The Complete 2004 Production Blog

Making DEMON RESURRECTION, Entry #1
Working in the Creature Shop, August, 2004

In the months before DEMON RESURRECTION went before the cameras, while location scouting and casting were still ongoing, producer Frank Cilla, co-producer Ed Wheeler and director William Hopkins were already toiling away in the DEMON RESURRECTION creature shop, working on the various pieces of the demon costumes - masks, chest pieces, hands and feet...
Co-Producer Edward Wheeler (L) and director William Hopkins (R)
working on the skeletal chest piece for the demon costume.

The single mold from which all the demon masks will be cast.


The first batch of masks awaiting painting.



Co-Producer Edward Wheeler touching up a sculpture of one of the demon hands.
An early test fit of the different parts of the demon costume. 


The jawbone of the demon mask is deemed unusable,
so a new jawbone is separately sculpted and cast...
Director Hopkins creating a plaster cast of the demon mask's jawbone.



Producer Frank Cilla examining one of the first of the demon masks to be cast and painted.
The first finished demon mask.
The first complete demon costume.




Director William Hopkins and the first completed demon costume.
Director William Hopkins adjusts the jawbone of the demon costume prototype.
Co-producer Edward Wheeler poses with the demon costume prototype.
Watch DEMON RESURRECTION on YouTube: https://youtu.be/SfKsr4gNY_U
Watch on Amazon: http://amzn.com/B003EB500W




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 Making DEMON RESURRECTION, Entry #2:  
Location Scouting, August, 2004

Production of DEMON RESURRECTION came very close to being cancelled due to the difficulty in finding an acceptable place to shoot the film. But all our problems were solved in early August of 2004 when the ideal location, this Long Island house, was discovered by our producer Frank Cilla, and its owners agreed to allow it and the surrounding grounds to be used in the shoot....










(Above) Twenty minutes of exterior footage shot by DEMON RESURRECTION director William Hopkins and 2nd Unit DP Stephen Snow, in October of 2004 in St James, Long Island, the primary location used in the film.


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Making DEMON RESURRECTION, Entry #3: 
The Shoot Begins, September, 2004

By mid-September, the DEMON RESURRECTION cast and crew was on location in Long Island and the production was underway...

Director Hopkins (L) and co-producer Edward Wheeler.
The cast and crew, on set, and ready to do a take.
The Canon XL-1S used throughout the DEMON RESURRECTION shoot. The camera is connected via Firewire to a MacBook, through which the video signal passes before being stored on an external hard drive. 
Director William Hopkins (R) and co-producer Edward Wheeler discuss the features of the Long Island location with its owner, Peter Opromolla (R).
The wooden barricades on the windows, the six-sided stained-glass window, and the tabernacle containing the grimoire are a few of the modifications and additions to the living room of the Long Island house used in the DEMON RESURRECTION shoot.
The cast waits while a shot is set up. From left to right: Stephanie Roy (Marcy), Chad Kessler (Michael), Joe McClean (Steven), Laurie Miller (Kate) and Alexis Golightly (Grace). In the foreground with back to camera is crew member Jerry Woods, preparing to operate the boom mic.

Eli Kranski (Alex) and Bashir Solebo (Denton) wait with other cast members as a shot is set up.
Second Unit DP, Stephen Snow (L), and actor Caroline Adams (R) in demon costume.

The director's copy of the script lies open on top of the floor monitor as the cast relaxes between takes.

Laurie Miller dons Steven's yellow shirt and stands in for actor Joe McClean on a day when the actor was unavailable.
Everybody's "just dead" after a long day of shooting.
Laurie Miller (Kate) applies some "sweat" to Alexis Golightly's brow during a break in shooting.
2nd Unit DP Stephen Snow fills in as the boom operator during an evening shoot in Grace's bedroom.
Edward Wheeler helps Alexis Golightly (Grace) with the "blood-knife" prop.
Edward Wheeler monitors the action on a Macbook while crew member Jerry Woods works the boom mic during a shoot in the guest bedroom.
Alexis Golightly (Grace), getting bloodied during a bedroom scene.
Alexis Golightly (Grace) in a lighter moment on set.
Actors Damian Ladd (John), Joe McClean (Steven) and Eli Kranski (Alex) prepare to shoot a scene in which John's body is temporarily laid to rest in the guest bedroom.
Actor Bashir Solebo (Denton) and co-producer Edward Wheeler, prepare for a scene.
Crew member Jerry Woods holds a reflector as actors Bashir Solebo (Denton) and Damian Ladd (John) shoot a scene near a cliff overlooking Long Island Sound.
Alexis Golightly (Grace) and Damian Ladd (John) shoot the film’s love scene near a cliff overlooking Long Island Sound.
The love scene was shot with a minimum of crew to preserve the feeling of intimacy between the two actors.
Acting is hard work.
The white bag in the background is not a sack of cocaine for the wrap party, but rather a sandbag used to anchor tripods and c-stands. 

