that will set our ghost story apart from many of
the recent films of this type." THE OFF SEASON is a chilling
film that also has a its own warmth and charm.
Producer
Fessenden ads: "It was very gratifying to put this film
together, because Jim knew exactly what he wanted and
he had a team of collaborators he's worked with for years
to help him do it, including his lead Don Wood, his D.P.
David W. Hale, his sound man Noah DeFilippis and key grip
Laree Love. I've always wanted to produce a series of
grass-roots scare-flicks in the Roger Corman tradition,
and JimÍs script and approach was perfectly suited. Shot
in 24p in 10 days with a crew of 5, THE OFF SEASON is
the scale of production that will always be close to my
heart."
Postproduction
is already underway.
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