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Hark!<\/em> Halloween<\/strong> arrives early as the Illinois<\/strong> heartland continues to percolate with feature film activity. In the latest example to emerge, a local legend wreaks havoc among a mix of film students and townsfolk in HUNTING FOR THE HAG<\/strong>, the first feature-length production from Into the Night Motion Pictures<\/span><\/strong> of Normal<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, and the neon-lit Normal Theater<\/strong><\/a><\/span> will host its premiere on Friday, May 12<\/strong>, with doors opening at 6 p.m.<\/strong> Several participants are set to attend, such as director and co-writer Paul A. Brooks<\/strong> and actresses Jasmine Williams, Sierra Renfro<\/strong>, and Alexa Maris<\/strong>, who will sit down for a question-and-answer session with Dr. Eric Wesselmann<\/strong> of Illinois State University<\/strong> after the film plays at 7 p.m.<\/strong> Into the Night promises fun and \u201cHag Swag\u201d aplenty followed by a nightcap at The Coffeehouse & Deli<\/strong><\/a><\/span>, located a few blocks away from the Normal, where you can perk up while mingling with the wranglers of HAG<\/strong>.<\/p>\n When C-U Blogfidential<\/span><\/strong> last talked to Brooks in August 2021<\/a><\/span>, his team was about to visit the Pontiac<\/strong> area for a week-long shoot. \u201cThe entire process took about two years from start to finish,\u201d he tells us in anticipation of the premiere, \u201cso I\u2019m excited to finally show the film in my hometown.\u201d Also appearing at the Normal are makeup artist Aleah Kraft<\/strong>, who will fly in from Los Angeles<\/strong> like Renfro, Maris, and Williams, and other crew members from the area such as actors Steve Christopher<\/strong> and Thomas A. Jackson<\/strong>. \u201cThe film has evolved from the time Sierra and I first wrote it,\u201d explains Brooks. \u201cI don\u2019t want to give too much away but, technically, the movie isn\u2019t<\/em> found footage \u2026 there\u2019s some twists and turns that I hope the audience will appreciate because it comes out of nowhere.\u201d Considering the elusive entity at the film\u2019s core, we should expect nothing less than a thicket of surprises and thrills.<\/p>\n Brooks and co-producer Seth Chromick<\/strong> relied on their personal connections and familiarity with central Illinois resources to pull together a HAG<\/strong> hunting party. \u201cI met Jasmine through my job in Los Angeles. I was interviewing her and trying to help launch her acting career,\u201d Brooks remembers. \u201cMeeting Sierra is a fun story. We spotted each other at the Egyptian Theatre<\/strong> in Hollywood<\/strong>. Both of us were new in town and just kind of awkwardly standing there, so we started chatting!\u201d Their eventual co-star also first encountered Brooks in a social setting, as West Coast creatives are wont to do. \u201cWe were at a New Year\u2019s Eve<\/strong> party and connected through that,\u201d remembers Maris. \u201cI was super stoked about the idea of heading to Illinois and filming a horror film. I was so honored to even be considered for the movie!\u201d<\/p>\n ~~~~~<\/p>\n ~~~~~<\/p>\n Williams, who has appeared in a number of short films and episodes of television series like S.W.A.T., NOT DEAD YET<\/strong>, and CHICAGO P.D.<\/strong>, took the lead role in HAG<\/strong>. \u201cI play \u2018Tara Cordell,\u2019 a film student making a documentary about the local legend of the Hawthorne Hag,\u201d she describes to CUBlog<\/span><\/strong>. \u201cTara is naturally curious, which is fantastic because we get to learn a lot about the Hag and its legend, but also a lot about the other girls and their relationships with each other.\u201d \u201cBeth\u201d and \u201cCandy,\u201d portrayed respectively by Maris and Renfro, tag along for Tara\u2019s shoot. \u201cWhile curious, I think that Tara is naturally a little skeptical, so she finds herself agreeing to be placed in some risky positions,\u201d adds Williams. \u201cTara wants the best film possible, so she\u2019s willing to go to extreme lengths to capture the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It could easily be argued that Into the Night pushed its own boundaries while making HAG<\/strong> on property owned by Brooks\u2019 relatives and in the forests adjacent to Pontiac. \u201cFirst off, filming a feature in seven days during the hottest month of summer in Illinois would make most people nervous,\u201d exclaims Renfro, whose credits include THE LAST EXORCIST<\/strong> with Danny Trejo<\/strong> and the debut episode of a previous Brooks endeavor filmed in California<\/strong>, GHOST GIRLS<\/strong>. \u201cHowever, that experience was incredibly magical and inspiring,\u201d she qualifies. \u201cA group of artists coming together to make a story come to life under those circumstances takes individuals who are incredibly passionate, talented, and dedicated to their crafts.\u201d<\/p>\n Given that Renfro had a direct hand in developing HAG<\/strong> as a co-writer and assistant director as well as performing on screen, nothing should<\/em> have surprised her \u2026 except for the cuteness. \u201cOne night, we had to hike out pretty deep into some wilderness,\u201d she shares. \u201cWe heard some meowing and saw a little friendly black cat with a scar across his face. He emerged from the darkness under a full moon and felt like our little witchy good luck charm. We named him ‘Olly,’ in reference to a character in the movie. He followed us everywhere, snuggled on cast members\u2019 laps in between takes, and let us love on him.\u201d Of course, Renfro won\u2019t let the cat out of the bag as to what actually happened<\/em> in those woods, other than to remember that she\u2019d rather forget all the insufferable insects on the scene.