Dark Star Hollow: Review of an Early Script
As reported previously, exclusively here on HorrorBid.com, the Hollywood machine had been kick-started in the earliest production phases on a new horror/thriller film based on a novel of the same name, Dark Star Hollow. When contacted for comment on a few less than hopeful rumors swirling around the film, Matthew J. Fougerousse offered HorrorBid some reassurances from the inside and, in a great show of both kindness and good faith in HB, a copy of an early working script for the film, which is based on the novel that Fougerousse himself had written.

With the film treatment presenting a new and interesting take on the old tale of souls sold to the devil for gains here on earth, and a (working) cast list to go along with it, I was eager to take a look at what might be waiting for horror fans in theaters in the next year or so. This is an early working script, so it is not without problems, and having not read the novel as yet, I can’t speak to its success as an adaptation. That being said, the script does show much promise.

Based in part on the true to life story of Willow Grove, a small town forcibly flooded in 1942 by the US government with the building of a dam, Dark Star Hollow follows the story of a town submerged by the accidental (or so it would seem) breaking of a dam in the mid 1960’s. A scant 13 people survive the tragedy and their survival is key to the events that would take place some forty years later. A deal with the devil had been made for the souls of all those who should have perished in the flood; the survivors negated that deal, and someone is out to make it right.

The film opens to a scene that would fit right in to a 1960’s horror film: a church meeting broken by an angry interruption and the late night ensuing horror of the dam break, complete with a somewhat bumbling police and engineering presence. That in itself presents something of a problem; the dark tone of both the story and the later portions of the script, as well as the horror of the dam break itself and its aftermath, make the characters in authority - the police and even the dam workers - come off as oddly hokey and even childish. But this is early on, and dialogue hasn’t been given its final polish just yet. It would seem an attempt to date this portion of the film, set in 1965, seemed to rather date the technique than place the actors in the proper period. Based on the later portions of the script, there is much hope that this can be rectified long before filming begins.

Once faded on the scene of the few survivors of the flood, the script jumps forward forty years to the modern era, ostensibly 2005; however, it would be simple enough to skip over dating things so exactly by dropping any title cards bearing the exact date and using both modern and retro sets and props to signify the era. Opening a film in 2012 taking place in 2005 might seem oddly stilted; if left ambiguous, the film could seem fresh at any point it is released.

The biggest problem with the script is the way it seems to shift from farcical humor and real darkness. The story is enough to carry the film, without the inclusion of horror film tropes that could ruin the overall effect. Certain characters - particularly the irritable Tyler - seem cut right out of the celluloid of a direct to video 1980’s cheesy horror film. Though every film needs someone to stir the pot and spur the plot, the inclusion of one-dimensional, even vapid characters, does nothing to add to the film. But don’t worry - not all is lost here. One character in particular, clearly written for Billy Zane, seems interesting and charismatic enough to press the film forward. With a setting primarily on a houseboat on the open water, Dark Star Hollow is an interesting take on the usual sort of “locked in the haunted house for the weekend” type setting so common to horror films. The potential for some fantastically inventive death scenes is clear from the start, owing in part to the unique setting that is the basis of the film.

For the most part, in this early stage, Dark Star Hollow seems to have the makings of a solid genre film. It is extremely easy to picture the announced cast in their selected roles, particularly Billy Zane and Josh Hartnett, who has built the bedrock of his film career in portraying male leads in horror films. Though at times the script drifts dangerously close to the 80’s horror B-movie realm, it is overall very promising. If financing and casting fall into place, Dark Star Hollow could be on hand in 2012 to usher in a new era of original horror films.

As it stands, the film remains in pre-production. Stars Josh Hartnett, Billy Zane, Christopher Lambert and Sean Kanan of soap opera fame are already attached to the project, with Elisha Cuthbert being wooed for the film.

Special thanks to Matthew J. Fougerousse for his kind cooperation, as well as his offering of an early draft of his script, for this article. As horror fans, we more often than not hear a few carefully chosen media blurbs prior to a film release; it is both refreshing and enlightening to have an eagle eye view of a film’s production process.

Our student, Gia Skova, booked a supporting role in the feature film "Dark Star Hollow" with Josh Hartnett & Billy...