VALANCOURT HALL

WRITER/DIRECTOR

Armed with her knowledge of ghosts and Gothic literature, a young psychologist investigates a disturbance at a countryside mansion, where she uncovers secrets, suspicions, and old wounds.

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A passion project inspired by my longtime love of Gothic film and literature, from The Innocents to Jane Eyre to the Edgar Allan Poe stories I devoured as a kid, Valancourt Hall also presented the exciting challenge of making a genre film with an immersive and period-accurate world on a short-film budget. We funded the film in part through a successful Kickstarter campaign, and during the shoot we were extremely fortunate to have full access to the historic Mac-O-Chee Castle in West Liberty, Ohio.

I’ve often described the project as “Scream in the 1890s,” because this is a Gothic mystery with a twist that explores and subverts the tropes of the genre - suspicious characters, ornate staircases, wicked schemes, mysterious deaths, etc. - while also paying tribute to the enduring legacy of these stories and the emotional power they still possess.

Official Selection - Dayton Independent Film Festival 2021

Set photography by Zach Kitzen. Cinematography by Burke Mayne.