Actor Joe Zaso as Toth's henchman, on the cult compound set in the final days of principle photography.
Producer Frank Cilla on the cult compound set in the closing days of principle photography.
Actor Caroline Adams shooting additional scenes on a Bronx mock-up of the archaeological dig set, a year after completion of principle photography in Long Island.
The skeletal remains of the buried witches will be added into this shot in post. 




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Making DEMON RESURRECTION, Entry #4:
Demons in Costume, September, 2004

By the time principal photography commences on DEMON RESURRECTION, nearly twenty full demon costumes have been completed in the production's creature shop by director William Hopkins, co-producer Edward Wheeler and producer Frank Cilla. (The rough canvas robes were created by cast member and stunt director, Laurie Miller.) On almost every day of the shoot, between five and fifteen demons are needed on set, so the actors playing these creatures spend a lot of time in costume, roaming the sixteen acres surrounding the Long Island house used in the production...

Co-producer Edward Wheeler coordinates some stunt action with the demon performers.
Actor and stunt coordinator Laurie Miller gives the demon performers a quick spritz prior to shooting.
The demon masks, hands and chest-plates were turned out by William Hopkins, Edward Wheeler and Frank Cilla in the production's creature shop. The rough canvas robes were created by cast member and stunt director, Laurie Miller.



Makeup artist Ashley Benatar is menaced by a horde of demons in a lull between shots.



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Making DEMON RESURRECTION, Entry #5:
In the Makeup Chair, September, 2004

In addition to much of the on-set gore effects shot during principal photography, makeup artist Ashley Benatar was also responsible for all beauty makeup and hairdressing for the production's large cast...

Actor Laurie Miller (Kate) gets a touch-up from makeup artist Ashley Benatar.

Actor Damian Ladd (John) waits his turn in the makeup chair.






Actor Amanda Knox Pennington sports grisly facial wounds, courtesy of makeup artist Ashley Benatar.

Actor Joe McClean lies back while "ripped flesh" is applied by makeup artist Ashley Benatar.

Makeup artist Ashley Benatar touches up actor Damian Ladd's body makeup during a night shoot.
Actor Eli Kranski in the makeup chair.

Makeup artist Ashley Benatar applies more fake blood to actor Eli Kranski's neck wound as he prepares to film his gory death scene

 (Below) YouTube video showing makeup artist touching up actor Bashir Solebo's gory wounds.

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Making DEMON RESURRECTION, Entry #6: 
The Window Fight, September, 2004

One of the most elaborate and dangerous parts of the DEMON RESURRECTION shoot, was the window fight between Kate, played by actress and stuntwoman Laurie Miller, and a trellis-climbing demon, played by co-producer, actor and stuntman Edward Wheeler. Wheeler and Miller, planned the scene out themselves, fashioning special props and equipment for use in the scene, including the break-away trellis and the "landing pad" that Ed eventually drops onto.

Second unit DP, Stephen Snow, in a safety harness, photographed much of the action while hanging off the edge of the house's roof....



Laurie Miller (Kate) confronts the demon on the trellis as it climbs toward the second floor bedroom window.




Director William Hopkins grabs a shot of Edward Wheeler, the trellis-climbing demon.
2nd Unit DP, Stephen Snow, in a safety harness, preparing to shoot the window fight.
The "landing pad," constructed of a mattress, cardboard boxes and wooden sawhorses, 
onto which Edward Wheeler, as the trellis-climbing demon, will drop.
Actor Laurie Miller (Kate) pushes the house's latticework trellis - and the demon clinging to it - away from the bedroom window, sending demon actor and stuntman Edward Wheeler flying toward the makeshift "landing pad."
DEMON RESURRECTION actor, stuntman and co-producer, Edward Wheeler, laughs in the face of danger as he readies to perform the window/trellis stunt.
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 Making DEMON RESURRECTION, Entry #7: 
Marcy Gets Ripped, September, 2004

Another elaborate stunt/makeup/special effects scene in DEMON RESURRECTION involves the character of Marcy, played by actor Stephanie Roy, being pulled through a shattered bay window by a crowd of demons while her friends, Steven and Alex (Joe McClean and Eli Kranski), struggle to pull her back, inadvertently dragging her over jagged shards of glass. 

Edward Wheeler and Laurie Miller choreographed the scene; actors/stunt performers Caroline Adams and Daniel Almekinder provided assistance, and makeup artist Ashley Benatar created the on-set gore effects...




Preparing for Marcy's death scene; from left to right, actor Joe McClean (Steven), actor and stuntman Daniel Almekinder, actor Stephanie Roy (Marcy), actor and stuntwoman Caroline Adams, and actor and stunt coordinator Laurie Miller (Kate).
Makeup artist Ashley Benatar adds more stage blood to actor Stephanie Roy's gut wounds.

Actors Eli Kranski (Alex) and Stephanie Roy (Marcy) prepare themselves for Marcy's gory death scene.


Actor Stephanie Roy (Marcy) relaxes with a hot cup of coffee after shooting her character's grisly demise.

