St. Charles native plans sequel to ‘Munger Road’

ST. CHARLES – Other than fielding questions about the DVD release of “Munger Road,” filmmaker Nick Smith said the No. 1 question he gets asked is whether he’s planning a sequel.

The St. Charles North High School graduate has answers to both.

Beginning today, “Munger Road” will be available for purchase and to rent from such places as iTunes, Amazon, Blockbuster, Family Video and video on demand services offered by cable and satellite TV companies, Smith said, adding Walmart will carry it in October.

“People can enjoy it now for as long as they have it,” he said.

The 86-minute, PG-13 movie is about a group of teens exploring Munger Road, where a tragedy occurred years earlier. Something terrible happens to the group, forcing police to acknowledge there is a returning killer lurking in the area as thousands of people prepare for the annual Scarecrow Festival.

Smith filmed the movie two years ago in St. Charles, Bartlett, Elburn, Geneva and Sugar Grove. He said the DVD, priced at $19.99, includes several behind-the-scenes featurettes, including one on St. Charles and one about the legend of Munger Road.

The movie won’t be available on Blu-ray because the picture and sound quality is just as good on DVD, Smith said.

The DVD release is a few weeks shy of the anniversary of the theatrical release. “Munger Road” premiered last September at Charlestowne 18 before a wider release.

According to Box Office Mojo, “Munger Road” played in 32 theaters and notched $266,689 in total gross earnings.

Smith said it’s scheduled to return to Charlestowne 18 on Sept. 28.

“A lot of people have requested to see the movie again,” he said. “Personally, I think that if you haven’t seen this movie in theaters, it’s a great movie to go to in St. Charles.”

Smith said he plans to begin production on the sequel to “Munger Road” next spring. The sequel also will be filmed locally, and because it picks up the moment the first movie ends, it will take place on the day of the Scarecrow Festival.

“It’s a really fun movie,” said Smith, noting it should be a bigger and slightly longer film. “I think people are going to be pretty blown away when they start seeing more details about the sequel.”