Cassadaga (film)

Cassadaga
Directed by Anthony DiBlasi
Produced by Scott Poiley
Bruce Wood
Written by Bruce Wood & Scott Poiley
Starring Kelen Coleman
Kevin Alejandro
Louise Fletcher
Amy LoCicero
Rus Blackwell
Sarah Sculco
Music by Dani Donadi
Release dates
  • October 22, 2011
Running time
 113 minutes
Country United States
Language English

Cassadaga is a 2011 American independent horror film directed by Anthony DiBlasi. The screenplay is the feature-length debut for co-writers Bruce Wood and Scott Poiley.[1] The film stars Kelen Coleman, Kevin Alejandro, Louise Fletcher, Rus Blackwell, Hank Stone, J Larose, Amy LoCiero and Christina Bach.[2]

The story revolves around Lily Morel (Kelen Coleman) trying to recover from her sister’s tragic death. She is haunted by a murdered woman and ends up on a mission to solve her mysterious death. One thing leads to another and Lily finds herself at the mercy of a sociopath dubbed "Geppetto". Cassadaga had its World Premiere at the Mann Chinese Theater 6 in Hollywood, California on October 22, 2011 as part of the Screamfest LA Film Festival.[1]

Plot

Devastated by the death of her younger sister, Lily Morel seeks solace at the spiritualist community of Cassadaga. But instead of finding closure, she contacts something else - the vengeful ghost of a murdered young woman. With her life crumbling all-around her, Lily races to unravel the mysterious circumstances surrounding the woman's death - a task that will bring her face-to-face with a sadistic serial killer known only as "Geppetto".

Cast

Production

Writer/Producer Bruce Wood says that he was fascinated with the town of Cassadaga when he was a child and felt compelled to use the location in a film after discovering that no films had yet to utilize the world-famous location.[3] While writing, Wood had the basic outline of the character “Geppetto” but it wasn’t until he was at the gym and thought up the shocking opening sequence that he discovered why “Geppetto” was the way he was; “in that moment I saw him as a child, I knew this character and what motivated him.”[1]

Lee Grimes was in charge of the special effects make-up. Director Anthony DiBlasi chose this script because he wanted to do a horror film where “there were characters in that I thought people could relate to and feel bad for when things happen to them”.[1] Oscar winner Louise Fletcher wanted to be in the movie because both her parents were deaf, just like the main character Lily.[1] The actor playing “Geppetto” was kept a complete secret until opening night.[2]

Reception

The film's reception at Screamfest has been mixed to positive,[4] with Dread Central saying "while not a perfect film, the flick does have a freshly unique voice and is one which more than likely genre fans will want to sink their teeth into."[5] Gores Truly said the film was "a fantastic film, a disturbing horror and one I would happily add to my collection."[6] ShockYa.com reviewed it, saying "Although there are some aspects to the pacing and acting that didn’t exactly tickle my fancy, Cassadaga is still a solid horror film that is fun to watch".[7]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "[Set Visit Interview] ‘Cassadaga’ Producer/Writers Bruce Wood and Scott Poiley". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Exclusive: Dread's Anthony DiBlasi Tells Us All About Cassadaga". Shock Till You Drop. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  3. ↑ "[Set Visit] A Trip to Gepetto’s Lair in ‘Cassadaga’!". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  4. ↑ "Cassadaga Movie Review". Horror.com. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  5. ↑ "Review: Cassadaga". Dread Central. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  6. ↑ "Review: Cassadaga". Gores Truly. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  7. ↑ "Cassadaga Movie Review". Shock Ya. Retrieved 17 December 2012.

External links