CRESTVIEW — The tiniest things can inspire writers. For Baker School alumna Meredith Majors, inspiration arrived via locket.
Meredith and her husband, Chris, were looking for a project for their production company, Savage Beast Films, when inspiration arose.
“One day, while heading to work in Los Angeles, I was sitting in traffic, twirling my locket/necklace around my finger," she said. "I stopped and looked at my locket, thinking about the idea that became ‘Lake Eerie.'
“When I got to work, I rushed to write down all of my thoughts and ideas on paper," Meredith said. "I spoke to my husband about it, and we decided to drop everything and make this happen.”
Meredith plays Kate Ryan, a widow who experiences unnatural phenomena when she moves to a lakeside home. Chris directed and acted in the film, which also features Lance Henriksen, of “Aliens” and “Terminator” fame; wrestler and actor Al Snow; Betsy Baker, from “The Evil Dead”; and Marilyn Ghigliotti, of “Clerks.”
Behind the scenes is Robert Kurtzman, Master Special FX supervisor, who worked on “Predator,” “Tremors" and “Scream," and Harry Manfredini, who has more than 150 composer credits, including “Friday the 13th” films, “House” and “The Hills Have Eyes II.”
The Majorses are negotiating the film's release date with distributors; the couple will know more in a few weeks.
They are grateful for backers who made that final step possible. Contributors donated more than $17,000 for post-production on the fundraising website Kickstarter.
"The best part about post-production is seeing the film in different stages, and how each stage makes the film better and better," Meredith said. "The worst part is trying to be patient, because it takes time. The challenge of film-making is working with multiple artists, and schedules.
"It feels like a miracle when it is completed, because so many ideas and egos are involved with the process."
HAUNTED HOUSE
In the case of Savage Beast Films' "Lake Eerie," art imitates life in some ways, according to Meredith Majors, the film's star, writer and producer.
Her husband's family owns Lake House, the 1918 LaSalle, Mich., home where much of the movie's action takes place. Something seemed strange about the place, so the couple asked experts to investigate.
“Prior to shooting 'Lake Eerie,' we had three groups of paranormal researchers investigate the house; and they caught EVPs (electronic voice phenomena), some photos and video of a 'shadow figure,' sudden temperature changes, and other unexplained occurrences," Meredith said.
“While shooting 'Lake Eerie,' some of the crew were skeptical of the house being haunted," she said. "However, one night some crew were in a room with no windows open, and the closet door slowly creaked opened and then slammed shut on its own. Our script supervisor ran down the stairs screaming.”
WHAT'S NEXT
Savage Beast Films is in preproduction on its next film, “Echo of Evil.” Meredith and Chris Majors have been talking about a supporting role with Robert Englund, who played villain Freddy Krueger in the "Nightmare on Elm Street" franchise. "There’s exciting stuff coming," Meredith Majors said, “but we do more than just the horror genre."
ONLINE
•http://lakeeeriemovie.wix.com/lakeeerie
•www.facebook.com/LakeEerieMovie
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Baker alumna's film comes closer to worldwide release