Frights, laughs, and hard work – that’s what Grayslake Central High School’s new Film Club has coming up with their new horror-comedy film. The club is creating a paranormal thriller based on a superstition that is commonly believed at GCHS. The superstition is that if a student steps on the Ram’s Head mosaic in the center of the downstairs hallway, something bad will happen to them, whether personally or academically. This legend was what sparked Film Club’s inspiration, and over the past few months, they have been writing, scripting and building their film.
The club started the process of creating their film at the beginning of the new school year. They started writing their script about six months ago, with the direction of Sophomore Kate VanDeWeghe. VanDeWeghe had to bring together the ideas of different Film Club members to start forming a script. When asked what potential struggles there were when creating this film, VanDeWeghe said “[We] all have different visions [for the script].” Along with trying to gather everyone’s unique ideas, another difficulty that the group faced was the “wild ideas” the group was coming up with. However, directing isn’t the only component to consider when it came to creating the film. Other members have roles in creating the short film too. One of the members, junior Orville Knol, is one of the comedic writers, as well as one of the cinematographers that will be helping film the production. When asked about what one of her skills she brings to film club, Knol said, “[She’s] good at supporting from the sidelines.”
(Lyma Schaefer)
The film isn’t the only thing the students are building in the club. Some of the goals the club has include developing their film-making techniques, having a “clear creative process,” and most importantly, “learning how to create a movie.” This film will be able to help build the skills of the students. The host of the film club, Noel Marquardt, has helped along with the students in creating this film. One of the ways she has helped is by bringing a mannequin that will work as a stunt double for the actors, along with it being used as body parts in the film. But, why does the movie need such props?
Some of the film’s main plot points will be an “investigation” of the Ram’s Head. Along with this, some of the main things that will be featured in the film will be “paranormal [things], jumpscares, [and] suspense.” When asked about the film’s qualities, Knol said “you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll want to call your mom.”
The film will be coming out this year, and Marquardt hopes for the film to be shown in the hallways on the televisions for everybody to see. For anyone interested in keeping up with Film Club, the club will be creating an Instagram and YouTube account. The usernames have not been determined as of publication. For anyone interested in the film or joining film club can reach out to Marquardt at any time.
