Catskill becomes backdrop for vampire thriller

CATSKILL― Something ominous is lurking in the shadows of Catskill, and it’s bringing a touch of Hollywood horror.

Film crews have descended on the village this week to shoot scenes for Let’s Take a Walk in the Dark, an upcoming supernatural crime thriller involving corruption, mysterious disappearances and a sinister underground network of vampires.

The independent film, produced by Floor 1 Productions, is being shot in the Catskill and Wappingers Falls areas, with production scheduled to run from October 27 through November 21.

On Wednesday, cameras were rolling at the Catskill Village Cemetery on Thompson Street, where the production team used the nearby Robert C. Antonelli Senior Center as a hub. Several local seniors even got a taste of show business, participating in the filming.

On Thursday, the action moved to Traver & McCurry Funeral Home in Jefferson Heights, where owner Breanna Lennon DelVecchio not only opened the doors of the funeral home to the production crew but also loaned them a hearse for filming.

According to the entertainment casting website Backstage.com, Let’s Take a Walk in the Dark marks the directorial debut of Declan Mulvey and Nhitasha Bhambree, a husband-and-wife team of stunt coordinators who have collectively earned five Emmy nominations.

The film stars Matthew Law as Deputy Bennett Cole, a law enforcement officer struggling to maintain order in a troubled community. Law is known for recurring roles in Tyler Perry’s The Oval and the hit television comedy Abbott Elementary. He also appeared in Jennifer Lopez’s music video for "Can’t Get Enough."

According to The Film Collaborative, a nonprofit organization dedicated to independent film distribution, the story unfolds in Sundown, a fictional, economically devastated New York border town plagued by drug addiction, corruption and escalating violence.

Deputy Cole is fighting a losing battle against crime when a mysterious corpse disappears from the town morgue.

Initially convinced that an organ-harvesting syndicate is behind the town’s troubles, Cole begins investigating a series of increasingly bizarre incidents, including victims exhibiting extreme sensitivity to light and an unquenchable thirst.

As his investigation deepens, he encounters criminals, corrupt fellow officers and a woman who was previously believed to be dead.

The unlikely pair eventually uncovers something far more sinister than ordinary criminal activity: a clandestine network of vampires trafficking in drug-laced blood.

While the film's fictional setting is a town called Sundown, real-life Catskill is providing some of the atmosphere for the dark and mysterious story.

And for village officials, the production represents another sign of Catskill's rising appeal to filmmakers.

“Growing up, hearing ‘in the Catskills’ mentioned in films was always exciting even though I didn’t recognize where they were at specifically. The Catskills is such a large area. Seeing it happen firsthand right here is entirely different,” said Catskill Village President Natasha Law.

“Watching our community hit the big screen brings a sense of pride to all our hard work in making this community what it is,” Law added.

Despite the excitement surrounding the production, Law said the filmmakers have kept disruptions to a minimum.

“Overall, the production team has been very low-key and hasn't required a lot of extra assistance, keeping things quiet and smooth for the community,” she said.

Other recent film productions in Greene County include A Quiet Place Part III, a post-apocalyptic horror film shot in Durham this summer; Clashing Through the Snow, an Amazon MGM Studios comedy filmed in Catskill, Cairo and Windham earlier this year; and Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day, which brought film crews to Catskill and Haines Falls last year.

And while the vampires in Let’s Take a Walk in the Dark may be fictional, Greene County’s growing role in the film industry is very real.

“It is incredible to see our area becoming a true destination spot for filmmaking. This makes the sixth time the village has been approached for filming permits in the last few years.” said Law. “I just received another request just yesterday from a totally separate company.”