Producer Sally Helppie and writer/director Michael Stokes gave Fango an exclusive trailer and first photo from their new fright feature THE BEACON; check ’em both out below. It’s the second feature from Helppie’s Texas-based Sabbatical Pictures, which previously made the Stokes-scripted violent actioner EXIT SPEED (coming on Peace Arch DVD March 3).
THE BEACON stars Teri Polo (also soon to be seen in Joe Dante’s THE HOLE) and David Rees Snell as Bryn and Paul Shaw, who are trying to put their life back together following the death of their child. After they move into the Beacon Apartments, Bryn starts experiencing visions of a little boy who died there, and comes to believe that freeing his spirit will allow her to contact her own dead son through him. “I love mayhem movies like EXIT SPEED,” Stokes tells Fango, “but THE BEACON is intentionally old-school, with a character-driven story, a deliciously eerie score by John Majkut and practical makeup effects by maestro Vincent Guastini of REQUIEM FOR A DREAM and DOGMA.”
The cast also includes Elaine Hendrix as a neighbor who lusts after Paul, and Ken Howard and genre vet Michael Ironside as policemen who investigate the frightening events surrounding the Shaws. “Michael has been a friend of mine for years, and he’s been very supportive of me as a writer,” says Stokes, whose scripting credits also include BRAM STOKER’S SHADOWBUILDER and who has NIGHTFALL in development with SPECIES/FRIDAY THE 13TH sequel producer Frank Mancuso Jr. “Having him in my directorial debut made the experience feel complete.”
THE BEACON was lensed at the Rogers Hotel in Waxahachie, TX, which proved to host a few apparent ghosts of its own. “I heard stories from several people about bedcovers being pulled back and items being moved,” Stokes reveals. “Some people saw orbs, and one crewmember heard children laughing and crying outside his room every night around 3 a.m.” The building’s elevator, which plays a prominent role in the movie, also had a habit of trapping hotel staff, usually after a big day of shooting. “We shot one scene in what is supposed to be the hotel’s most haunted location,” Stokes recalls. “There was no problem with the equipment, and our sound man checked the playback to confirm everything had recorded properly. Still, when the DAT tape reached the lab, it was blank. None of the dialogue had been captured. The actors had to dub the scene.
“Good, creepy fun,” Stokes continues. “If there were ghosts, they were a lot less malevolent than the ones in the movie.” Check back at this site tomorrow for more exclusive BEACON photos!
The cast also includes Elaine Hendrix as a neighbor who lusts after Paul, and Ken Howard and genre vet Michael Ironside as policemen who investigate the frightening events surrounding the Shaws. “Michael has been a friend of mine for years, and he’s been very supportive of me as a writer,” says Stokes, whose scripting credits also include BRAM STOKER’S SHADOWBUILDER and who has NIGHTFALL in development with SPECIES/FRIDAY THE 13TH sequel producer Frank Mancuso Jr. “Having him in my directorial debut made the experience feel complete.”
THE BEACON was lensed at the Rogers Hotel in Waxahachie, TX, which proved to host a few apparent ghosts of its own. “I heard stories from several people about bedcovers being pulled back and items being moved,” Stokes reveals. “Some people saw orbs, and one crewmember heard children laughing and crying outside his room every night around 3 a.m.” The building’s elevator, which plays a prominent role in the movie, also had a habit of trapping hotel staff, usually after a big day of shooting. “We shot one scene in what is supposed to be the hotel’s most haunted location,” Stokes recalls. “There was no problem with the equipment, and our sound man checked the playback to confirm everything had recorded properly. Still, when the DAT tape reached the lab, it was blank. None of the dialogue had been captured. The actors had to dub the scene.
“Good, creepy fun,” Stokes continues. “If there were ghosts, they were a lot less malevolent than the ones in the movie.” Check back at this site tomorrow for more exclusive BEACON photos!
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