News4U Online

The air was thick and ripe with fear, yet somehow eerily inviting. The lights were sparse, here and there they revealed brief glimpses of terrifying sights; a skeleton swung slowly from the ceiling, in the next room a disemboweled corpse lay sprawled on an operating table, its rubber extremities frozen in grotesque agony.

Of course, these are just a few of the oddities on display at Slaughter on Second Street in Owensboro. October’s haunted house aficionados are by now familiar with this environment.

For the past two months, however, something far more sinister has stalked these labyrinthine passages.

Since the conception of Verite Pictures in 2007, Owensboro residents P.J. Starks and Rodney Newton  have experienced a whirlwind of mounting success culminating most recently with the production of their feature Hallows Eve which was filmed entirely in Owensboro at Melissa Carter and Ralph Mitchell’s Slaughterhouse on second street. The project was initially written as a zombie thriller in August of 2007 but eventually blossomed into a horror film laced with brutality, gore, and plenty of comic relief.

Producer Rodney Newton and writer/director P.J. Starks sought not only to build a surrogate to channel some of Owensboro’s dormant energy, but also to showcase the city’s talent. In addition to the cast and crew comprised predominately of Owensboro natives, the film also features music from local bands such as Left With Scars.

PHOTO CREDIT | HALLOWSEVEMOVIE.COM

The production duo plan to showcase the film at various festivals in order to celebrate what Newton considers a testament to the Southern Mentality.

“You can’t find this kind of drive and dedication in many larger cities. We had a crew of over 20 people on this project and not one person asked what was in it for them.”

When his aspirations of growing up and being a vampire or a comedian became suddenly unrealistic, Starks – armed with a video camera – developed a passion for film making at twelve years old. To him, the most rewarding aspect of producing movies has been the bridges that he has built along the way and the generosity he has received from those involved.

There is no doubt that P.J.’s laid back directing style has earned him much of the respect and generosity that he has enjoyed. As a self-proclaimed “Actor’s Director,” Starks gives his actors ample free reign with dialogue in his productions. This style, perhaps, is a tribute to Kevin Smith whose work has greatly influenced Starks and Newton throughout the years.

PHOTO CREDIT | HALLOWSEVEMOVIE.COM

Although Hallows Eve – which centers around an investigation into the murky circumstances surrounding the gruesome deaths of stagehands at a purportedly haunted Haunted House – may be a far cry from Kevin Smith’s largely lighthearted repertoire, some aspects of the film’s production including its dialogue-driven plot, are evident tributes to the cult-legend responsible for Clerks and the infamous duo Jay and Silent Bob.

From Kevin Smith to John Carpenter and Texas Chainsaw Massacre to Ghostbusters, P.J.’s cinematic taste may differ from that of his partner’s. Newton believes Hollywood’s best scare involved a pair of binoculars and a view through a second story window in There’s Something About Mary. Thousands of men across America may also share this sentiment.

Despite their differences, Starks and Newton continue to enjoy great success in their endeavors to support Owensboro through independent film. Verite Pictures plans to use the October 31^st premiere of Hallows Eve in Blandford Hall at 7:00 p.m. as a springboard of sorts to garner interest for upcoming projects that promise to be bigger and better undertakings.

For information regarding the premiere or Verite Pictures, contact the Verite crew via email at verite-pictures@hotmail.com, or on Myspace at www.myspace.com/verite_pictures. For information and webisodes for the film, try hallowsevemovie.com.