In the past we have spotlighted the indie horror flick Char Man from producer/director Kipp Tribble. Recently, we got the chance to exchange messages about the new horror film he produced and co-wrote titled The Stay.
Who?
Myself and Scott Hamm wrote and produced the film, with Scott making his directorial debut. Charles Huddleston was our other producer as well as our cinematographer. Scott and I both also star in the film, alongside Nija Okoro, Rob Mayes, and Michele Martin. We also had a fantastic crew and would like to put a spotlight on Robert Felsted, Jr., Ezequiel Garcia Lopez, Ryan Bounphasaysol, and Jaclyn Lopez. They were rockstars during production and we couldn’t have done this without them. In the end, we were happy to receive several offers for distribution, and ultimately assigned North American rights to Gravitas Ventures. Distribution for the rest of the world is being handled by Cardinal XD.
What?
Here is the short synopsis… When Hayden (Scott Hamm) realizes his marriage to Misha (Michele Martin) is slowly falling apart, he organizes a secluded couples’ weekend with best friend, Chris (Rob Mayes), and his wife, Nora (Nija Okoro). Though it starts off as a relaxing getaway, they soon encounter an odd caretaker named Bo-Lee (Kipp Tribble) on the property. The vacationing group become increasingly suspicious of Bo-Lee and his possible sinister motives, all while a dangerous secret begins to surface.
Where?
About 90% of the film takes place at a secluded Airbnb style rental. It is surrounded by hiking trails and open property, all tended to by the caretaker, Bo-Lee. In reality, we actually filmed at three different locations. The main house was in Aqua Dulce, California, a bit north of Los Angeles, and that had the house, barn, trailer, and horses you see in the movie. The hiking scenes were filmed on a different property not too far from that location. And the scenes set at Hayden’s house and Chris’ garage/backyard, were both filmed at Scott’s mom’s house a few miles south of Los Angeles.
When?
We filmed the movie in early 2020… as in the first day of filming was on January 2nd! There was a very tight window for when everyone would be available, so we braved the cold temperatures and went to work, finishing up near the end of the second week of January. Thankfully we got the film in the can and into post production before the world shut down in March of 2020, but the pandemic did delay our post process a bit. The film was released for rent or purchase in North America on March 16, 2021, and just became available on Amazon Prime on June 18th. Our international release is coming soon.
Why?
The original idea for the story started because Scott had rented an Airbnb, and thought the process was so easy that you could just rent a property and pretty much do anything in it without prying eyes. Scott and I had worked on a couple of films previously and were looking to do another one together, particularly in the thriller genre. So he came to me with this idea and an outline of characters that are like people most of us know or have in our lives. They were relatable and so were some of the issues they were dealing with… whether it be relationship trouble, unsuccessful attempts at becoming parents, general insecurities, jealousy, or even dealing with an inappropriate weirdo. We set about building a script based on those initial ideas, while leaning into the thriller aspects.
How?
People can find The Stay for rent through most cable VOD services, as well as streaming services such as Prime, FandangoNow, Vudu, iTunes/AppleTV, GooglePlay, YouTube Movies, Hoopla, Microsoft Xbox, Vimeo, and more. It is also available on DVD through online stores such as Barnes & Noble, Walmart, Best Buy, etc.
Rent/Purchase Online:
Purchase on DVD/Blu-ray:
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