"Stover Hill" (2014)

"Stover Hill" is a short film directed by Clarke M. Smith and co-written and produced by  Jason Lethert and Sergio Kopelev. It starred Rachel Elizabeth Ames, Randy Davison, Mike Brayden, Yvette Angulo, and Elizabeth Popovich. It was completed in August of 2014, and was Smith’s second-directed San Diego film after moving from Connecticut in 2009.

## History

### Background

Two years went by since Smith directed “Crazy Joe” in 2012. During this time, he concentrated on planning and raising money for a ghost feature he had written called “Wandering Shadows”.  Also, his DP Chris Patterson asked him to be his Assistant Camera on some other shorts he signed up for (with Ramy A., Hassan and Patrick Lavender).  Once that team saw “Crazy Joe”, they asked Smith to be their editor.  Smith edited 4 of their films.

At the same time, Smith began an indiegogo campaign for the feature.  Unfortunately, not enough money was made for the ghost feature, so he redirected the funds to a short he was developing  - then called “Taken Over”, and later finally “Stover Hill" after Lethert joined as a writer/producer.

## Realizing the Script

Smith's script was still in its treatment phase, so Lethert and later Kopelev were brought in to polish it up and add more dialogue.  They subsequently became the film’s producers.  Chris Patterson also agreed to return as Director of Photography, and the majority of the funds raised went to him, as well as a generator rental needed for intense outdoor lighting (which would have overloaded the townhouse and blew fuses).

In 2012, Smith had met Randy Davison at a festival screening of ”Crazy Joe,” which his film “Deranged” was also showcased. They talked at length after the event, and Smith thought of him immediately for one of the leads.  Subsequently, Lethert invited Smith to a screening of “Ghostline” (2014) and introduced him to Rachel Elizabeth Ames. The decision was soon made to offer her the part of Randy’s wife.  Next, Smith tapped James Steinberg from “Crazy Joe,” but his schedule was too full at the time to accept.  Smith then went to Mike Brayden whom he had worked with as an Assistant Director and editor on a film called “Walk Away” (2017) (as well as editing another fim if his - “Adverse Possession”). Casting his character’s girlfriend proved to be a lot of work, however.  Smith considered several actresses, including Kimberly Rose (also from “Walk Away”).  He even talked to Yvette Angulo about the part, but initially thought she was too young. When offers to other actresses fell through, and Brayden subsequently accepted the role, it was clear that their ages were similar and appropriate.  Plus, by then, the two of them had starred together in several films and had great chemistry. Lastly, was the part of the little girl.  Patrick Lavender, producer of “Walk Away,” invited Smth to an actor’s showcase live on stage where local actors performed scenes to attract filmmakers.  One of the young actresses Smith thought was perfect, was Elizabeth Popovich.  There was really no one else he wanted, and she and her mother accepted.

## Shooting Details

Shooting took place in one weekend in August 2014, which was Friday night, Saturday night, and Sunday afternoon. Because the film takes place entirely on one evening, shooting could not begin until 9pm when the sun went down in the summertime. Patterson rented a generator to run in the front yard and far enough to not be heard by the boom mic. This was necessary so as to not blow a fuse with the electric lighting overload. Gaffer Chris Redman was instrumental in making the electricity work as hoped. Once the scenes progressed to the alien invasion outside (offscreen), the generator and lights kicked in and remained on until after 3am, much to the likely chagrin of nearby neighbors.  Very luckily, none complained but a few asked about what was happening days later.

An incredibly dedicated DP, Patterson had taken a gig during the daytime of this particular weekend, but because he knew the film was important to Smith, and a man of his word, he worked on it til the wee hours of the morning, while having to be at work just a few hours later.  On the 2nd night, during breaks or discussions of which shots to do next, Patterson would fall asleep til it was time to set up again. Near the end of that night, an exhausted Patterson entrusted his Assistant Camera Stuart Allman to take over the remaining few shots, as he could barely function anymore.  The main shot Allman did was when Mike Brayden freaks out for a moment, and then goes back into his trance.

Patterson continued to work with little sleep, until late Sunday afternoon, when only Elizabeth Popovich and her mom, and Raquel Ames came to shoot all the upstairs and bedroom scenes. Windows had to be blacked out, and the race was on, as Chris insisted they be done and loading up by 6pm.  The kid’s room, and subsequent master bedroom and loft scenes were shot very quickly. The final shots of the mother and daughter confronting each other at the end were literally shot with minutes to spare, as Patterson had to get on his way.  More was planned for the ending, notably 3 alternate endings:  the one that is in the film, one with the mother obviously infected, and one with the kid obviously infected.  More was also planned with the shadows and light effects for the ending, in which the camera panned up from the mother and daughter to the ceiling, with the attack happening offscreen and flashing lights.  Instead, they used a still image from the exterior of the townhouse, with visual effects added in post.

