Jacksonville horror film 'Bloody Frickin Mary' slated for red-carpet premiere Thursday
Chad Hendricks has made a dozen movies in the last 20 years, but he had never made a horror film.
Enter "Bloody Frickin Mary," Hendricks' latest film, which is scheduled for a red-carpet premiere at 7 p.m. Thursday at AMC Regency theaters. The film, about a group of teenagers who summon a bloodthirsty urban legend during a sleepover party, was filmed in Jacksonville with an all-Jacksonville cast and all-Jacksonville crew.
It's not meant for young viewers, Hendricks said last week. Special-effects artist Synthia Roy was brought in to make sure "Bloody Frickin Mary' was plenty bloody. "It’s pretty gnarly stuff in all the kill scenes," Hendricks said.
Hendricks is from Live Oak and spent a couple of years working at Jacksonville television stations. He never formally studied filmmaking and moved to Los Angeles in his 20s, where he found work as an extra in several movies and television shows. He learned a bit about screenwriting and moved back to Florida to start making movies.
"That’s the craziness," Hendricks said. "I moved all the way to LA to never make a film out there. I’ve made 13 feature films here over 23 years or so. It's an addiction."
None of Hendricks' films have been blockbusters, but that doesn't stop him from trying. For "Bloody Frickin Mary," he borrowed a tried-and-true Hollywood formula.
"For this one, the idea was to do like Hollywood does and put as many good-looking twenty-somethings in one place and kill them all off," he said.
The plot centers around an old urban legend that says if you stare into a mirror and call for "Bloody Mary" three times, she'll appear. Hendricks said they took the legend seriously during filming. After shooting the summoning scene a few times, everyone agreed that it was good enough and that they shouldn't push their luck.
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"We really tried to avoid saying Bloody Mary’s name too many times," he said.
There are 15 people in the film and the cast is all local, selected from an open casting call. "The majority of them actually found us and came out to the audition we had in Orange Park," he said. "The four main girls in the movie, two of them are really singers. One writes, one raps a little bit. It’s a talented bunch."
Most of the film was shot in a home off Moncrief Road, with some scenes shot outside Westside High and on Blanding Boulevard. Hendricks said has worked with the Jacksonville Film & Television office for many of his films, but he didn't need their help on this one. His total budget for the film was about $12,000, about what a Hollywood blockbuster would spend on lunch.
He said he's working on a distribution deal with streaming services Prime Video and TubiTV and hopes to get the film online in time for the Halloween season. That's his best shot for recovering his investment in the film. "You hope for the best on the back end," he said. "It’s like the lotto; you can’t win if you don’t play."
Hendricks has done premiere parties before, usually at Jacksonville's Cuba Libre restaurant. For this one, he's renting one of the screens at AMC Regency, and he's ready to rent a second screen if the first one sells out. It starts at 7 p.m. with a red-carpet party in the lobby, followed by the film at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville filmmaker ready to release Duval-centric horror film
