Local Film “Yorktown” Delivers a Great Horror Spoof Experience
Recently, I saw the independent film "Yorktown" at the Palladium. I knew almost nothing about it, having only seen the short teaser trailer on their website. I was in for a surprise. Although the trailer had advertised this movie as being legitimately scary, it turned out to be quite funny instead. Very quickly, it became obvious that it’s a spoof of a horror movie rather than an actual one. It was an intentional ploy on the part of the film’s creators to throw people off.
Let me summarize the film quickly. A group of friends meet in a bar here in San Antonio. They decide that, just for , they want to spend the night somewhere scary. A random guy in the bar tells them about a haunted mental hospital in the rural community of Yorktown, Texas, and how to get there: "Drive about two hours and when your radio goes out, take a right." The friends all embark on their road trip to find the place and blood soaked wackiness ensues.
Overall, the movie was quite funny and is worth checking out. It’s a great spoof and plays homage to the classic slasher flicks of the late 70’s and early 80’s. The fact that the film was as well put together as it was surprised me when I found out that almost no one involved in its creation had any prior movie experience. I was happy to have had the honor of interviewing Yorktown’s writer/director, Michael Felts, so I could get some background for this article.
Felts is probably the person most responsible for putting this project together. He helped produce it, he wrote the script and he was on set giving directions for every second of filming. Beyond that, he even got a killer selection of bands including Sex Coffee and White Elefant to product the music. The fact that he was able to do so much is pretty impressive considering he has no formal education in film. In "real life," he's a travel agent who just enjoys movies in his off time and who decided to make one. His co-producer is his life partner, the lovely Kevin-Martin P. Salzburg, while most of the cast consists of their friends. Almost everyone involved in the film are San Antonio natives who have no background in film. The only big names they got for the movie were Rebecca Kochan (from the famed Eating Out films) and former Texas native, Tamie Carpenter (Vampires Suck, ABC’s The Gates). The former is a friend of Michael’s who was willing to lend the movie her star power while the latter was actually a former resident of the titular Yorktown who actually agreed to be in the film free of charge in the name of hometown pride. They did a great job making this film considering all they had to go through.
As Felts said, “This movie really was a labor of love for all those involved.” In case you don’t know yet, Yorktown is a real town in Texas and the abandoned hospital is real as well. I guess you could say this movie was filmed on location. That being the case, the location was one of the biggest hurdles in filming. There was no power, and due to problems with the city, the crew was unable to set up any kind of proper generator in the hospital. They actually had to have an extension cord linked to a trailer outside, and yes, power outages were a big problem. Also, no electricity means no temperature control. During their time filming, the temperature went from below freezing in winter to sweltering in the summer. On top of all that, every member of the cast and crew, including Felts, attests that the place really is haunted and the ghosts interfered with their filming. He told me of instances where objects moved of their own accord, electronics shorted out and light and shadows shifted in ways they shouldn’t have. “There was even an instance where one of my cigarettes lit up on its own,” said Felts. Considering this plucky group of filmmakers had to deal with a lack of modern technology, the fury of nature’s elements and the restless spirits of the dead, they did a bang up job making a fun flick.
As if all that weren’t enough, there were constant problems with the city of Yorktown. According to Felts, many of the people in town, including a number of city officials, didn’t want anyone filming in the abandoned hospital. There was a huge struggle to get filming rights as well as to adhere to various restrictions that were placed on the process of filming. Oddly enough, the city’s assault on the film loosened up when one of the city councilmen opposed to the movie mysteriously died in a drunken driving incident.
Despite all the hurdles in making it, "Yorktown" is an amazingly funny indie film that will take you back to the good old days of classic slasher flicks. It has a ragtag cast that works well with the movie, a soundtrack to "die” for, and you’ll take pride in the fact that the creative mind who brought it to you is a fellow San Antonian. DVD’s go on sale in early October. I’m happy to have met the very cool Michael Felts and to have seen the theatrical release of such an imaginative and enjoyable film.
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