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 Making DEMON RESURRECTION, Entry #8: 
Staircase Action, September, 2004

More elaborate and potentially dangerous stunt work on the DEMON RESURRECTION shoot: co-producer and stunt coordinator Edward Wheeler and stunt performer Jerry Woods take turns diving off the living room stairs into a landing pad fashioned from cardboard boxes. Wheeler jumps over the bannister from near the top of the flight, while Woods makes an even more perilous jump from the landing at the top of the stairs. Wheeler's jump doesn't make it into the final cut of the film, but Wood's does...

Seen from near the top step, the staircase on which the battle between Denton and the demons will be staged. This still was taken during location scouting, months before principal photography commenced. The sculptures and other bric-a-brac at the bottom of the flight will be removed before shooting begins. 
The cardboard box "landing pad" onto which Woods and Wheeler will be jumping.
Director William Hopkins discusses the set-up with actor and stunt coordinator Laurie Miller.
Edward Wheeler gets into costume as he prepares to perform the staircase jump stunt.
Actor Bashir Solebo (Denton) relaxes with a few of the demon performers while the staircase jump stunt is readied.





(Above) YouTube behind the scenes video of the cast and crew preparing to shoot Jerry Woods' and Edward Wheeler's staircase stunts.




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 Making DEMON RESURRECTION, Entry #9:
2004 Cast Interviews

(Below) A YouTube playlist of interviews of several members of the DEMON RESURRECTION cast, in makeup, on location, on the next to last day of principal photography, back in October, 2004...





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Making DEMON RESURRECTION, Entry #10:
The Pit Shoot, October, 2004

Principal photography continues into October of 2004. The same location, producer Frank Cilla's Long Island property, does double duty as both the archeological excavation site and the Toth's cult compound. 

The scene of Toth resurrecting the skeletal corpses in the pit, as well as as the final scene of the film, Toth being dragged into the pit by Grace's zombified friends, are shot at night as the production nears completion...

Edward Wheeler and Laurie Miller set up the "blood-knife" effect for actor Will McDonald (Toth).
The "blood knife" has a tube taped to one side of the blade which runs to a syringe loaded with stage blood which is held off camera by Ed Wheeler. When Toth runs the blade (which has had its edge dulled) over his palm, Ed pumps the stage blood through the tube, giving the appearance that Toth is cutting his own hand. At least, this is the way it's supposed to work. It took several takes before we got it right.
As there was a need for a large number of demons on the night of the pit shoot, Laurie was one of several cast and crew members who volunteered to put on the mask and robes, which explains her attire in these shots.
Stephanie Roy models the latest trends in zombiewear.
Makeup artist Ashley Benatar applies some last minute gore to the zombified friends.
The worst thing about playing a zombie, says Joe McClean (Steven), is having your skin and clothes covered in Karo syrup for hours on end. The syrup, with red food dye added, makes convincing stage blood but it's uncomfortably sticky and attracts insects.
By the night of the pit shoot, which was one of the last nights of principal photography, we had pretty much given up on the zombies' feet. We had fashioned skeletal foot coverings for the zombie performers to wear, but they never looked right on camera. So the actors were allowed to wear their regular shoes and we just framed the shots to avoid showing the zombies' feet.

The pit that was the centerpiece of the archaeological dig set, was dug by producer Frank Cilla and co-producer Edward Wheeler. It took several hours to get all that dirt out and several more hours to get it all back in again after the shoot was completed.

Edward Wheeler demonstrates to actor Will McDonald (Toth) the proper method of clawing one's way out of a pit.
Director William Hopkins lines up a shot of Toth in the pit.
Damian Ladd (John) and Will McDonald (Toth) rehearse their climatic confrontation.


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Making DEMON RESURRECTION, Entry #11:
The Cult Compound Shoot, October, 2004


The final few days of principal photography on DEMON RESURRECTION... 

The cult compound scenes are shot on producer Frank Cilla's Long Island property. During the day, Toth (Will McDonald) reads passages from the bible to his followers while slipping drugged wine to Grace (Alexis Golightly).

Once the sun goes down, the cast and crew begin work on the scenes in which Grace is offered to the cult's demon god...

Actor Dan Almekinder sits with other cult members during the shooting of the cult compound scene.


Actor Will McDonald (Toth)

Director William Hopkins, sets up a daytime shot of Grace (Alexis Golightly) on the "cult compound" set.
Director William Hopkins shoots the final appearance of Kim, the archaeologist, played by Caroline Adams.
Daniel Almekinder (L) and Laurie Miller (R) prepare the cult compound set for a nighttime shoot.
Actor Joe Zaso dons a jacket to keep warm as he waits to shoot a scene on the final night of principal photography of DEMON RESURRECTION.

Alexis Golightly (Grace) and Joe Zaso (Toth's Assistant) try to stay warm during shooting of the cult compound scenes.
Director William Hopkins chats with actor Will McDonald (Toth) and black-robed cult members during a break in shooting.


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