I’ll be honest, it was my goal to make our new movie Abigail Haunting one of the best horror movies on Amazon Prime. However, it has been an uphill battle since the beginning. Can we do it? Not sure yet, but one thing is certain, this movie was changed my perspective on filmmaking and life in general.
A few years ago, I was in the middle of developing another sci-fi film when I happened to go see a scary ghost movie called Annabelle. I have to admit, I am not the typical horror fan. Although, when I saw the reaction of the audience, and how much fun people were having in the theatre, I was persuaded that I needed to change directions with my current project.
After the credits rolled, I dashed out of the theatre and sent a text message to our distributor saying “I am making a haunted house movie! It’s going to be one of the best horror movies on Amazon Prime!” his response was “Cool.” Now that may sound ambitious and in someways arrogant, but it was a goal that I held close to me throughout the process of making this movie. It was a goal that served me well in many ways.
After I got home from Annabelle, I immediately took my enthusiasm to my wife and business partner Charisma Manulat. Together we crafted an 80 page draft for a supernatural thriller that would later become known as Abigail Haunting.
After nearly a year of meticulous planning with our director of photography and partner Michael Tushaus, we were set to shoot in Colorado in May of 2019. However, last minute, the haunted house location owner pulled the rug out from under us, causing us to scramble a new plan together.
Fortunately, with the help of some outstanding colleagues, we managed to put the production back together in less than three weeks. We shot the movie in April of 2019, a month ahead of schedule and wrapped in 15 days. The movie came out better than we could have imagined. The moral of this story is “THINGS THAT SEEM LIKE A DISASTER NOW CAN BECOME YOUR MOST VALUED OPPORTUNITY.”
I had toyed with the idea of postponing the production, but my team pushed me to stay the course. Had I postponed, we more than likely would have planned to shoot this year, and you know where that choice would have placed us… in the middle of a pandemic!
I do not like blood and guts in my movies. Movies like Saw and Texas Chainsaw Massacre are not my bag… But, I am always up for a good spooky ghost story. It was my goal to create a movie that was a throw back to the old scary movies of my childhood. Movies like Poltergeist, The Changeling and The Shining. Obviously, our little movie couldn’t come close to those classics, but our aim was still the same.
As I digress, our little ghost movie may not become one of the best horror movies on Amazon Prime, but it will certainly entertain those of you who appreciate “brick and mortar” filmmaking. If you are a fan of good old scary ghost movies, this may very well be of interest to you.
I invite you to check out our latest feature film Abigail Haunting. The movie is available on Amazon Prime, and completely free to Prime members.
I hope you enjoy!
Much love and good will. Be safe, stay home and be healthy.
-Kelly
Indie Film Factory, LLC