Free Homer Horror Night!
When
Event has endedWhere
Center for the ARTS of Homer
72 S Main St
Homer, NY
The Center for the Arts will present a special New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) advance screening of the short film Brothers Beastly, filmed entirely in Cortland County with support from a NYSCA grant to showcase public art projects by visual and performing artists.
The free event on Friday, June 16, features a 6:00 p.m. watch party of Alfred Hitchcock’s greatest shocker, Psycho, with a cash bar in the community room, followed by an 8:00 p.m. advance screening of Brothers Beastly by Los Angeles (Homer native) filmmaker Peter J. Hartsock.
Brothers Beastly is a psychological folk-horror short film intended for major festival distribution. The film is a story of mental health, isolation, and cycles of abuse-- told through the lens of a horror film. It relates to pandemic themes and mental health challenges resulting from a prolonged period of quarantine, reframed through the lens of identical twin brothers trapped in an isolated farmhouse in the wintery hinterlands of Upstate NY in the 1930s Depression era. As the brothers become consumed by a sinister family secret, one reaches his breaking point. Their struggle is an abstract reflection of the darkness that hides within the human psyche and poses a moral dilemma about how the beastly cycle can be broken.
The film features award-winning Toronto-based actor Aaron Poole, a classically trained actor playing the intensively demanding roles of both identical twins. Poole stars in the CBS/Roku series Most Dangerous Game alongside Christoph Waltz. Aaron's film work has been recognized by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television for his leading roles in "This Beautiful City" and "Strange Empire." He stars opposite Kiefer and Donald Sutherland in "Forsaken” as Mick Ronson in the David Bowie biopic "Stardust" and in horror cult favorites, "The Empty Man" and "The Void.” He specializes in rigorous character transformation.
The film was written, directed, and produced by Peter J. Hartsock, a Los Angeles-based multi-talented filmmaker whose skills include those of producer, writer, director, cinematographer, editor, set designer, and VFX artist. Originally from Homer, NY, he got his start as a young filmmaker, projectionist, and film event producer at the Center for the Arts, then earned a BFA in film production from Syracuse University, where he founded Fantasma House, a midnight movie and music video production company. He works bi-coastal and has produced short films shot in Homer that have gone on to win awards at national and global film festivals. His full-time job is as Production Assistant on Nickelodeon’s hit show SpongeBob SquarePants.
The production team collaborated with community supporters who contributed services to the project. These include the Center for the Arts of Homer, McNeil Development Corp., Cortland, NY, as well as Homer High School, the Center Players, and various local antique dealers. Primary filming occurred on a sound stage on Main Street, Cortland, with exterior scenes set at a Cold Brook Road farm and various winter scenes in East Homer, Truxton and Cuyler.
The panel conversation will follow the screening, moderated by Kendall Phillips, professor of communication and rhetorical studies at Syracuse University, who is an expert speaker and author on the topic of contemporary horror. He hosts “Pop Life,” produced by WAER, and previously hosted “Classic Movie Night” for WCNY.
Admission to the event is free, although donations to the Center for the Arts are welcome.