Thursday, May 5, 2011

Bill Oberst Jr. battles vengeful spirits in The Asylum's 'A Haunting in Salem' 3D

The Asylum's 'A Haunting in Salem' is filming in Pasadena, California as we speak. The film is directed by horror veteran Shane Van Dyke who also helmed The Asylum's 'Paranormal Entity' (2009) and is written by first time script-writer H. Perry Horton who just happens to be the brain behind the Asylum-themed website Committed which is described as "one inmate's appreciation for the films of The Asylum". Natch.

The set-up for 'A Haunting in Salem'; the newly-arrived Sheriff in the small community of Salem, Massachusetts discovers he is the unwitting victim of a centuries old curse and must take steps to protect his family from a vengeful spirit who means his family harm. Well, honestly that's a very vague description but it has definite potential and I do love a good ghost chiller, some my favorite of the genre are 'The Changeling' (1980), 'The Fog' (1980), 'The Shining' (1980) 'Poltergeist' (1982) 'The Devil's Backbone' (2004) and if you haven't seen any of 'em stop reading and start watching immediately.

The male lead is none other than uber-creepy dude Bill Oberst Jr. ('Nude Nuns with Big Guns') as the sheriff , Wayne. Oberst is a great talent and a striking presence with a storied face and piercing blue eyes and is sure to knock it outta the park. My hat is off to the producer's of the film for the great casting.

Cast as the sheriff's wife is Courtney Abbiati from TV's 'How I Met Your Mother' and son Kyle is portrayed by newcomer Nicholas Harsin. I'm very pleased to say Harsin is a fellow Arizonan who graduated from the University of Arizona back in 2009. Harsin describes the films as "creepy as hell and is being shot old school, very few special effects, in a 200 year old mansion in Pasadena, CA."

Jenna Stone

The principal cast is rounded out by Jenna Stone (TV's 'Miss Behave') as daughter Ali and a veteran of The Asylum's 'Battle of Los Angeles' (2010) and 'Mega Shark Vs. Crocosaurus' (2010) Gerald Webb appears as Mayor Collins.

'A Haunting in Salem' is slated for a DVD release on August 23rd, 2011 and will include a 3D widescreen presentation, 5.1 surround sound and a making of featurette.