Courtney Crauthers
EDMOND — An Edmond independent film maker will showcase his first produced full-length feature film during the ninth annual deadCenter Film Festival at 9 p.m. Friday at the Kerr Auditorium 123 Robert S. Kerr Ave., Oklahoma City.
Miles Hanon filmed “The Familiar,” a suspense thriller movie, in Newalla on a tight budget, a small crew and a talented cast.
“The story is about a woman who basically gets possessed,” Hanon said. “It’s not a thrasher type horror film. It’s really more of a suspense mystery thriller.”
In “The Familiar,” Sam, played by Dallas actor Bryan Massey, is lonely and bitter after the death of his wife. When his estranged sister-in-law Laura, played by Edmond actress Laura Spencer, shows up on his doorstep, he once again faces his childhood demon, Rallo. The attraction between Sam and Laura, blinds Sam to the fact that Rallo has taken possession of Laura with the intent to destroy them both.
“Personally, I’ve had experiences in life that were definitely supernatural. Some of it very positive, which I believe came from God,” Hanon said. “Some of it negative, which I believe came from Satan. Western culture sees it as fantasy.”
He said the main message the film portrays is trust.
“Bad things happen,” Hanon said. “A lot of people have suffered from tragedy. Life seems hopeless but it isn’t. There is hope in hopeless situations and if we’ll trust and be willing to forgive and be able to accept restoration that is available and possible, God can do these things.”
He said one of the biggest challenges was working with the actors to get the best moment out of every scene, while on time constraints.
“I think there were a lot of shots I missed,” he said. “I would spend more time with those moments. If you just let the moment live, some wonderful things can happen on camera.”
Spencer, who graduated from the University of Oklahoma in December with a degree in theatre performance, said the challenges of playing Laura gave her an opportunity to showcase her acting range.
“This character was very interesting for me to play,” Spencer said. “I had to pull out a sensual side, a disturbed side, an evil side, a good side. I had to play multiple personalities throughout the film.”
She said for those people that are fans of suspenseful movies, the film does its job.
“If you like being creeped out, it will creep you out,” Spencer said. “You walk away satisfied with performances as opposed to just being scared. It’s heavily reliant on the performances in the piece. All the scare tactics are beautifully simplified.”
While this was Spencer’s first lead in a feature-length film, she also performs as Wendy, a supporting character in “Barking Water,” and Joyce, a featured role in “Pearl,” both of which will be shown at the deadCenter Festival.
In “Barking Water,” which screens at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Kerr Auditorium Festival, film maker Sterlin Harjo takes viewers on a road trip through his own personal Oklahoma, which includes an electic mix of humanity. The story follows Frankie, who needs to get out of the hospital and go home to make amends with his daughter and grandbaby.
When “Barking Water” went to the Sundance Film Festival in January, Spencer attended the premiere.
“It was surreal because that was the first film I worked on,” she said.
Spencer also just wrapped up filming for the role of Zoe in “Dead of Night,” which will be released in theaters in 2010. Brandon Routh, who played Superman in the 2006 production of “Superman Returns,” will play the lead character, supernatural private eye Dylan Dog. Zoe is the love interest of Dog’s sidekick.
Hanon also is finishing up a project, a feature-length documentary called the “Samaritan.” The film is about Paul, who has defected from Romania and a lawyer from Austin, Texas, that helps him and his family, which still lives in the communist country.
Hanon began directing and writing about four years ago. In 2006, he opened Story Front, a complete production house that specializes in creating feature films and documentaries. Story Front also supports outside productions in writing, directing, cinematography and post production.
His goal for the “The Familiar” is to find distribution for the film during the festival.
“(Some) of the things that validate your film are a lot of people showing up, selling a lot of copies and winning a film festival,” Hanon said.
Copies of the film will be available for purchase at the screening.
The deadCenter Film Festival began Wednesday and will continue through Sunday. During the five-day period, more than 90 films will be shown at eight downtown venues. Several films made in Oklahoma or by Oklahomans will be part of this year’s offerings, as will national features, award-winning documentaries and entertaining short films.
All-access passes are available for $100, screening passes are available for $50, and tickets to individual films are available for just $10. Passes, schedules and more are available online at www.deadcenterfilm.org.
FOR MORE information about “The Familiar” visit www.familiarthemovie.com.
