Why some people love horror movies
Horror movies are box office flops, and there’s a good reason for that. We explain the science behind scary movies.
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For a brief time in 2022, the landscape on a Christmas tree farm in Ohio was filled with bloodcurdling screams, brutal exorcisms, entrails-ripping werewolves, and bloody carnage.
The masterminds behind all this?
The film’s cast and crew are collaborating on “Fresh Hell,” a horror trilogy of three new feature-length independent films produced by Cranked Up, the genre-specific label of Ashland-based Good Deed Entertainment.
The trilogy will be released on streaming platforms such as Amazon, AppleTV, Google Play and Fandango At Home, as well as in select theaters. The Exorcism of Saint Patrick hit theaters on August 27, and the following films will be released one week apart.
Three horrors, one place
Written and directed by Quinn Armstrong, the trilogy takes viewers on a journey through three different, spooky worlds.
In the first film, The Exorcism of Saint Patrick, the ghosts of previous victims appear in a pastor’s conversion therapy camp after the cruel treatment of a gay teenager ends in devastating tragedy.
The second part, “Wolves Against the World,” is an animalistic, gruesome tale (with Armstrong in one of the lead roles) that unfolds when two members of a disbanded neo-Nazi metal band reunite at the scene of their bandmate’s suicide and grapple with the question of redemption and the haunting of a troubled past of misdeeds and depravity.
The final film, Dead Teenagers, turns classic tropes and conventions on their head to offer a cruel take on fate.
The project was shot over a 12-week period and is not Cranked Up’s first project, but the first to be produced entirely by the company, which has previously taken on larger, higher-budget projects and co-produced them with other companies.
Filming in the state: Ohio has spent $44 million on film and television shooting in the state. See projects on the list
In 2022, as part of its plans to resume production after the pandemic, the company took the approach of taking on projects of smaller scope and scale without compromising its vision for the cinema.
In that sense, “Fresh Hell” was a “great experiment” both on set and in pre-production, said Phil Garrett, one of the trilogy’s producers and head of production and development for Cranked Up. Since then, the company has shot seven projects in two years – the experiment was a success.
Today, sets like “Fresh Hell” offer a glimpse into Ohio’s growing film industry. Cranked Up and Good Deed take advantage of programs like the Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit Program, which allows refundable tax credits on production cast and crew salaries and other state expenses, tapping into a pool that has been largely untouched in the industry compared to other hotspots in the country like Los Angeles and Georgia.
“When we put the crew together and cast actors from Ohio, you know these are people who are paying mortgages, paying rent, buying cars, supporting themselves and supporting their families,” Garrett said. “So there’s a real economic impact locally.”
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Steve Pinder, an Indianapolis actor who plays Father Pat in “The Exorcism of St. Patrick,” is all for it. Although his career in film and theater has taken him all over the nation, he said working with the “Fresh Hell” team was special.
“It’s like storytelling is becoming more local, and somehow it also feels like it’s becoming more diverse, more personal, more intimate,” Pinder said.
Armstrong said the strength of the industry lies in its diversity and the ability to recognize and invest in it.
“It’s not just that there are talented people. There are talented people from all different backgrounds, and there are people like Phil who are consciously trying to nurture all different kinds of talent,” Armstrong said. “And I think the future of Ohio film looks incredibly bright to me.”
Using horror to initiate dialogue
Among the talented cast is Michael J. Cline, a Columbus actor who played Trick, the teenager who is sent to a re-education camp. As scene partners for much of the film, Cline and Pinder had the difficult task of conveying the film’s heavy subject matter through their performances.
Although the films evoke memories of nostalgic cabin horror films of the ’80s, Armstrong deliberately resorts to darker themes to ask poignant questions about what drives a person to devastating violence.
“(The films) are about real-world things and have real victims involved,” Armstrong said. “I think of people like Nex Benedict, the trans boy who was murdered just last year, and so the whole process just has weight and hope that the film is enough in some way to give some level of honor to it all.”
For both actors, their respective roles were difficult in their own ways. Pinder had to wrestle with the darkness of his character’s actions, Cline had to tell Trick’s story with weight, honor and truth.
“Michael created this wonderful ritual for us where we hug after every scene and remind each other of who we really are,” Pinder said. “I’m not usually an actor who feels like I need that to get out of something, but man, it was so helpful and game-changing to just be reminded by my acting partner that he knew that wasn’t me.”
When filming ended, the two were able to say goodbye to their characters. It was a bittersweet moment for Cline, as they both had to think about Trick’s tragedy while also being able to put his story behind them.
“I remember when filming was finished, I went back to take off my costume and put my clothes back on, and I remember just saying, ‘All right, Trick. I’m letting you go,'” Cline said. “And that was the end.”
At a glance
The films will be screened at 8:30 p.m. on August 31, September 7 and September 14 at the Gatehouse Film Center, 1550 N. High St., followed by a question-and-answer session with the filmmakers.
For more information about the films and tickets, visit crankedupfilms.com.
