 "Photo: Courtesy of Sonnyboo Productions")
When it comes to World War II films, Ohio is not likely to rank high on the list of preferred shooting locations. Then again, the genres of science fiction and horror do not often blend with war movies either. Perhaps co-directors Peter John Ross and John Whitney decided that while they were breaking one standard of normalcy by filming their World War II film in Ohio, they might as well break another by making it a sci-fi horror movie.
"Horrors of War" follows a group of American soldiers as they make their way inland after D-Day. During their travels, Lt. John Schmidt (Jon Osbeck) and his men encounter and clash with what appear to be a German super-soldier. Schmidt is injured in battle, and is reassigned to a unit of misfits and criminals led by Capt. Mitchell (C. Alec Rossel). While on a mission to destroy a weapons lab in occupied France, the unit's plane comes under fire and miss their drop zone. On the ground, they find themselves stuck between the German army and a supernatural creature that resembles a werewolf.
Ross, 34, who is credited with the original concept for "Horrors of War," laughed when asked how the idea first came to him, describing it as a "funny, weird story."
"On a train ride going from Paris, France to Heidelberg, Germany, I was looking out the window, and all I could think is, 'Jesus Christ, this looks just like Ohio,'" Ross said. "And that kind of helped key it off for me."
Philip R. Garrett, 36, producer and co-writer for the film, who taught a course at Ohio State in the Advanced Computing Center for Arts and Design in the fall, returned to his home state of Ohio about two years ago. Having worked with Dreamworks and Disney on films like "Artificial Intelligence: AI," "Shrek" and "Madagascar" in the past, Garrett did not want to stop working on movies simply because he moved back to Ohio.
"I was trying to find a film project going on that seemed serious, and so I came across those guys and got involved producing and writing for the film," Garrett said.
The casting process, Garrett said, was done through auditions and open casting calls.
"We put the word out as wide as Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Indianapolis," he said. "So we had a lot of people come from Kentucky, Cincinnati and Pennsylvania."
Nevertheless, Garrett could not recall a single non-Ohioan who was cast.
Alec Rossel, a junior in film who plays Capt. Mitchell in "Horrors of War," said he became attached to the project in 2002 when Ross attended a screening of "Jack's Habit," a film Rossel made, at the Arena Grand Theatre.
"I'm doing this World War II project in a couple of years and you'd be perfect for this character," Rossel said, mimicking Ross. "And ever since then it was set in stone. So when it came time, he called me up."
Rossel, 28, said his character is not necessarily the bad guy, "but he's definitely not a good guy."
The majority of shooting was done three years later in July 2005, Ross said. Locations for shooting included Shade, West Jefferson, Mechanicsburg, Canal Winchester, Mansfield, Delaware Lake, Conneaut, Youngstown and Logan.
"We were all over the state," Ross said. "We went from the southern-most tip to the northern-most tip of Ohio, and everywhere in between."
Various other scenes were shot before and after July 2005, Ross said, including a reenactment of D-Day on Lake Erie in 2004.
Although Ross was unable to disclose the exact budget of the film (he could only say it was under $1 million), it was enough to afford special and visual effects that included blank-firing weapons, triggered explosions by a licensed professional and computer-generated imagery planes.
"Some of the planes in the film are real, some are CGI, and most people can't tell them apart," Ross said. "What's funny is how I had one guy argue with me saying, 'that looks so fake,' and it was the real plane."
Despite being appreciative of the amount of local support that was put into the making of "Horrors of War," Ross is admittedly a bit disappointed with the lack of support from local theaters for the film.
"I would bring in people, they'd make money, and then they'd wanna charge me more," Ross said, referring to Drexel Theaters and Studio 35. "And so, again, that's another sign … they all talk about support, but it's not in their actions."
During a series of screenings across the U.S. which includes stops in New York and Los Angeles, "Horrors of War" will screen one more time in Ohio, at The Neon theater in Dayton June 1.
Ross said he definitely plans on making at least one more feature film in Ohio, but he might end up moving to Los Angeles.
"I don't particularly like Los Angeles. I really don't like the environment that much at all, but that's where the industry is," Ross said. "I don't dislike it here, but this is not where the industry is. So I might have to move, but I don't think it would be by choice. My hope is to continue to make movies here."
Garrett said he was just glad that the movie was able to be made in Ohio.
"We got a lot of support from the local community, and that really meant a lot to us," Garrett said.
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