Young local filmmakers create The Maddernox teen thriller movie

By ALAN SHACKLETON

Earlier this year, a group of young local filmmakers released a short movie they had made in the East Toronto area last summer.

The Maddernox made its premiere with a showing at the Cineplex Cinemas Beaches in January. The short film was well received by the audience and has inspired the filmmakers to work on other projects.

The film was made and acted in by Sophie Gallo-Doeben, Charlotte Greene, Juno Smith, Ava McCubbin, Chiara Hamilton, Mimi Murray Marks, Avery Griffin, Lilly Struys, Caitlin Robinson and Eden Marks. Adults supporting the project include writer-director Anthony Greene, Carlos Lopes who provided the music, and Dan Elliot who looked after sound and dialogue.

A teen thriller, The Maddernox examines themes of popularity, peer pressure, friendship, and bravery.

“The Maddernox is a made-up name for the creature at the heart of the urban legend. The name is designed to evoke mystery, intrigue and danger,” said Anthony Greene in an email interview with Beach Metro Community News shortly after the movie’s premiere.

The film, which is more than 30 minutes long, came on the heels of a short horror movie made by the same group titled The Legend of Glen Manor Ravine.

Anthony Greene said the story for The Maddernox was inspired by the local youngsters who created it and their desire to make a scary, teen thriller movie.

“Building on the success of The Legend of Glen Manor Ravine, at over 30 minutes this is the longest film we’ve made,” he said of The Maddernox.

As with the first film, The Maddernox was filmed in the East Toronto area with many recognizable locations such as Glen Ames and Williamson Road schools, the Beach Mall, local streets, the R.C. Harris Water Treatment, and the Glen Stewart Ravine.

Gallo-Doeben said that even though they were making and acting in a thriller/horror movie, the entire process was great fun. She did, though, admit to being a bit nervous when she started acting in front of the camera for the first time.

“When we first started shooting, I was a little nervous because it was my first time doing anything like this,” she said. “But after a couple of takes, I was really comfortable. I have known the crew for a really long time, and I didn’t mind acting in front of them.”

Gallo-Doeben added that filming outside also created a number of challenges in the creation of The Maddernox.

“When we were filming outside, it was very difficult because we would have to take a break every time a car went by or an airplane flew past us. That was because the microphones would pick up the sound and if we wanted to make edits later, it wouldn’t fit,” she said.

“Sometimes we would have to drive around the whole neighbourhood to find a quiet street where we could film. There was nothing we could really do about this but go get ice cream and then come back hoping the street had quieted down.”

The most memorable scene in the movie, and how it was filmed, was one in which one of the characters is stabbed in the stomach, said Gallo-Doeben.

“It is probably the scariest scene of the entire film, but we had the most fun filming it,” she said. “It also took so many takes to get it right. I had to stab her properly and then she had to fall over properly, and we could not laugh.”

That scene also highlighted the differences between how a scene is filmed and how it looks on screen.

“We used a big plastic water bottle as her waist, and we put a matching shirt over it,” explained Gallo-Doeben of how the stabbing scene was filmed. “This was so we could film the knife actually going into her body. This is what I mean when I say that when you are filming, it is totally different than when it is on screen.”

She said watching The Maddernox at the big screen at the Cineplex Cinemas Beaches was a thrill for everyone involved in the production.

“None of us had seen the finished film before it premiered at the Cineplex theatre and I’m really glad that is how I saw it the first time…It was an amazing experience, and I had a lot of fun. It seemed that the audience really liked it. I hope they liked it. They seemed scared, which was the goal, so we feel we accomplished that.”

Anthony Greene said the young cast and crew did a great job creating The Maddernox, and he also highlighted the support of the Cineplex Cinemas Beaches, the Beaches Recreation Centre, Williamson Road Public School and the families of the participants.

To view the movie on You Tube, please go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRJfV5k4rLU