By Maggie Miles | Outer Banks Voice on November 29, 2024
By Maggie Miles | Outer Banks Voice
A spine-chilling horror tale being filmed on the Outer Banks by award-winning Outer Banks-based-production company Rayolight Productions, represents another step in the area’s growing presence in the entertainment industry.
Hennesy House Murders follows the crew of a popular ghost hunting TV show as they explore the notorious haunted mansion, Hennesy House, only to encounter unspeakable horrors. Directed and written by Raymond Wallace and executive produced by Sam Cortez, this is the first feature length horror film from the company, following their award-winning short films Lost in Buffalo City and THE SIGNAL – CASE #CE2-09031996-252.
The new film stars Jamie Bernadette, known for her roles in The Furnace, 4/20 Massacre, NCIS: New Orleans, and I Spit on Your Grave: Deja Vu, and rising stars David J. Rivera and Tatiana Robledo. Casting Bernadette, who has a strong following among fans of independent and cult horror, was a big win for the film and Wallace has been a fan for years. He planned on finding a no-name actress to play the lead, until Cortez encouraged him to pursue the actress.
The film also features Outer Banks talent, including Logan Stem and Nick Oprea from Theatre of Dare. Casting local talent is very important for Wallace and Cortez, who make it a point to create opportunities for local actors and production crew in each of their films.
“I think overall, my goal is I really want to build a community and filmmaking business here on the Outer Banks, says Wallace, who moved to the Outer Banks 10 years ago from Lynchburg, Virgina. “I think I’ve always felt that we’ve had enormous talent here.”
“I think within the community, there are a number of talented people that now have another way to express their talent and their creativity that maybe they didn’t have. Maybe they would have had to go somewhere else, New York or LA,” adds Cortez. “So we’re really lucky to have so many people here that are really good at what they do.”
Wallace explains that he was originally working on a feature film sequel to his horror short Lost in Buffalo City. However, the script he had written for that project was going to be too expensive. He was trying to come up with another horror film idea that would fit a smaller budget range when he started binge watching horror films by Ty West, a filmmaker in the indie horror scene known for his focus on atmosphere, tension and character-driven stories.
Watching Green’s “The Innkeepers,” a ghost story about a haunted hotel, inspired him to come up with the idea of a ghost hunting TV show involving a crew walking into a house and encountering supernatural elements they couldn’t handle.
Hennesy House Murders is part of a subgenre of horror where the film is presented as though it is discovered or recovered footage, often from a personal camera or recording device. The idea is that the footage was originally filmed by the characters in the story, typically with the intention of documenting events, but it is “found” later, often after some form of tragic or disturbing incident has occurred. If you’ve seen The Blair Witch Project, then you know what found footage is. And it’s one thing that attracted Bernadette to the lead role.
A Rayolight press release quotes the actress noting that “I’ve always loved the found footage horror subgenre ever since I first saw The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity. So when Raymond Wallace approached me with his script to play the lead role, I was intrigued. After reading the script and finding it to be cleverly and creatively executed, the decision to come onboard was easy.”
The scenes of the characters’ backstory will take place on the Outer Banks, while the mansion scenes will take place just outside of Richmond after Wallace tried for months to find a mansion for the film on the Outer Banks. The stories of the characters, Wallace says, is what sets the movie apart.
“I think we have a really interesting story, where I don’t want to give too much away, but it’s not just a horror film. It’s also about the Ghost Hunters TV show and their connections with each other,” says Wallace. “But the interconnections between the different characters, I think, will really make it stand apart.”
The production company has tapped Manteo High School graduate Evie Gallagher as the special effects makeup artist, and it promises lots of blood, guts, gore, and body parts all designed by the talented local artist.
Filming will continue through March and the filmmakers expect to have it available on select streaming services by the end of 2025. It will also be hitting the film festival circuit next year.
What do the film makers hope people will take away from the film?
“I’m hoping that they’ll be entertained,” Cortez says. “I think a lot of people are making movies for reasons other than just entertainment or joy,” We’re not trying to make a political statement here. We’re not preaching to save the world or anything else. We just want to make an entertaining movie that people enjoy going out to see.”
