A new movie set in Owen Sound is coming to the Roxy this month.
Cult Hero, is a 93 minute comedy horror movie made by the Collingwood Film Co. that is filmed in part, at Moreland Place on the edge of the city and at other locations around town.
The movie follows washed-up ‘cult buster’ Dale Domazar (Ry Barrett) and control freak Scenic City Real Estate agent Kallie Jones as they attempt to rescue her husband (Justin Bott) from a cult.
Director Jesse Thomas Cook says, “We’ve got two screenings at the Roxy on Saturday, January 21st. There’s an afternoon matinee at 2 p.m. and then the evening show at 7:30 p.m.” You can buy tickets on the Roxy Theatre’s website.
He says there will be a big after party at the Heartwood with the cast and crew. Cook notes there are also Q&A opportunities at both screenings. “We’ve got a lot of the actors coming from Toronto and a lot of the local actors and local cast and crew are going to be in attendance,” says Cook.
He says the movie has been shown in a number of countries on the film festival circuit, noting, “It has won a bunch of awards and we’re finally so happy to bring it home where it all started at the Roxy.”
He notes, “We have an original country song in the movie that has been nominated for a Canadian screen award,” which is what Cook says is like the Canadian Oscars. “We’re also nominated for production design. We’ve got a local Owen Sound production designer from the Roxy named Dan Herrick and costume as well— our costume designer (Carrie Cathrae-Keeling) is from the area.”
Cook says he expects Cult Hero to be released across Canada on Amazon Prime and possibly other streaming services in the spring and says it has also been sold to a US company.
But first they want to celebrate locally, “We’re just so pumped to pack the Roxy,” says Cook, adding, “There’s been so much support and so many people who are from the area, — everything– like all the different trades in the movie– design and costume, casting and a lot of local actors.
“We shot tons of Owen Sound locations,” says Cook, noting Sabitri’s Global Cuisine was one location, the glass offices in City Hall and about a half a dozen shots on the main street. “The audience at the Roxy will see all those local places, so that’s pretty cool.”
This is the Cook says its the sixth film he has made in the area. This one’s main location is Moreland Place, which cook says has been used in some of his other movies including The Hexecutioners (2015) and Monster Brawl (2011). He says the Collingwood Film company has been working with the owner of Moreland Place, Barry More since then.
Cook says his company also just shot another film around the Annan area last June. He says it’s another horror comedy called Vessel 17, that he expects to finish in the spring.
