Brandon Twp. ? The stage was set: an old barn and farmhouse nestled on a small plot of rural township farmland here.
The farm was recently the backdrop for scenes from the new supernatural thriller, The Rain Chronicles, a feature length film expected to be released sometime in 2009. Cast and crew from the Troy-based film school Motion Picture Institute, set up on location near Connell and Oakwood roads for three days last week.
Dee Wallace, known for playing the mom in E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, will star in the movie. She also plays a mom in this movie as Jean Applebe.
Director Douglas Schulze and Producer Kurt Mayry collaborated to write the trilogy of short stories.
‘We have been scouring different areas in Michigan for our third story,? said Schulze. ‘We needed an isolated area on an abandoned property that didn’t have anything around it.?
Mayry said although The Rain Chronicles is filled with lots of scary characters, it is more about story than horror. He said the chronicles span more than a century.
‘A farmer unearths an old top hat on his property, which unleashes an ancient Indian curse that creates a drought,? said Mayry. ‘All of the adults of the farming community (Perseverance) are afflicted by a strange sickness that slowly dries them up until they are dust. To lift the curse and make it rain, the town needs to offer a sacrifice. A family was chosen by the town to give up their children for the sacrifice.?
He said the people of Perseverance end up dying for a little rain.
Tiren Jhames plays the lead as Clarence Applebe, the person the town chooses to kill people to lift the curse.
‘This is not a typical horror story, although anyone who likes horror will love it,? Jhames said. ‘There is a lot of character development in this movie. It’s an interesting plot. Am I really the villain? Or am I saving the village??
Removing a piece of sage from his mouth, Jhames said it is important for him to get into character to play the role.
‘I put sage in my mouth because this character uses it to cover the taste of blood,? said Jhames.
The actor is required to insert thick black contact lenses into his eyes, which he said hurts.
‘When Cat (the make-up artist) puts the lenses in, I tear up quite a bit, but I eventually get used to them,? he said.
The actor said he has no problems sleeping at night after playing such a violent, zombie-like character.
‘When I was a boy, I read Creepy magazine and really liked it. I also had glow-in-the-dark monsters in my bedroom,? said Jhames.
A Michigan native, Jhames grew up in Jackson, and lives in Rochester Hills. ‘Most of the cast and crew in this movie are from Michigan. This is a homegrown production,? he said.
Jhames said he is very pleased with the new film promotion law that went into effect on April 7, when lawmakers passed an incentive package giving a 40 percent tax credit to film companies that make movies here.
‘Michigan went from filming zero movies to having seven in production right now,? said Jhames. ‘When the new law passed, Governor Granholm had 50 scripts waiting on her desk to be produced right here in Michigan.?
Schulze, an award-winning independent filmmaker, directed Hellmaster, which aired on HBO and Cinemax. His most recently released movie, Dark Heaven, is now available nationally in video stores. He is also the CEO and President of MPI.
‘This is the kind of genre that helps our students at MPI film school break into filmmaking successfully,? said Schulze.
A classroom teacher at MPI, Mayry instructs his students on how to organize and manage their films.
Mayry said the movie’s line producer, Tom Zambeck, was a student at the institute. ‘It’s kind of funny, now here he is on location with us and we have to pay him.?
Sasha Higgins, who plays the role of Cari, was on the set for the first day of filming. She looks at the top hat in horror as it magically appears on the hood of a truck she is sitting in.
‘When I look at the top hat, the lines spread all over my face to make it look like I am drying up. Cat drew in all of these really dark lines. This makeup will look really different on film,? said Higgins, who attended Marian High School in Bloomfield Hills.
‘This is a very intense story and I think everyone will really like it.?