OARK — A bloody college student stranded on a rural road ran for her life. Panting and weeping, she looked left and then right. A blue pickup screeched out of a driveway and disappeared around a corner. Barefoot and alone, she stumbled deeper into danger.
And a film crew captured the scene.
Madison County, a horror movie by Russellville native Eric England, is being shot on location this month in Northwest Arkansas. By Thursday, the crew had filmed the movie’s founding scenes, and, take by take, was moving closer to the kill.
Filming is scheduled to conclude Sept. 27, when England and his co-producers expect to have what they came for - a bounty of authentic-looking scenes shot in rugged, remote corners of Madison, Franklin and Johnson counties.
“I wrote the movie to take place in an area like Arkansas, a place I had access to,” said England.
He arrived about a month ago to prepare, scout and secure locations. And then the crew members - all 17 of them - came from Los Angeles.
The movie is about a group of college students that travels to a fictional mountain town called Madison County to interview a local author who wrote a book about murders there 20 years earlier. The locals say the author hasn’t been seen in a long time, that the murderer never existed and that the murders never happened. The students, however, do their own investigation and find that the murderer, Damian Newell, is indeed alive.
Shot with a digital camera, the $1 million independent movie is scheduled for theatrical, DVD or Blu-ray release sometime in 2011.
England, 22, shot a short film in Arkansas last year titled Hostile Encounter that is in post-production and has yet to be released. Based on the merits of that movie, investors said they were willing to support Madison County.
While the movie doesn’t feature big Hollywood names, England and his co-producers expect the movie to do well in the loyal horror market that craves thrills, guts and gore. The film is being promoted on the Internet and in the horror industry to generate buzz, said Ace Marrero, a co-producer who starred as the victim, Trevor White, in Hostile Encounter.
On Wednesday and Thursday, scenes were filmed at the Oark General Store. The weathered, time-worn building provided an aesthetic that couldn’t be matched in Los Angeles, said Marrero, who also plays Kyle, a protective older brother, in Madison County.
The 1890 general store is the backdrop for a key moment in the film.
“We have a couple of big scenes in a diner off the beaten path,” Marrero said. “This is the hot spot of the town. [The characters] go to the central place to find things out.”
While the Oark General Store was praised for its look and feel, it also served another, extremely important purpose.
“To make [the store] work in LA would’ve taken our entire production budget,” Marrero said.
This week, Los Angeles based Almost Human, a makeup and creature effects company, arrives with monstrous creations for the kill scenes.
“That’s when the horror will be unleashed,” said Marrero.
Wednesday morning, England dug in and worked intensely on a scene set on Arkansas 215 just east of Oark. The crew made nine takes for footage that might appear in the film for only a few seconds. Over and over again, Joanna Sotomura, the actress who plays Brooke, a victim, had to replay a moment on the road when she’s distraught, desperate and in danger.
“Quiet on the set, please,” a crew member said, and then came the action.
All the while, England was reviewing the footage, coaching Sotomura and prepping for the next shot.
“Let’s move on,” he said at last, meaning he’d got what he wanted.
Details about the movie are online at madisoncountymovie.com. The crew also has a page on facebook.com.
A lot is riding on England, an aficionado of horror films who is doing triple duty on Madison County as writer, director and producer. He has to meet the schedule, budget and create a film that can compete in the market. Executive producer Daniel F. Dunn, who was instrumental in rounding up the cash needed for Madison County, said he trusts England’s abilities.
Based on what he has seen of Hostile Encounter, Dunn said he was convinced the young director had the talent and work ethic needed to make a fine movie.
“It was a risk I was willing to take,” said Dunn.
Arkansas, Pages 14 on 09/20/2010