Downers Grove gets Hollywood treatment in new horror film

DOWNERS GROVE – The letter D stands for dread in a new horror film named after Downers Grove, but shot in California. Hollywood notables are behind "The Curse of Downers Grove," which is loosely based on the book "Downers Grove," according to novelist Michael Hornburg, a 1978 graduate of Downers Grove South High School.

Rights to the 1999 book ended up in the hands of indie director Derick Martini, listed as co-writer of the screenplay with novelist Bret Easton Ellis of "American Psycho" fame. The unrated movie will open theatrically only in Los Angeles on Aug. 21, and comes out the same day on the digital high-definition platform, said Judy Merrick, Beverly Hills publicist for Anchor Bay Entertainment, the film's distributor.

Despite multiple overtures from the local Tivoli Theatre's parent company, Classic Cinemas, the new movie won't make it onto the hometown big screen, but hits video on demand beginning Sept. 1.

The protagonist is high school student Chrissie, for whom complications transcend dealing with unorthodox family members, her peer group's requisite teen angst, suburbia and violent acquaintances. She and her best friend also have the school curse looming large: The grizzly death of one senior every year.

Michael Hornburg said from his home in Brooklyn, N.Y., that he drew from real experiences for the novel.

"A lot of kids died," he said. "Before we even graduated, a couple boys died in car crashes; one drowned at the quarry. … girls were being kidnapped and murdered. The girl that sat next to me in typing class got picked up at the arcade one day, and ended up in a garbage bag. Somebody took her away forever. That was the spooky background."

Compared to the film, he calls the book's focus on the teenage girls "more lighthearted."

The movie also drew in some talented Hollywood stars. Playing Chrissie is Bella Heathcote, who starred opposite Johnny Depp in "Dark Shadows," and appears in the upcoming "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies."

The cast also includes Tom Arnold, Helen Slater, Marcus Giamatti, Lucas Till, Penelope Mitchell and Kevin Zegers of "Gossip Girl" on television and "The Mortal Instruments" among his film credits. The film's budget is listed at $2 million on Wikipedia.

Victoria Howard, owner of Film Pomona in California and location manager for the movie, arranged the principal shooting in 2013 in Pomona and a handful of Los Angeles locations.

"I think the director had a really good eye for … the subject," Howard said in a phone interview. "The actress (Heathcote) really got into her role … portraying [a range of] different emotions."

The cast spent several weeks filming in Pomona, which stood in for Illinois because of its "Anytown, USA, look," Howard said. "They were able to dodge around palm trees. [The neighborhood] still had a craftsman look of the homes built in the 1930s, 1940s, and that real rich green with evergreens all around."

Michael, who has a daughter of his own now, is still writing, adding there's likely to be another book.

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Movie release

WHAT: "The Curse of Downers Grove"

WHEN: Aug. 21 on digital HD platform, and Sept. 1 video on demand

CAST: Bella Heathcote, Kevin Zegers, Lucas Till, Penelope Mitchell, Mark L. Young, Marcus Giamatti, Helen Slater, Tom Arnold

TRAILER: shawurl.com/221o on www.soundonsight.org