‘Home Movie’—

 

Home Built In 1710 Served As The Setting For Psychological Thriller

By Kendra Bobowick

Rain clouds darkened the sky and, too late, signaled the sudden downpour sending cast and crew members into the garage at 8 Stony Brook Road on Friday, May 11.

Since late April, director Chris Denham and production partners Andrew van den Houton and William Miller of New York-based Modernciné have quietly been filming Home Movie at the former 16-acre estate off Currituck Road.

“It’s very Blair Witch-y,” Mr van den Houten had said. That Friday, as rain drummed against the garage roof, Mr Denham rested a towel around his shoulders as water dripped from his hair.

Mr Denham’s ideas for Home Movie — a film about the deterioration of a family as revealed through the family’s home movie clips — required the right setting. “It’s a psychological thriller,” he said. The fictional plot of holiday scenes, for example, grows dim.

“It’s home movies from a family that fell into darkness,” he said. But what was the problem?

“Mostly in us,” said child actor Austin Williams, who accompanies the lead role played by his sister, Amber Joy Williams. Completing a trio that possesses unsettling secrets is the third young actor, Lucian Maisel, who plays a friend. The three have already been among the credits to scroll along the silver screen. Austin was in flashback scene of The Good Shepherd, appeared on Saturday Night Live, David Letterman, and The Girl Next Door. Amber Joy has been in Law and Order, Saturday Night Live, and the upcoming Perfect Christmas.

Lucian played a role in The Ex, which just opened on May 11, and the independent movie Summerhood.

Newtown’s late spring setting offered trees with leaves just beginning to cast shadows on stone walls possibly as old as the white-washed, hand-hewn 1710 saltbox that sits back from the road, centered among dark red outbuildings. Old lilacs pushed white, cone-shaped blooms above the garage’s roofline. Filling the air with a scent that could have accompanied springtime for the last 297 years, the house, setting, and long history appealed to Mr Denham, and suited the eerie concepts in Mr Denham’s script. The crew had been “desperately” searching for the right setting, he said.

“We hadn’t found what we were looking for, then we happened to find this,” he said, indicating help from local Century 21 real estate agent Paul Kiss. In fact, the house and surrounding parcels are for sale and listed through Mr Kiss, who temporarily leased the site to the filmmakers.

Glancing outside the garage at the rain, Mr Denham considered the old stone walkway, semicircular drive, and secluded location. Did the house have an effect on his imagination?

“Definitely,” he said. “We tried to tailor the script to the house.” Mr van den Houten said the house served as the primary setting, and the crew painted and decorated to suit the scene.

Adding to the mystery trickling through the movie’s plot, he said, “From my understanding, it’s in the Historic registry, and maybe I heard someone misspeak, but it’s haunted. I think it fuels the fire.” Haunted or not, the home and Newtown proved to be “a great town to shoot in,” Mr Denham said.

“It’s going so perfectly that we need a little chaos,” he said. Thinking back to his home city, he said, “It’s a great getaway from New York.” Mr van den Houten is also pleased with the movie’s progress.

Stephen and Dianna Paproski’s Castle Hill Farm on nearby Sugar Street also received a visit. A holiday atmosphere had been created for the scene shot at the farm, complete with plenty of snow.

“They covered the ground with artificial, biodegradable snow,” Mr Paproski said this week. “They wore hats and gloves when it was warm, but they survived.” His overall experience hosting a filming crew was “fine,” he said.

 “I expect only good things from this movie,” said Mr van den Houten. Although the plot is fiction, the scenario carries hints of reality for the producer. “This is one of the most truthful [films] that we have made. It relies on no gimmicks and the story is real.” Without giving away too much of what “it” is, he said, “‘It’ happens all the time.”

He and Mr Denham have worked together before. The two met on the set of Head Space, also produced by Mr van den Houten, and also dealing with psychological shadows threatening its characters. See moderncine.com for additional movie descriptions.

Home Movie’s cast includes one of the stars from the television series Heroes, as well as a soap opera favorite. The producers have requested that the names remain confidential.

The Newtown Bee is the only news media granted an interview with the producers, director, and a portion of the cast. One entertainment channel had been turned down, but Mr Kiss was helpful in arranging an interview for this newspaper.

“They have been very cautious about the press,” Mr Kiss said.

Behind The Scenes

As the group films Home Movie about the breakdown of a fictional family, another scenario unfolds on the set. Sitting around the picnic table inside the garage, Mr van den Houten explained, “The thing I love about making films is we have the ability to bring family atmosphere [to] our sets and having a family away from family is unique and things unfold on a limitless horizon where we end up with thoughts and ideas.”

The young actors each had reasons they enjoyed their roles. Lucian said acting is “wonderful.” Amber Joy spoke quietly and thought for a moment before explaining, “It’s fun acting and seeing yourself on TV.” According to Amber and Austin’s mother Dawn Williams, her daughter became interested after seeing her brother on the screen. Austin had always shown an interest in acting, she said.

The Property

The antique home on Stony Brook Road off Currituck Road on the former 16-acre Mullen estate was purchased in past years by a developer who viewed the property as an investment, said Mr Kiss. The whitewashed and nearly 300-year-old saltbox home that served as the location for Home Movie was on the market when a production scout found the address.

“The house fit their needs for a movie,” he said.

The now divided acreage has left the saltbox, garage, pool, and greenhouse on a three-acre parcel listed for more than $800,000, while other lots baring new construction are listed for more then $1.6 million. One of the subdivided parcels complete with a new home sold for $1.61 million, which is the largest new construction sale in Newtown, Mr Kiss said. All options for purchase are posted on the property’s website at stonybrookroad.com.

The antique has unique features.

“The house has got a center chimney with three fireplaces [and] the main fireplace has a double beehive oven, there is usually only one,” pointed out the real estate agent.

Wide plank beams cover the floors, the kitchen and baths are updated, but, Mr Kiss said, “This house is still very pure.” He noted the newer air conditioning and granite counter tops, saying, “But the antique character and attributes haven’t been changed all that much.”