By Grace Jacobson / Public Affairs Programming Producer

ST. CLOUD, Minn. — Pale Horse Studio‘s latest film D\E/M\O/N is being released at a time film critics are calling a “Zoomer horror renaissance.”

“I think it’s amazing,” Matthew Luczak, Executive Producer of Pale Horse Studio and the film’s writer and director, says about the timing of D\E/M\O/N‘s release with the box office success of A24’s Obsession and Backrooms. “I think both of those movies are getting attention because we are really kind of at a tipping point in film and what people want to see: fresh unique perspectives, fresh young talent–and the easiest way to do that is horror.”

Luczak’s psychological horror film clocks in at a runtime of around two hours and thirty minutes and is the Central Minnesota film studio’s biggest and most ambitious project to date.

The full-length feature follows the character of Ben Hardgrave, played by Matthew Benton, who encounters the self-help teachings of author J.C. Taylor–teachings that Ben later discovers are sinister.

“I wanted to explore a current cultural thing I was seeing, especially in young white men who were impressionable and kind of were able to follow certain ideologies whether or not they truly believed in what the purpose of the ideology was,” Luczak explains about the inspiration behind D\E/M\O/N. “In my research, I saw that just belonging to something and feeling a part of a group was almost an overwhelming reason to follow certain things–having that need be almost so extreme that you’re willing to follow sort of anybody to feel that was really interesting to me.”

“And really emphasizing the consequences of people’s choices,” adds Breana Burggraff, Executive Producer of Pale Horse Studio, who did the makeup and special effects for D\E/M\O/N, along with the intimacy coordination. “What is the cost of that belonging and what decisions are you making in order to be a part of that group?”

Over eighty people auditioned to be a part of the independent film project, a project that was entirely self-funded with all talent behind and in front of the camera coming from volunteers in the community. A community member even made an original song for the credits.

“Hopefully people will really see the movie and be like, ‘Wow, this is what they’re able to do [on such a small budget],'” says Luczak. “Comparatively to a movie you would see in the theatre, the cost of our entire movie is what they paid for a scene–for almost a single shot sometimes.”

A lot of the people who volunteered their talent to the self-funded project had also never been on a film set before.

“Knowing that [Central Minnesota] is not a big place for film also comes with the knowledge of people who wouldn’t be real familiar with that sort of thing,” Luczak says about how a learning environment is baked right into the mission of the Studio. “Pale Horse fosters the opportunity for people who just love the art form [of film], whether they know a lot about it or not, to come in and do stuff.”

One of the people who got to come in and do stuff was Cole Engstrom-Bolstad. Prior to starring in D\E/M\O/N as Protestor Leader, he had only done stage acting. The project not only allowed him to expand his acting skills into film but also to step behind the camera and learn skills as a production assistant.

“I consider myself kind of like a Yes Man,” Engstrom-Bolstad says. “I just kept saying yes to things [from the production team] and they kept letting me [do them].”

The film was shot in the St. Cloud area with many locations community members may recognize. For Luczak and the rest of his team at Pale Horse Studio, they hope the film will create a foundation in the community they can build upon.

“We want to keep growing not only as artists, but also keep growing this amazing film community [in Central Minnesota],” he says. “D\E/M\O/N hopefully is just a spring board.”

D\E/M\O/N premieres at Quarry Cinema in Cold Spring, Minn., on Saturday, July 25. The premiere is sold out, but tickets are available for a second showing the following Monday, July 27.

The above quotes have been edited and condensed for clarity and readability. To hear the full conversation, listen below.

Untold Stories of Central Minnesota is made possible through support from the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.

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