Eyes In The Dark

Film Synopsis

Secret video files just discovered on an FBI server prove that the government has been hiding unexplained disappearances and a dangerous presence in the Pacific Northwest wilderness.
Seven students decide to vacation at a mountain lodge looking for relaxation, beer and maybe a dip in the hot tub. When they find a hidden cave and stumble on clues about an ancient legend, unsettling signs start to appear, and the lodge caretaker’s strange behavior suggests that they may have crossed a frightening force. Shot hand-held in first-person POV style, Eyes in the Dark is an independent film that follows a group of college co-eds on a weekendcabin getaway in the Washington State Cascade foothills. Brought to you by the filmmaking team behind Warrior’s End, Eyes in the Dark combines the characters’ compulsive self-documentation and laid-back humor with the raw terror they uncover after crossing paths with an ancient evil. The filmmakers blended the improvisational talents of the actors with beautiful but brooding locations to create a vision that plays on our fear of the unknown. Set in a fictionalized area of the Cascade Range with a long history of legends and mysterious disappearances, the film quickly transports the audience to a place of excitement and terror.

On Location

Shooting commenced in June of 2008 with principal photography of the college student storyline lasting two months. The search and rescue sequence, and the biologist researchers sequence were filmed in the summer of 2009. The film was shot on location in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, at a large recreation lodge called Trollhaugen and the surrounding area. Sixty minutes east of Seattle on Interstate-90, the location provided the perfect combination of forested remoteness and accessibility to facilitate the making of the film.Weather during the shoot was mostly warm and dry, though a heavy mosquito infestation caused some lasting discomfort for cast and crew. The cave that appears in the film had to be composed of a few different locations as there are no naturally occurring caves in the NorthCascades. Cast and crew hiked gear, costumes, and effects elements in to two different disused railroad tunnels, and dressed the cave entrance with a rock formation at Mt. Si, notable as one of the “Twin Peaks” from the David Lynch series. Due to the POV nature of the film, the cast had to work very closely with the cinematographer and camera people, treating them as surrogate characters in the story and interacting with them as diegetic elementsof the plot. On other occasions the cinematographer and actors would move a choreographed pattern as a team, with a hand on the shoulder maintaining sync.

Trivia

The script originally called for an 8th vacationing student, Steve, who was supposed to be Lacy’s boyfriend. The part was cut when the right actor for the job couldn’t be found. The ‘Steve’ name managed to work its way back into the final film though: Dr. Monteray’s first name was ‘Steve’, Allison’s last name is ‘Stevens’, and Lacy insinuates thatHeather is having an affair with someone named ‘Steve’ during their fight.Filming commenced on June 13, 2008 – Friday the 13th.The last thing filmed for the movie (a two second shot of bones for the cave scene) was shot underneath the northern end of the Aurora bridge in Seattle. The area is famous for the giant sculpture of a troll that resides there. Artificial bones were scattered along a sandy areaimmediately behind the troll, and then filmed using flashlights as light sources. Three homeless people were sleeping under the bridge while the scene was being shot. The operating budget of the film was less than $10,000, with the biggest expenses being the rental of the cabin as a shooting location, and the cost of food for the cast and crew.

Trailer: http://vimeo.com/8468661

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1561479/