Though mainstream horror movies are making a comeback with smarter and more effectively scary stories, there are independent films that have achieved the same thing. Among the lesser-known ones is The House on Pine Street. Released in 2015, it tells the story of a pregnant woman who moves back to her hometown in Kansas with her husband from Chicago and isn’t too happy.
But when strange things start happening around the house they move into, she’s convinced it’s haunted though no one believes her. Apart from the film’s intriguing plot, there are several interesting facts about it. From what happened behind and in front of the cameras, here are 10 things everyone needs to know about The House on Pine Street.
10 The Film Won Awards At Several Festivals
Because it was independently made, The House on Pine Street naturally premiered at several film festivals. This included horror-themed ones like the New Orleans Horror Film Festival and regular ones like the Blue Whiskey Independent Film Festival.
Of the various film festivals that The House on Pine Street was selected for, it won awards in different categories at four of them. The most common ones were Best Feature Film, Best Director, and Best Actress.
9 Partial Funding Came From Kickstarter
In recent years, Kickstarter has come up a lot when it comes to independent funding for different projects ranging from indie games to personal charities. Even independent films get funded through Kickstarter campaigns, and The House on Pine Street was one such example.
Prior to shooting the movie, the directors managed to raise approximately $18,000 through Kickstarter. The purpose of this was to help pay for things like film equipment, special effects, and location shooting.
8 The Movie Was Shot In Kansas & Missouri
While The House on Pine Street’s production company E3W Productions is based in Los Angeles, they shot the movie on location in Kansas and Missouri in addition. The reason for this was that they wanted to be authentic since the movie is set in Kansas.
Plus, it brings more geographical representation. After all, the state of California has been the central hub of filmmaking for decades due to its near perfect weather and various landscapes.
7 The Directors Were Influenced By The Shining (1980) & Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
Apart from the standard ‘haunted house’ premise, the directors of The House on Pine Street were particularly influenced by Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining and Rosemary’s Baby.
Given that The House on Pine Street and Rosemary’s Baby are both about pregnant women who become increasingly paranoid due to supernatural occurrences, the influence makes sense. As for The Shining, it manifests in The House on Pine Street’s ambivalence about whether the supernatural is real or not.
6 The ‘Haunted’ House Was Built In 1840
Like many horror movies, the primary location for The House on Pine Street is arguably a main character in of itself. This is not only due to the house’s dominant presence in the film but also the real-life history behind it.
Found on Craigslist by the directors, the ‘haunted’ house is located in the city of Independence, Kansas, and was originally built in 1840. Thus, it fits our preconceived notions of a haunted house.
5 Several Cast & Crew Members Were In Their 20's
At the time of making The House on Pine Street, several of the movie’s cast and crew members were in their 20's. This includes the directors Aaron and Austin Keeling (shown above) along with the actresses Emily Goss and Natalie Pellegrini.
Now on the one hand, this is surprising as young actors and directors rarely break into the moviemaking business successfully. On the other hand, there are a lot of young filmmakers in the world.
4 Filming Only Took 19 Days To Finish
On average, a film takes one to two years to make. But in The House on Pine Street’s case, it reportedly took a total of 19 days to finish shooting.
This is not only an impressive feat due to the variables and other unpredictable factors involved in shooting, but it also shows the low production costs of the film. Of course, this isn’t a bad thing as saving on money is a viable option for any filmmaker.
3 The Story Was Inspired By ‘True’ Events
While the Keeling brothers admit that they wanted to make a film similar to The Shining and Rosemary’s Baby, they also based The House on Pine Street’s story on their experiences. Particularly with the supernatural, as the Keeling brothers claimed to have lived in a house growing up that was haunted.
Even the film’s co-writer/producer Natalie Jones reportedly lived in several haunted houses. Though it’s debatable whether these events are true or not.
2 The Cast & Crew Lived In The ‘Haunted’ House
In most cases, the cast and crew of any given movie don’t stay near the shooting locations. But there are exceptions like The House on Pine Street’s cast and crew, who lived in the ‘haunted’ house where most of the action takes place.
This was probably done as a cost-cutting measure, but it’s not far fetched. For instance, Night of the Living Dead (1968) was shot at a house that was about to be demolished.
1 Strange Things Happened During Filmmaking
Given the dubious nature of the supernatural, it’s strange yet almost cliche that some horror movies claimed to have had ‘cursed’ sets. This includes The Exorcist (1973) and Poltergeist (1982), where strange things happened onset and some actors even died after filming.
Such appears to be the case for The House on Pine Street as well, where during filming the sound guy reportedly picked up several unusual noises. But supposedly, they weren’t made by anyone on set or by the effects crew.
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