'Final Destination' creator signs on for local film company feature

Dec. 27—Blood Moon Pictures, a local independent film company run by filmmakers P.J. Starks and Eric Huskisson, will be working with another big name for its upcoming full-length feature "New Fears Eve."

Jeffrey Reddick, creator of the horror franchise "Final Destination" and director of the 2020 mystery thriller "Don't Look Back," has signed on as a producer and actor for the film, which will begin production in January.

Over the years, Starks has been able to form a friendship with Reddick, with the latter even making a cameo in the company's 2020 film "13 Slays Till X-Mas."

Starks said Reddick, a Kentucky native, came on board for this project when Reddick called Starks on the phone "just to talk."

"Occasionally I'll call him or he'll call me and just kind of catch up ...," he said, "and we were already some ways into pre-production for this movie.

"...While we were talking, I started telling him about it and I was asking him what he was working on ...."

The film has already nabbed known names.

Felissa Rose, who played Angela Baker in the 1983 cult-horror film "Sleepaway Camp," Hannah Fierman, known as Lily in the 2012 horror anthology "V/H/S" and the 2016 horror film "SiREN" and Dave Sheridan, who came to prominence as Officer Doofy in the 2000 horror spoof "Scary Movie," have been cast in featured roles, with the latter coming on as a producer on the film.

Rocky Gray, former drummer of the rock band Evanescence, is also on board to score the project.

Reddick was happy to hear about the endeavor and asked Starks for a finished script to read.

"I sent him the script, and a couple weeks later he ended up getting back to me and he was like, 'I really like the script. It's really funny. It's well written. I love the characters,' " Starks said. "He said, "I would love to get on board this movie ... as a producer and then potentially get a (small) role in the film ...."

"I've been a friend, and fan, of P.J. Starks for over a decade. Kentucky has such a great pool of talented filmmakers and I love to champion them," Reddick said. "When I saw what P.J., Eric Huskisson and their amazing team accomplished with '13 Slays Till X-Mas' on a limited budget and during COVID, it blew me away. When P.J. told me they were doing another horror film, I asked to read the script and immediately knew I wanted to be a part of bringing it to life."

Starks ended up writing in a small role for Reddick in the film.

Huskisson, who will direct the film, is "ecstatic" to be working with the talent that will be part of the production.

"Having Dave, Felissa and Hannah on board — (it's) just surreal that it's really happening, and I'm just excited to work with these people ...," he said, "...but then to have Jeffrey, somebody from Kentucky that I already knew, ... I just think that is so cool.

"I'm just so excited to work with all of them."

Reddick said the film having he and other names on board show the respect that Starks and Huskisson have gained by their previous films.

"I think it speaks to the quality of the people involved, the Kentucky people involved, that are attracting the talent that they're attracting, especially for an indie film," he said. "When you're working on an indie film, it is really about ... the love of the project; it's certainly not about money. It's about loving the project, and believing in it and wanting to see it happen."

Reddick, along with Rose, Sheridan and local cast and crew members will be gearing up for the first weekend of filming in January. They will kick off the start of production with the official "New Fears Eve" VIP Party from 8 p.m. to midnight Friday, Jan. 27 at the Holiday Inn Owensboro Riverfront.

The 21-and-over event will include trivia, music and prizes, along with the opportunity to speak to the cast and crew of production and help support the project.

"They're not stuck behind a table — they're going to be up mingling with the crowd," Starks said.

A cash bar will be available along with finger foods.

Starks said the event will include people who have contributed to the film's Indiegogo campaign while serving as another way to "open it up to the public of Owensboro."

The campaign had a set goal of raising $40,000. By Dec. 23, the project raised over $46,000.

But Starks said the goal was "about half our budget," with the hopes of being able to supplement the remainder of the budget with local and regional sponsors.

Two that have signed on are Musick Studios and The Asylum Tattoo and Art Gallery.

"We have gotten a few up to this point," Starks said. "...We're continuing to look for more. We have some of them in the works ...."

Starks said the ultimate budget goal is around $63,000, which he said "we're fairly confident we're going to reach."

"... We're going to keep punching away at that," he said. "...We're raising the money and it's going pretty good, but we still have a little bit of ways to go to get the rest of the funds we need."

Reddick said that people may not understand the difficulty of getting a movie made, and that the most exciting part of the process is when shooting begins because "it's such an accomplishment."

"I'm just excited to just come to the set and see it happening," he said. "Myself and so many other filmmakers, we've had so many films fall apart and not happen. The odds of actually making a film are so astronomical that it's just exciting to see one actually getting made."

Tickets for the Jan. 27 event are $100 or $150 per couple and can be purchased at bloodmoonpictures.com/party.

All ticket sales will go to assisting the production.

For more information on the film or looking to contribute, visit indiegogo.com/projects/new-fears-eve-horror-feature-film#.