Most of us will never get the chance
to attend a full-blown Hollywood movie premier.
The best chance we have is winning a contest of some type and even then
you can guarantee that the majority of us would feel as out of place as a
Justin Bieber fan at a Megadeth concert.
That doesn’t mean that you can’t have the chance to experience a kick
ass movie premier. In Edgewood, Ohio,
one of these events took place on Saturday, February 22, and both the event and
the movie itself were amazing in a way that only Henrique Couto can deliver.
One thing you can be sure of is that
even if you do have the chance to attend the premier of a major studio movie,
you will not likely be invited to dinner with the director and cast prior to
the show. Henrique Couto invited all of
his fans to join him at Marion’s Pizza prior to the movie and showed his guests
a great time. There was no separation of
stars and fans as we all sat down to enjoy some excellent Dayton area pizza and
talk with each other about our general love of horror movies and independent
horror especially. Henrique even managed
to get in a bite to eat between making sure that he worked his way around the
entire restaurant so that he would have a chance to thank everyone for coming
and talk to people. Afterwards, we all
headed over to the theatre.
Expectations were high as about 150 fans
awaited the start of the movie. One fan
summed up the feelings well. Duane West
shared with me that after seeing previews and reading up on the general
information that was available for the movie, he was extremely excited. “I could not wait to see it because there is
just so much thrill, suspense, paranormal horror, and slasher all rolled in to
one. I personally have never seen a film
set up that way. To me, it’s a new film
all of its own to have a blended mix of all this together.” Fans were not the only ones eager to see the
final result of such a talented group of independent film professionals.
Many of the cast and crew were eagerly
awaiting seeing the movie in its final, polished form. Each had their own reasons and specific areas
which they were eager to see. Marylee
Osborne, actress and line producer on the film was most eager to see all the
effects come together. “I’m really
excited to see the makeup and the special effects in the movie because they are
absolutely brilliant and I think that’s what’s going to make the movie.”
Some of the cast were just anxious in
general. “I am excited,” lead actress,
Joni Duran, shared with me prior to the movie. “I don’t want to say nervous, I am just super
excited. Bouncing off the walls. Hyper.”
Once we got into the theatre,
Henrique Couto introduced the film and then the much anticipated moment
came. I think it is safe to say that the
fans were not disappointed! At this
point, I will not be giving my usual break down and rating of the movie. Having only seen the film once, I will just
give my overall impressions and the things that struck me the most. I promise a more thorough review once the DVD
has been released.
In my opinion, this movie currently stands
as Couto’s masterpiece. The atmosphere
of the film was phenomenal. Couto
creates a very creepy and suspenseful setting revealing just enough at the
right times to keep us on the edge of our seat.
Marylee was right when she praised the makeup and special effects,
because neither seemed to be something out of a typical independent film. Both were very impressive and professional
done. The story flowed well and once it
grabbed you, it never let go.
It is possible that part of the success of the story was
Couto’s decision to collaborate with another writer for the first time in his
film making career. He could not have
found a better choice than the writer of Haunted
House on Sorority Row, John Oak Dalton.
Dalton shared some insight into why this movie came across as such as
great story with such a unique feel. “My
touchpoints are kind of 70’s horror movies and Henrique’s are kind of 80’s
horror movies, and I think that when you put our sensibilities together, it’s
kind of different.” This movie shows
that different does not equal bad. When
asked about the experience of working with a director who is used to writing
his own material, Dalton recounted a very positive experience. “I think I realize that Henrique has a unique
vision and you are delivering someone else’s baby. It’s not your baby. So you have to tune in to the things, his sensibilities. Plus, I saw Babysitter Massacre. I had
known him as a high school kid, but seeing him as an adult, I mean he was
really talented and that made me want to work with him a little bit more. And knowing the people that he had around him
that it was going to be an interesting experience. I think just kind of getting to know him and
know his sensibilities and being able to deliver something that he would
want. Although, I think it has my voice,
but it has his production sensibilities.“
Not only was Dalton right about Couto’s production sensibilities, he was
right about the people around the director as well.
Simply put, the acting in this film was
amazing. What is possibly the most
impressive about the cast is how some of the actors really showed their talent
and range by playing characters that were very unlike previous roles. if you look at Babysitter Massacre, Erin Ryan plays a lead who is very confident
and sure of herself while Joni Duran played a co-lead that was very meek and
mild. In Haunted House on Sorority Row it almost seemed like the two
switched roles and both did an amazing job at the part, demonstrating what
great range they have as actresses. Ryan’s
character is nervous and lacks self-confidence.
You don’t doubt for a moment that this character is not handling well
what is being thrown at her. Joni Duran,
on the other hand, plays a no-nonsense, take charge lead. Joni herself said that she immediately
recognized and embraced the differences in the roles. “This character is completely opposite who I
was in Babysitter Massacre,” Duran
told me before the show. “I’m really
kind of excited to see that side of me and it was fun to project that side of
me. She is very assertive, so it’s a completely
different kind of animal.” Duran, Rayn,
and the rest of the cast do not disappoint for a moment in the performances.
After the show was over, the crowd
stuck around and spoke with cast and crew.
All of those involved, were very friendly and approachable and seemed
happy to sign autographs and talk with their fans. Their reactions from the crowd following the
movie were generally positive. One fan
stated, “It had everything you could ever want.
It had chicks, horror flicks, and some creepy unique suspense parts!” Another fan shared that this was his first
time seeing a Henrique Couto movie, but that he would definitely be back for
the next one. Couto seemed very pleased
with the showing and the end product itself.
After the theatre lobby had cleared, he took a moment to share with me
how he was feeling after such a successful evening.
“I’m feeling really good, but
I feel like I finally earned the right to be tired. Now I can say, I want to sleep. And I will and I will have very little
guilt. But of course I say that knowing
that we roll cameras next week on the first few scenes of Awkward Thanksgiving. In
fact, a week from today, we are filming some scenes. So I am going to rest until the great, late
hours of 11:00 AM tomorrow and then I will be back at it. I couldn’t be happier. I’m happiest about the people who work with
me. I’ve had this experience over and
over of being able to show movies and watching the crowd react, but to have
Eric Widing be my editor, and he worked so hard as well, and then get to see
the fruits of his labor on the screen.
To have John Oak Dalton here who wrote the screenplay with me and have
him be able to see it on the big screen, those things were actually almost as
good as the audience for me because I like working with talented people and I
like encouraging them. I feel like I’m
getting older when I say that because, although John’s not a pup, but I’m proud
of that. I guess it’s like I had more of
a sense of pride in my project this time around if that makes any sense.”
I think
the fans will agree that Henrique’s sense of pride is in his project is well
deserved and that the pride he has in his work shines through across the big
screen.
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