Collingwood duo set to screen film at Gayety
Author: John Edwards
Date: Dec 14, 2007
It's come full circle for Jesse Cook and John Geddes.
The pair wrote, produced, acted and directed in Scarce, a horror film that will be screened in their home town, at Collingwood's Gayety Theatre from Dec. 17-22.
The group produced the film under the name Bloodlife Films.
It's the story of a trio of young snowboarders who are on their way back from a trip in Collingwood. While stopping off at a diner in Pennsylvania they run into a group of cannibals who keep the trio running for their lives barefoot in the snow.
Cook said the majority of the film was shot in and around Blue Mountain last winter. He said it took six weeks to shoot the movie.
It hasn't been an easy road for the Collingwood Collegiate Institute graduates.
Cook said the pair had made short films in the past and attempted to sell those films to Hollywood producers. In an effort to do so, they had to sometimes pretend they were couriers or deliverymen, just to meet with people.
"We had no business being in the film business," Cook said.
After returning home to Collingwood, the pair developed a plan and sought out potential investors.
"We've been making short films with the intention of turning them into features," Cook said. "We were going door to door and had a lot of people saying no."
Geddes, who was working for a recording studio in Toronto, quit his job to pursue his dream of making a horror film.
"I didn't really find much reward in working with sound," he said. "My real passion was for the big screen. I went into exile and learned the film business on my laptop."
Geddes said there is a lot of ego in the movie business and many weren't open to their ideas, but that didn't deter them.
"You can't fail if you don't try," he said. "We took more of a guerilla approach."
In a matter of six weeks, the pair raised $400,000 to make the film and started shooting.
"We wanted to make a simple, ruthless, horror film, no strings attached," he said.
Cook said he and Geddes grew up watching horror films, and always wanted to get into that genre.
"Being afraid in a confined environment is definitely thrilling," he said.
The pair first screened the film on October 30 in Toronto to more than 700 people.
"It was like a rock concert in there," Cook said. "We're so pumped to be showing the film in our hometown."
Both say the film is a classic horror film with a lot of gore and even some funny moments.
"I hope people have a good time," Geddes said. "I hope they get a thrill and a chill."
The Gayety shows are the next stop on a tour across Ontario. The pair will be screening the movie at colleges and universities and are involved with Anchor Bay, a company that distributes a lot of horror films including Halloween and Hellraiser.
The next step is securing a DVD distribution agreement in the United States, which is where the "real money is," says Geddes.
"Once we sell, that gives us a lot of credibility," he said.
Cook says having a completed work will give them more leverage with producers and potential investors. He said their goal is to raise $10 million to make four films.
Scarce is not for the squeamish. It contains sexual content, blood and violence. For more detail about the film you can visit the website at www.scarcemovie.com.
Showings are at 7:00 and 9:30 p.m. Tickets for the screening are $12 and the event will include a behind the scenes documentary of the film. Tickets are available at the Gayety box office.
