What is “A Ben Evans Film”? Apparently, it’s a horror movie filmed recently in Detroit that will feature locations like the Redford Theatre and John K. King Books, plus a cameo by an electronic dance music icon.
Oh, and it’s connected to the same guy who wrote the novel that became a 2018 monster hit for Netflix. That would be “Bird Box,” starring Sandra Bullock.
“A Ben Evans Film” is based on a short story by metro Detroit’s own bestselling author Josh Malerman, who has been posting about the production on social media.
About three weeks ago, Malerman wrote on Instagram that shooting had begun on the project. Other posts have chronicled filming at Detroit’s Redford Theatre and contained some behind-the-scenes photos. At one point, Malerman noted: “The footage looks sooooo good guys.”
John K. King Books in downtown Detroit also used Instagram to share a picture of the crew of an unidentified Malerman project at work, writing: “Can’t wait to see us on the big screen!”
A few days ago, Malerman signaled that filming had been completed by posting a photo from what he described as the film’s wrap party.
Efforts by the Free Press to reach the producers of “A Ben Evans Film” for more details were unsuccessful.
The horror entertainment website Bloody Disgusting reports that the production stars Sky Elobar and features a cameo by well-known Canadian electronic music producer and DJ Joel Zimmerman, aka Deadmau5.
The co-directors of the project are James Henry Hall, a Pontiac native, and Bret K. Hall, who also teamed up to write the screenplay. The horror genre site HorrorFuel describes them as an uncle-and-nephew filmmaking team.
The plot concerns an obsessive filmmaker (played by Elobar) who is working on a movie with a cast that includes “his recently deceased parents, and eventually, other townsfolk,” as a Kickstarter page details.
No wonder it’s described as a cross between “Psycho” and “Weekend at Bernie’s.”
The current production appears to be a feature-length version of a roughly 12-minute short film with the same title that was made about three years ago by the Halls. According to the IMDb entry for Elobar, he won a best actor prize from the 2023 GenreBlast Film Festival for his role in the short version.
This isn’t the only Malerman-inspired project in the works. “Other Mommy,” a horror film starring Jessica Chastain and Jay Duplass, is set to open in early October, according to Deadline. It’s based on the 2024 Malerman novel “Incidents Around the House.”
Contact Detroit Free Press pop culture critic Julie Hinds at jhinds@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Details leak out about horror movie that just finished Detroit shoot
Reporting by Julie Hinds, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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