A few other scenes were altered or not shot due to time restraints.  In the living room, Rachel did a shot where she grabs a broom and smacks Randy with it.  The reverse of the shot was never filmed, and therefore the scene was cut. Also, on the first night, the long take steadicam shot came out rather lifeless and lacking energy.  Smith wanted to redo it, and with more urgency and better timing. Unfortunately, the steadicam was not available on the 2nd night, and it ended up being a handheld shot. But having done the scene a few times the night before, it went quickly and smoothly, and much improved.

### Music

The score for Stover Hill was once again composed by Reber Clark. This was his second score for a Smith film. Smith had come up with a simple riff on his guitar, and Reber used the melody of it to create the theme music. Reber took it to a new level, changed it, and added many embellishments.  It would go on to be one of Smith’s favorite pieces of music composed for one of his films.

Very simply, Smith did an experiment by severely slowing down the piece but retaining its pitch.  The result gave the music an extremely unsettling, slow pounding pulse effect, where the melody can be heard over the entire post-takeover scene.  Reber wrote a few variations of the theme for the director’s cut of the movie, as well as a shorter festival cut.

When Stover Hill was included in the anthology feature “Mystery Highway”, Smith reworked the theme by adding bass notes, staccato cello, and percussion. It became the Mystery Highway theme.

## Film Analysis

The introductory credits were designed to be retro old school, reminiscent of the slow title build in “Alien” (1979), as well as the burn-in effect of “The Thing” (1982).  And, to have the title of the film come in after the final credit.

Smith created a video  - "Stover Hill - The Thing Hands" (2015) - which chronicles the screen-used prop from “The Thing”, intended to be used in the film, but had to be scrapped due to time. The prop belonged to Jason Lethert, who obtained it from a friend who’s father worked on the film.  Nicely, the prop finally did get to be seen in a future Smith film, “You Are Me” (2018).

Much discussion has been made of which of the two at the end has been taken over, and which is still human. Smith purposefully left the ending ambiguous, and was inspired by the ending in “The Thing”, where there are two characters left with an unknown fate.   The audience here never gets to find out.  But as pointed out in audio commentaries, it doesn’t make any difference.  Whoever is human is doomed, and the entire cast is then taken over, in a very nihilistic ending. However, just for the sake of argument, Smith spells it out like this:

It pretty much has to be the girl.  The mom knows where the girl is, but the girl does not know where her mom is, or went.  She goes looking for her.  If it had been the mom who was taken over, she would have known exactly where to find the girl, and would have gone to get her.  The girl at the end is looking around for her mom, as she is the one taken over.  On the other hand - why didn’t mom come out of the closet when they broke in.  Wouldn’t she have known the taken-over people went up to the loft to get her?

## Aftermath

“Stover Hill” premiered at the 2015 San Diego Film Week in November, a week-long program for local films, and awards.  Smith’s mother Sherry Felix, who had appeared in several of his college films in the 80s, flew in from Ohio to see the premier. The following evening, Smith attended the awards ceremony where they would announce audience and jury awards for each category of the week.  “Stover Hill” won 2nd place in the Science Fiction/Horror/Fantasy category.  1st place went to a stylish, retro black and white film called “Case of Evil”.

Sadly, this would be the last time Smith would see his mother alive.  After she flew home to Ohio, 8 months later in July of 2015, she suffered an aneurysm and fell into a coma.  By the time Smith flew out from San Diego, her recovery was declared to have little to no chance.  She was removed from life support on July 3.  She was 72.  In Smith’s next film, “The Loyal Remnant”, he along with Raquel Elizabeth Ames, dedicated the film to their mothers.

In the years since the short film was completed, Smith considered making it into a feature.  Stover Hill the feature, would have been an ambitious alien-takeover film that would involve the entire planet infected by the aliens, with a group of survivors as the focus of the story.  There had been many television shows and low budget movies with this type of plot, but Smith still thinks there is an original story to be told.  He started the script in 2016 but never finished or strove to make it a reality.  The story began in a high rise apartment building (where Smith actually worked for a time as a part time front desk agent).  The job was the inspiration for the building to be taken over in the same manner as in the short film.  A small group of survivors escape the city melee, and flee to a rural resort hotel. They lock down the resort, but they become leery of each other, as it’s hard to tell who is human and who is infected.

Smith has had a hard time making a feature a possibility (any feature, not just this one), as costs and other scheduling issues have only permitted short films.

## Video and Web Links

Official Site

Trailer

"Stover Hill" (2014) (Full Movie)

"Stover Hill - Its Time To Begin" (2015)

1999 Visual Audio Commentary (to come)

"Stover Hill: Casting the Hill" (2015)