MORRIS COUNTY

Mendham Twp. is the setting for new horror film

‘Pretty Fine Things’ to debut at Chatham Cinemas

Michael Izzo
@MIzzoDR
Filmmaker Ryan Scott Weber, whose horror film, 'Pretty Fine Things' is set to debut at Chatham Cinemas. Part of the film was shot on location at a friends house on Roxiticus Road in Mendham, January 5, 2016, Mendham, NJ.

MENDHAM TWP. – Morris County has its share of massive, towering homes tucked away in the woods with nothing but long driveways connecting them to civilization.

Kind of sounds like the perfect setting for a horror movie, doesn’t it?

Ryan Scott Weber agrees, which is why he shot the climactic scenes of his new movie, “Pretty Fine Things,” in a friend’s home on Roxiticus Road in Mendham Township.

“It was a great house to shoot in because of the woods, and there were so many rooms it was perfect for the big party scene,” said Weber, 35, of Bernardsville. “The place is so big it took two hours just to set up the lighting.”

Weber played drums in the pop punk band Crash Romeo, touring nationwide, before turning his focus to filmmaking in 2010.

“When I was young I went to the movies with my father and brother every Friday night and I just remember thinking how cool it was and wondering how they made these things,” Weber said. “I liked the idea of building something out of nothing.”

He’s since made several short and feature films, mainly sticking to the horror genre.

“I love horror because you can be really creative within it,” Weber said. “There’s so much fun that goes along with it. You can have comedy, action, drama, thriller. The best movies mix genres, like ‘Back to the Future.’”

Weber said “Pretty Fine Things” is more of a psychological thriller than a horror movie, though it’s certainly not for the faint of heart.

“It’s about this serial killer tracking these girls for a particular reason, which I’m not going to spoil,” Weber said. “But you also see the police investigation as much as the killer, which someone told me has a ‘Law and Order’ feel. And there are these Hitchcockian elements, drawing from ‘Psycho’ and ‘Rear Window,’ which I didn’t even realize until after I shot it.”

In addition to writing and directing his movies, Weber also acts in his work, though he played only a minor role in “Pretty Fine Things.”

Shooting took place on weekends for 12 hours at a time in fall 2014 at John Tiscornia’s home, which was decorated for a Halloween party during filming. Weber said he also crashed several drones and broke a GoPro camera in order to get good overhead shots of the location.

“It was too cool a place not to try for that shot,” Weber said. “I love shooting in this area because there’s a little bit of everything here. I mean I’d love to shoot in New York City but you can find everything you need here. Morristown can even fill in as a city.”

He said his hometown of Bernardsville has been especially generous allowing him to shoot his films in public spaces in town.

Following reshoots last spring, Weber spent summer and fall editing the movie.

“Being one person doing this, it takes some time,” said Weber, who pays the bills between filming and editing by working at the Bernardsville library.

Between projects Weber also works on a show, “Zombies Incorporated,” which is available at his website. The concept of the show is more comedy than horror: After zombies take over Bernardsville, two friends open up a zombie-killing business. Think “Ghostbusters” meets “The Office” in the world of “The Walking Dead.” He said he regularly completes an entire episode in a single Saturday.

While other scenes in “Pretty Fine Things” take place at the Mendham Health and Racquet Club, which Tiscornia also owns, and a 300 acre Bernardsville farm owned by friend Peter Ruschmann, the Mendham house was chosen for the film’s poster.

“It’s just the perfect location,” Weber said. “When I first came here I said it looked like ‘The Adams Family’ house and I used that exact line in the movie when the girls get here.”

Weber said the movie cost between $20,000 to $30,000 to make. Much of that budget was funded through a Kickstarter campaign, which raised $10,000. The largest financial contributor to the film was Doug Rogusky, a producer on the movie who has contributed to several of Weber’s films.

Filmmaker Ryan Scott Weber, whose horror film, 'Pretty Fine Things' is set to debut at Chatham Cinemas. Part of the film was shot on location at a friends house on Roxiticus Road in Mendham, January 5, 2016, Mendham, NJ.

Weber said the price tag is significantly larger than his previous films and TV shows, though still quite low when compared to multi-million dollar budgets of most movies. Still, he said his six-person crew succeeded in its goal of making a “low budget movie look like a big budget one.”

“The movie’s finished and it’s looking great. I’m excited,” Weber said. “I took my time because I wanted it to look and sound great, making everything perfect from beginning to end. I want to be able to say I made a perfect move. And I know nothing is perfect, but you can try.”

Weber said he also wants his movie to be as technically precise as possible because he understands the time commitment it takes to watch a movie.

“If someone comes up to me at a convention and says ‘hey I liked your movie,’ that means they spent two hours to sit down and watch it,” Weber said. “That means something.”

Weber said he hopes to secure a distribution deal for “Pretty Fine Things” so it reaches a larger audience.

“It’s important to get more people to see it outside of our great New Jersey fan base,” Weber said. “Luckily I learned a lot about marketing when I was in the band.”

He plans to market the movie along with his previous work through conventions like the Chiller Theater Expo this April in Parsippany.

“I’m not doing this to be famous. I just want to make movies for a living. If fame goes with it, fine, but I just want to enjoy making films,” Weber said. “I feel like I was meant to do this and I can’t imagine doing anything else. It’s a good outlet for me and I want to entertain people.”

“Pretty Fine Things” will have its red carpet premiere Thursday, Feb. 4, at Chatham Cinemas.

Advance tickets are available at www.weberpicturescompany.com.

See the movie trailer at https://youtu.be/mmOD8E5QR_k and check out Weber’s IMDB page for more information about his films and shows http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4599901/.

Staff Writer Michael Izzo: 973-428-6636;mizzo@GannettNJ.com

Filmmaker Ryan Scott Weber, whose horror film, 'Pretty Fine Things' is set to debut at Chatham Cinemas. Part of the film was shot on location at a friends house on Roxiticus Road in Mendham, January 5, 2016, Mendham, NJ.