The Undying (2009)

Director:

Steven Peros

Writers (WGA):

David M. Flynn (written by) and
Steven Peros (written by)

Genre:

Thriller

Tagline:

There's more to fear... than a ghost

Plot:

Seduced by the ghost of a Civil War soldier, Barbara Haughton creates a love that is undying. |

Cast

Robin Weigert	...	Barbara Haughton
Anthony Carrigan	...	Jason Donovan / Elijah Parmenter
Jay O. Sanders	...	Dr. Russell Lassiter
Sybil Temtchine	...	Rachel Braun
Wes Studi	...	Lt. Frank Wascoe
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Stefanie Estes	...	Margaret
Nic Few	...	Male Nurse
Stefanie Field	...	Teenage Girl
Patrick Flynne	...	Capt. Forrest
Ricky Garcia	...	Officer Rios
Joel Garland	...	Bouncer
Drew Henriksen	...	Party Guest
Jinn S. Kim	...	First Medic
Carmen López	...	Nurse Janet (as Carmen Lopez)
Sean Meehan	...	Curtis Beeman
Paola Mendoza	...	Betty Donovan
McGhee Monteith	...	Donna Marie Willison
Becky Randazzo	...	Waitress
Andy Redmond	...	Bartender
John Schuman	...	Truck Driver
Franklin Ojeda Smith	...	Henry
Chris Stack	...	Kevin
Paul David Story	...	Ghost Elijah
Mark David Watson	...	Rob

Directed by
Steven Peros

Writing credits (WGA)
David M. Flynn		(written by) and
Steven Peros		(written by)

Produced by
David M. Flynn	....	executive producer
Thomas J. Rasera	....	line producer

Original Music by
Christopher Caliendo

Cinematography by
Robert F. Smith		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Lisa Barnable

Casting by
Irv Field
Susan Shopmaker

Production Design by
Laura Hyman

Set Decoration by
Meg Vinson

Costume Design by
Amy Bradshaw

Makeup Department
Jill Astmann	....	key makeup artist
Julie Anna Kehoe	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Margaret Koschik	....	second assistant director
Dawn Leuchter	....	first assistant director
Doug McCafferty	....	second second assistant director
Nadia Tabbara	....	second second assistant director

Art Department
Jasmine E. Ballou	....	assistant property master
Patrick Head	....	set dresser
Richard Peete	....	assistant property master
Max Sherwood	....	property master

Sound Department
Penny Harold	....	sound effects editor
Betsy Lindell	....	boom operator
Mark Steele	....	sound re-recording mixer
Eric Thomas	....	sound mixer

Visual Effects by
Brian DeMetz	....	visual effects technical director
David Fogg	....	visual effects supervisor

Stunts
John Schuman	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Chris Clarke	....	gaffer
Andrew Elias	....	electrician
Erik Guldbech	....	grip
Brian Harnick	....	additional electrician
Erin Henning	....	second assistant camera
Jarrod Kloiber	....	best boy electric
James Madrid	....	first assistant camera
Steve McNally	....	additional electrician
Jeremy Rodriguez	....	key grip

Casting Department
Randi Glass	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Stephanie Farah	....	wardrobe supervisor
Rebecca Muh	....	wardrobe intern

Editorial Department
Jim Garrow	....	colorist

Music Department
Mark Steele	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Mike Reiersen	....	driver

Other crew
Kelley Beaman	....	production assistant
Nathan Buffaloe	....	additional production assistant
Randi M. Cohen	....	production coordinator
Bruce Jones	....	production assistant: first team
Zorinah Juan	....	script supervisor
Bryan Persons	....	production assistant intern
John Puccinelli	....	key production assistant
Thomas J. Rasera	....	production accountant
Andy Redmond	....	technical advisor: Civil War
Mike Reiersen	....	production assistant
John Schuman	....	armorer
Abbey Taylor	....	production assistant
Patty Wittenburg	....	production assistant intern

Distributors

• MTI Home Video (2011) (USA) (DVD)
• MTI Home Video (2011) (USA) (all media)

Other Companies

• Cinematic Stunts  firearms
• Soundtrack  ADR Facility
• Verizon Communications  post-production

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Filming Locations:

New Jersey, USA

Movie Connections:

References Gone with the Wind (1939)

If only more horror films took this approach . . .

Every year, around this time, a film festival called Horrorthon, run by and synonymous with Ed King, a filmmaker himself (check him out here on IMDb), takes place in the Irish Film Institute in Dublin, showing the best old and new films in the horror/fantasy/whatever-tickles-Ed's-fancy genre. This year's lineup included the world premiere of 'The Undying', a film which, while not wildly revolutionary, manages to provide an interesting and highly watchable take on the traditions of the haunted house/possession film.

The film is essentially a very classical take on the ghost story. Director Steven Peros, a talented writer whose work I'm somewhat familiar with, though this was the first directorial effort of his I'd seen, and with whom I had the pleasure of chatting over the course of the festival, freely acknowledged the influence of films such as 'The Changeling' and Robert Wise's 'The Haunting' on his film, and 'The Undying' has a visual and narrative aesthetic comparable to those and other, more slow-burning films. What makes this film that much more interesting is the incorporation of a romantic element, something that may turn people off with the publicity around films such as 'Twilight' and the success on television of 'True Blood', but in a way is possibly more of an updated reversal of Joseph L. Mankiewicz's 'The Ghost And Mrs. Muir'.

Robin Weigert (unrecognisable from her appearances in 'Deadwood' and 'Synecdoche, New York' - turns out she's really cute!) gives a brave and hugely committed performance as the bereft doctor, mourning the death of her fiancée, who falls for a ghost she is told also lost the love of his life, and who will go to extreme lengths to reincorporate him. Unfortunately, her choice of a body for him turns out to be ill-advised, as elements of the personality of the body's former owner rise to the fore, resulting in violence and tragedy.

The director wisely stays away from the potential gore element so prevalent in horror today and instead focuses on building character, drawing the viewer into the well-constructed story, and actually building a sense of dread, or at least wariness that our heroine may not have made the best choices as the film progresses. At the very least, you actually care enough for her to worry about her. Some may say that this is actually a pacing problem, but I felt it was fascinating and refreshing to see a film of this genre done in a more refined style after years of the blood'n'guts torture porn approach, to see a filmmaker actually use the tools of cinema to tell a story rather than rely on 'EWW!' or 'BOO!'.

If I had to make a criticism, I would say that the score is overly intrusive, I do think that silence can be just as, if not more, effective in a film such as this (surely everyone knows this about horror films), and unfortunately, the almost constant musical cues did take me out of the film for various reasons, perhaps because they were too soap-operatic at times, perhaps because there was just no need for them at others, but this is probably just me being picky.

In the Q&A afterwords, the director stated that he had an idea for a film set for a large part in Ireland (yes, we gave him hell about not making a shamrocks 'n' shillelaghs film), if he could find a producer. Having seen this film, and noticed him talking to the producer of 'Once' in the bar afterwards, I look forward to what Mr. Peros does next.