Southern Scares is the second feature film put on by director and screenwriter Paul Rowe’s Last Caress Productions, in partnership with producer Andy Carpenter and Trey Walker’s Mud Films. The project debuted on Saturday, Jan. 10, at the Springer Opera House in downtown Columbus, which also happens to be one of the locations featured in the project.
Other notable locations that can be spotted in the film include the Bradley Theatre, the Chattahoochee River, the Historic Westville Village, Noccaula Falls Park, and Pine Mountain Trail. “It’s a mix of found footage and modern cinematographic techniques,” said Rowe.
The film is set in the early 1990s, so the screen switches between a 16:9 aspect ratio and a contrasting 4:3 aspect ratio, the latter emulating the effect of watching a tape from a VHS camcorder. The central character in the film is named Ellen, who works in a video store owned by her grandfather, where she watches old tapes from her missing sister, Roberta’s recorded series Southern Scares, which highlights tragic stories and spooky lore across Georgia and Alabama.
Rowe stated that it took the team about two weeks to shoot the film at all the different locations, including the set built to depict the video store. “I mean, I lived through the nineties,” he added. “And it took me back. It really did, to see that kind of nostalgia there with the family-owned video store.”
Rowe’s childhood actually inspired the idea to implement the video store in the nineties, as his mother worked at one while his family lived in Germany, where his father was stationed at the time. “That’s really when I began to get into movies and get absorbed by them,” Rowe stated. “The little video store was just a wonderful place to be, man,” he added.
This film differs from Last Caress Productions’ last feature film, It Wants Nightmares, because this project was designed to be suitable for a younger audience with the use of young adult (YA) suspense. “We don’t have any gore in here or anything like that,” said Rowe. “There are some wonderful, scary moments in it, and it’s meant for that younger demographic while at the same time offering nostalgia for the older audiences. That’s the way it was written, that’s the direction we wanted to go.”
Rowe stated that the team had a vision heading into production of Southern Scares to elevate from their last project, and they managed to do so by engaging with American actress Dee Wallace and her agent to bring her on board. He stated that Wallace was an “absolute legend” and “a treat to have on set,” adding that she was always the first person to respond to emails regarding updates about the project from start to finish.
“Always positive, just a wonderful human being,” Rowe added. “Put celebrity and legend, put all of that aside, she’s a wonderful human being.”
According to Rowe, Southern Scares was completely privately funded through the assistance of numerous investors. However, multiple local businesses assisted with the production of this film, including Flying Biscuit Cafe, Iron Bank Coffee, The Mix Market, and Tuesday Taco.
“I think that’s part of the important aspect to us is really getting that kind of local support, and everybody showed up,” said Rowe. “We know we can count on these folks, and I love that we’re doing it together as a community. You know, this is home-grown to begin with, and doing it together just means that much more.”
This project, along with It Wants Nightmares are currently in the process of going through film festivals, according to Rowe. He stated that their team is now planning to wait and see if one of the projects gets picked up for distribution, and they’ll move forward from there.
In the meantime, Rowe said that he would encourage people to participate in shared experiences such as this movie premiere more often, adding that he’s an AMC pass member and attends a showing every Thursday. “One of the things from the nineties that I remember is that we had more shared experiences,” he added. “Having a shared experience: that human experience, to laugh with a bunch of strangers, we all connect that way. […] Get out to the theatres, connect with other people.”
