Movie to be shown in Fleischmanns, where it was filmed

Feb. 9—A horror film that was shot in Delaware and Ulster counties will be shown in one of the locations where it was filmed Feb. 24.

Spillian, in Fleischmanns, will host the film's director, Josh Ruben, for an evening of food, a showing of the movie "Werewolves Within" and a tour of the mansion where the scenes were shot. Also attending will be Jean-Michel, owner of Megabrain Comics, where Ruben is scheduled to debut his graphic novel, "Darla," the next day. The two will discuss the connections between fear and laughter, talk about making the film and introduce the film.

"We are very excited to share the movie, which is a hoot, and how Spillian shows up as something of a character in the film," Leigh Melander, partner at Spillian, said. "And we are totally grateful to Josh for being willing to come and talk about his creative work with everyone coming."

According to a post on Spillian's website, "Right before the world shut down in a crazy global pandemic, Spillian was visited for three months by the creative team who made Werewolves Within. Spillian both served as the primary location for the Beaverfield Inn and the production headquarters for the three-month shoot."

Melander said Ruben's wife, Lauren Sick, had stayed at Spillian and suggested it as the primary location for the movie. Ruben sent his location scouts to look at the mansion. Spillian was built in the 1880s by the Fleischmann family, owners of Fleischmann's Yeast and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

"We were — and are — thrilled to have Werewolves Within shoot at Spillian," she said. "My husband, Mark Somerfield, and I both have a background in the performing arts, and as a place about exploring imagination, we have felt that Spillian is a wonderful shooting location. We'd had a few smaller independent shoots happen there, but were very excited to have a feature film land there."

Ruben grew up in the Woodstock area and has filmed two movies in the Catskills — "Scare Me" and "Werewolves Within", a media release said. "It was cathartic to say the least — to bring a production of Werewolves size to the area and hire back some crew who did Scare Me for peanuts," he said in an email.

According to IMDB, the movie stars Sam Richardson, Milana Vayntrub and several others. It takes place in the small town of Beaverfield, where a gas line has been proposed. A snowstorm traps several residents of the town inside an inn and a forest ranger, played by Richardson, and a postal worker, played by Vayntrub, must try to keep the peace while trying to figure out about the mysterious creature terrorizing the community.

The movie was released in 2021 and won a Midseason Hollywood Critics Association Award for "Best Indie," the release said. It was also named to several best movie and horror movie lists at the end of 2021.

"We host a lot of weddings at Spillian, and it's become something of a tradition for wedding parties to watch the movie after their rehearsal dinner," Melander said.

Tickets can be purchased at http://tinyurl.com/p7a842t4.

Vicky Klukkert, staff writer, can be reached at vklukkert@thedailystar.com or 607-441-7221.