<\/p>\n ~~~~~<\/p>\n ~~~~~<\/p>\n Ultimately, everyone pulled their weight and survived the Hag, the guise of which has also been a closely-guarded secret. \u201cI did help out here and there on days where my character wasn\u2019t being filmed,\u201d says Maris, who is just getting started in the film industry with a pair of shorts and the feature REBORN<\/strong> on her resume. \u201cJasmine reminded me that I had a GoPro<\/strong> attached to me so I technically also \u2018manned\u2019 a camera!\u201d Fellow cast member Christopher offers praise to how well HAG<\/strong> has jelled. \u201c[Paul\u2019s] vast experiences in central Illinois, Los Angeles, et cetera<\/em>, allowed him to do this,\u201d he explains. \u201cSince he was acting as well as directing [and handling several other jobs on the set] he needed to know the personalities would all mesh, though we hadn\u2019t worked together before.\u201d And thus, a new Midwestern rural horror was born out of creativity and determination.<\/p>\n Based in Peoria<\/strong>, Christopher has become a staple in Midwest-made indies. BAKING UP LOVE, FINDING VIRGINIA, THE SHOWDOWN<\/strong>, and COLLEGE DEBTS<\/strong> are some that CUBlog<\/span><\/strong> has covered previously, and recent regional fare that placed the actor in scary situations include TRICK AND TREATS, 13 DAYS TILL X-MAS<\/strong>, and STORY OF THE YEAR<\/strong>. \u201cBesides loving the horror genre in general and the benefit of filming close to home [on projects like HAG<\/strong>],\u201d continues Christopher, \u201cI simply love these guys and the teams they pull together! [For instance] I met Jason<\/strong> [Huls<\/strong>] and Paul at a McDonald\u2019s<\/strong> after reaching out to them about their first film, LATE AFTERNOON OF THE LIVING DEAD<\/strong>, filmed in Decatur<\/strong>. They invited me and my daughter to join them for a BATTLESTAR GALACTICA<\/strong> fan film [and it\u2019s] been awesomeness on several projects [with them] since then, so say we all!\u201d<\/p>\n Brooks\u2019 focus on frights and the fantastic in his various projects date at least as far back as LATE AFTERNOON<\/strong>, the micro-budget horror comedy directed by Huls<\/a><\/span> that made its debut across town at the Castle Theater<\/strong> of Bloomington<\/strong> in 2007. \u201cYou can be more creative within those genres,\u201d says Brooks about his gravitation towards that which is the antithesis of, well<\/em>, normal. \u201cThere\u2019s less limitations and less formula. I want to just get weird with it. And, horror is really hot right now, especially found-footage and experimental.\u201d Outside of commercial work for hire, his media output has clearly prepared him for imminent HAG<\/strong> glory: the aforementioned GHOST GIRLS<\/strong><\/a><\/span> reality show, several narrative shorts like BELOW DECKS<\/strong> and Huls\u2019 BEYOND THE BASEMENT DOOR<\/strong>, the podcast B-Movie Mania<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/span>, and a myriad of interview, review, and unboxing videos shared to YouTube<\/strong><\/a><\/span>. He digs the stuff.<\/p>\n ~~~~~<\/p>\n ~~~~~<\/p>\n No matter the thematic category, films are tweaked between the wrap of production and when a locked edit is shown for the first time at a film festival or public screening to hone their effectiveness. HAG<\/strong> is no exception. Apart from finessing the footage and visual effects when their funding allowed, Brooks and Chromick used the time to add value in the service of improving the storytelling. \u201c[We] went out to Los Angeles last year [with cameraman Andre Welsh<\/strong>] to shoot with Daniel Roebuck<\/strong> and it ended up changing the feel of the film and making it a bigger, more complex story,\u201d says Brooks, who connected with the well-known actor through a mutual friend in Christopher. \u201cI\u2019m really glad we did that.\u201d Roebuck\u2019s many screen credits include several Rob Zombie<\/strong> epics like THE MUNSTERS<\/strong><\/a><\/span> and 3 FROM HELL<\/strong>; in HAG<\/strong>, his \u201cJohn Davidson\u201d character \u201cshows up to help in more of a legal capacity,\u201d teases the director.<\/p>\n With the initial behind-the-scenes needs of HAG<\/strong> now in check, Brooks and the Into the Night faithful can soak up the Haggy glory for a bit at the Normal before they tackle the rest<\/em> of the story. \u201cI\u2019m excited to find a good home for HAG<\/strong> and get it out there to a much wider audience,\u201d states Brooks, whose previous works have essentially been self-releases. Formal distribution is a rite of passage for film creators as well as a business necessity to cover costs and pave the way for what comes next. \u201cI\u2019m going to stay put for now [in Normal] and keep making movies,\u201d he concludes. \u201cIt took me fifteen years to direct my first feature and now I really want to keep that ball rolling!\u201d Having found a willing accomplice in Chromick, who has \u201cnine or ten different movie ideas\u201d tacked to his own refrigerator door, Brooks clearly feels comfortable again in the cornfields after a half-decade living and working in California.<\/p>\n \u201cBringing it on home\u201d might therefore be the subliminal message to take away from HUNTING FOR THE HAG<\/strong>, especially as Brooks\u2019 \u201cfilm family\u201d congregates from near and far to present their horrifying tale in Bloomington-Normal. \u201cThe premiere at the historic Normal Theater will actually be the first time I\u2019m seeing the full film [and] it\u2019ll be such a treat to experience it live with the audience,\u201d admits Williams, who also hails from the Midwest and is relishing the return trip. \u201cI\u2019m most excited to be with everyone again,\u201d she says. \u201cLos Angeles is so big that even those of us in L.A. find it hard to see each other \u2026 we bonded so much during filming and I can\u2019t wait to see everyone\u2019s sweet faces. I also have some family members in Illinois that I\u2019m thrilled to hug!\u201d In that respect and more, HAG<\/strong> is already huge for all involved.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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