Murder and banjos: Springfield-based musical film tells story of hillbilly cult
Cults, murder, sibling rivalry and fun, upbeat sing-a-longs are all a part of "Eldritch, USA," a Springfield-produced musical film premiering at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema next month.
"Eldritch, USA" is about two brothers who chase the story of a Midwestern, hillbilly cult, that claims it can resurrect people. The brothers work for a small-town television new station and are in constant competition due to sibling rivalry. The older brother, Rich, is a news anchor, beloved by much of the community, and the younger brother, Geoff, finds himself behind the camera much of the time.
When a community member dies, Geoff decides to take him to the cult, who successfully brings the person back to life, but he's not the same. With the goal to get the resurrected man back to normal, Geoff and others open up a portal to another world, accidentally summoning a type of cosmic entity.
"Eldritch, USA" was produced by Passive Aggressive Films, a Springfield-based production company owned by Ryan Smith. Smith wrote, directed, produced, edited and completed special visual effects for the film. He said he pulled inspiration from H.P Lovecraft, Bruce Campbell and films like "Evil Dead" and "The Army of Darkness."
Smith also co-wrote the film's music with his nephew Nathan Hurley, member of Joplin-based rock band Fox Royale. Together, Smith and Hurley wrote 10 original songs for the film, which Hurley performed with his band.
Hurley said the main influences for the music were "Little Shop of Horrors," "The Muppets" and "Dr. Horrible Sing-A-Song Blog," a musical comedy produced in 2008.
"(We were) just trying to make songs sound happy, but you're also singing about cults and bringing people back from the dead," Hurley said. "Living in the Bible Belt, it was interesting making those songs."
Although the film's story doesn't necessarily take place in Springfield, the film is set in a Midwestern town like it. And most of the scenes were shot in Springfield.
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The film features 30 cast members and an additional 30 to 40 extras. Smith said most of the cast are either based in Springfield or lived in the area previously. For lead actor Graham Weldin, who plays Geoff, the project was his first lead role in a feature film.
Weldin graduated from Missouri State University with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in theatre. After graduating, he moved to Los Angeles were he worked as a background actor, before moving back to Springfield. Weldin said his specialty is live stage productions, so he was surprised to get the lead role.
Prior to four months of production that began in August 2021, cast members who sang in the film had to record the songs in a studio. Then, on set, these cast members lip-synced to their own tracks. Weldin said this was a new challenge for him, but he enjoyed the process.
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Hurley said one of his favorite parts of the film is when the cult members resurrect a chicken.
"(The cult members are) trying to bring someone back from the dead, so they're testing it out and they keep killing this chicken and then bringing the chicken back to life," Hurley said with a laugh. "They're trying to bring the human back to life, but they just keep accidentally resurrecting the chicken."
David Watson, the film's director of photography, said one of his favorite memories from production also involves the chicken — when it quickly escaped from set.
"I have video of you guys running across the yard to catch the chicken, to wrangle the chicken in because it got away," Watson said to Smith during the crew's interview with the News-Leader.
"Eldritch, USA" is one hour and 48 minutes in length, broken up into six chapters. Smith said he decided to create distinct sections in the event that a distributor picks up the project and would rather screen it as a series. Smith said he originally imagined the project to be a television series, but after brainstorming with others, landed on a feature film.
Teasers of the film are available for viewing on the Passive Aggressive Films YouTube at youtube.com/watch?v=LhJKdqw04-A.
Where can you watch 'Eldritch, USA?'
Passive Aggressive Films is hosting its first screening of "Eldritch, USA" on Friday, April 28 at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema at 4005 South Ave., Suite A. Other screenings are at 6:40 p.m. from Saturday, April 29 through Wednesday, May 3. Tickets are available on the Alamo website or $15 at bit.ly/3ZAAwLk.
Forty-five minutes before the first screening, a cast and crew meet and greet will be held at The Backlot, the restaurant and bar housed within the Alamo. After the screening, a Q&A will be held.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Springfield-based film tells story of sibling rivalry, hillbilly cult
