By George Basler
In August the locally produced film Demon Behind the Glass won the Michael O’Hear Award for Outstanding Western New York feature at the 10th annual Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival. Southern Tier residents will have the opportunity to see the award-winning film at two 7:30 p.m. screenings Oct. 13 and 14 at the Cider Mill Stage in Endicott.
Written and directed by Joshua Recene, the independent film focuses on the crisis faced by a disgraced journalist, Johnathan Birdsall, who moves to upstate New York only to find a corpse trapped behind the mirror of his rented house.
When the corpse is found, “that body is reanimated by ancient demons. Will this story be his (Birdsall) career’s second chance or will he go down for the bloody carnage that follows?” a plot synopsis says.
Recene calls the film a supernatural thriller. “I’ve always been attached to fairy tales and ancient lore, and horror works well in that area,” he said.
Recene’s background includes more than 20 years of work as a professional video creator/animator in broadcast and corporate media. He and his business partner, Michael Yammine, have produced and directed several short films over the past few years. Demon Behind the Glass is their first full0length film.
Demon Behind the Glass was shot on locations in Greene and Endwell using Digital Cine Cameras. Filming took place during the summer of 2022. One location was Stonehenge, an old summer camp in Greene, that had “some cool buildings” to create an eerie atmosphere, Recene said.
The cast features theater actors who have appeared in local and regional productions. Adam Holley plays the lead role of the disgraced journalist. Other cast members are Jessica Nogaret-Sedelmeyer, Joshua Sedelmeyer, Jan DeAngelo, Janna Holley and film actor Tim O’Hearn who, Recene said, has appeared in more than 30 features.
Demon Behind the Glass had its debut showing at the Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival, a seven-day event that screened 81 films — 16 features and 65 shorts — including a record 30 produced in Western New York, a release from the festival reports.
The week after the Cider Mill Stage screening, the film is scheduled to be shown at LUSCA Film Fest (formerly Puerto Rico Horror Film Fest), one of Latin America’s premier fantastic film festivals, Recene said. LUSCA is open to the public. Accredited national and international press, as well as TV film buyers and distributors, also participate.
The Cider Mill showing will give community residents and participating actors a chance to see the finished film, Recene said. As for the future, Recene said some distributors have already expressed an interest in placing Demon on streaming sites.
While the film is Recene and Yammine’s first feature, it won’t be the last, Recene said. “We’ve started to branch out to do features,” he noted.
IF YOU GO: Demon Behind the Glass, an 84-minute movie, will be shown at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 13 and 14 at the Cider Mill Stage, 2 Nanticoke Ave., Endicott. Tickets are $15 (includes fees). Advance tickets can be purchased at www.cidermillstage.com.
