43
SHRIEK! Dark Xmas is here
Lisa Neeld has earned a few titles in recent years.
Playboy magazine model. Radio host. Psychotic death-crazed slasher.
Actually, that last one is just the role Neeld plays in a locally made movie titled “The Girl.”
The Cortland resident, who was featured in a couple of Playboy special editions last year and who hosts a show on WNCD-93 FM, plays Amanda, who is the titular girl in the film.
Travis Bowan, the Warren resident who is best-known for his Dark X-mas horror/sci-fi conventions, is the director. The 2009 Dark X-mas will be this weekend at Eastwood Expo Center in Niles.
Joe Mohn, a Valley resident and Bowan film collaborator, wrote the script.
Work on “The Girl” is nearly finished, and the film should be complete next month. Shooting was done in several Valley locations, including the Boy Scout camp in Girard, a wooded area near McDonald and at the Comfort Inn parking lot in downtown Warren.
If you naturally assumed that Neeld would be one of the victims — after all, the pretty girl usually gets it in slasher flicks — you would be right. And also dead wrong.
“I am the villain, the slasher,” said Neeld. “It’s pretty different. I am not the victim.”
As the film begins, Neeld’s character is stalked by a mad man, played by Ari Lehman, who, incidentally, played the legendary role of Jason Vorhees in the first “Friday the 13th” movie. The man kidnaps and rapes the girl, and leaves her for dead. Only she doesn’t die.
“The story goes from there,” said Neeld. “It’s a traumatic experience, and her mind snaps. She starts killing people in the woods where this happened.” Neeld didn’t want to give away too much, but noted the film has a twist that will put a smile on the faces of horror fans. “The irony is, my first victim is the man who played Jason.”
The story line also is left open for more Neeld. “My character isn’t killed, so it’s set up for a sequel,” she said.
Neeld, who had a small role in a locally made horror film titled “The Sandman” when she was about 17, said “The Girl” is her first real role and her biggest part by far.
“The Girl” also has a couple of other noted actors in its cast: Lindsay Felton, who starred in the 2000-2002 Nickelodeon series “Caitlin’s Way,” and Corey Haim, who starred in the 1987 horror smash “The Lost Boys.”
A trailer for “The Girl” will premiere Saturday evening at the Dark X-mas convention.
Neeld will be among the celebrity guests at the event, which will run from Friday through Sunday. Other guests include Denise Crosby, who played Tasha Yar in “Star Trek: The Next Generation” TV series.
Bowan said he is especially excited about landing Crosby for his Dark X-mas. “She is normally a pretty expensive guest to obtain, but we managed to work out a deal for a Saturday-only appearance.”
Other actors who will appear at Dark X-mas include Lehman; Danny Hicks (“Evil Dead 2,” “Darkman,” “Spiderman 2"), Timothy Patrick Quill (“Army of Darkness,” “Spiderman I," "II" and "III”); Stephen Manley (“Star Trek III,” “The Hindenberg,” “Kung Fu”); Scott Cummings (celebrity bodyguard who once worked for Michael Jackson); and Kayla Perkins (“The Simple Life,” “The Girl”).
“There will also be many other fun guests, including Elvira’s Twin, who was one of the judges of the Fox TV show ‘The Next Elvira,’” said Bowan.
Haim was scheduled to appear but cannot because his mother is very ill.
Bowan said independent films will play all weekend in one area of the Expo Center.
“This will be very different than previous shows,” said Bowan.
“We will have the regular show on one side, where the celebrity guests and vendors will be, and the other side of the area will be the stage, where speaking events and music will be going on all weekend. There will also be all kinds of vendors at the event, from big names like Hollywood Video to just the regular person wanting to sell sci-fi or horror merchandise from their attic.”