What if one day Mom went
out for a drive and never came back?
The random violence of
fate is never more cruel than when it strikes down a loved one in
the prime of life and leaves the victim’s survivors to
grapple with that maddening, unanswerable question: Why?
So begins “Uninvited,”
the haunting, meditative film premiering at 8 p.m. Friday at
Cutting Hall in Palatine.
Shot entirely on locations
throughout the Chicago area, “Uninvited” is the latest release
from CNGM Pictures, the Palatine-based, student-run film studio
that scored a resounding commercial success with last summer’s
indie-horror flick, “The Legends of Cuba Road.”
For 20-year-old
writer-director Michael P. Noens, “Uninvited” was a chance to
prove himself capable of delivering something other than
teen-scream entries like “Legends,” and “Sleep To Dream,”
which won the “Best Horror Short” award at last year’s
MicroCinema fest in Rapid City, S.D.
“I was looking to do
something more suspenseful than horrifying this time around,”
said Noens. “I wanted something more mature and
character-driven.”
Because the majority of
CNGM cast and crew members are under 21, the filmmakers had to go
outside their ranks to find age-appropriate actors for key roles.
“We’d never held
auditions for our films before,” Noens said. “I’d never
directed anyone I didn’t already know. This is the first CNGM
production that has more adult actors than teenagers, and I’m
happy about that.”
Palatine resident John
Anthony, 41, plays the recently widowed Ray Ashby, who forsakes
his own grief in a misguided attempt to put up a brave front for
his anguished children.
“I was really impressed
with Mike’s vision and his ability to communicate what he wanted
to me,” said Anthony, a personal finance adviser who’s “been
acting off and on since high school.”
“The crew was a lot of
fun but very professional and always ready to give the director
what he needed in a timely manner. I’d love to work with them
again.”
For the brief but pivotal
role of Ray’s late wife, Beth, Noens tapped his former English
teacher, Judy Klinger, who directed him in numerous stage
productions during his days at Fremd High School.
“I think he just called
me because he needed somebody old enough to play a mom,” Klinger
said, laughing.
“Seriously, these kids,
who aren’t actually kids any more, but young adults, really know
what they’re doing, and they’re really going to get somewhere
with their talent and drive.”
Next stop for Noens is
Columbia College in Chicago, where he’s pursuing a filmmaking
degree beginning this fall.
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