Horror movie set in West Baden's famed domed hotel wraps
EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) - Long before he tried to give you nightmares, Michael Koryta wrote about flora and fauna.
The Bloomington, Indiana, native was a reporter for his hometown paper The Hoosier Times, and the Courier picked up a few of his stories back in 2004 and 2005. He churned out articles about smoking rates and floods - the kind of random topics heaped upon any young journalist.
On the side, though, he was living a much more interesting life. He worked as a private detective for god sakes, and all the time he was writing like mad, spitting out five novels in five years.
And in 2010, his sixth one hit it big.
'œSo Cold the River'ť '“ a horror novel set at West Baden Springs in Orange County '“ received favorable write-ups in the New York Times and NPR. Because they were both set in hotels, critics compared it to Stephen King's 'œThe Shining.'ť
Of course King's book went on to become a movie. And now, Koryta's has, too.
According to Variety, production on 'œSo Cold the River'ť wrapped last week.
The majority of it was filmed right inside The Dome, meaning Evansville area horror fanatics will actually recognize the settings of their forthcoming night terrors. Fun!
It was apparently mired in production for years. Articles hyping the movie date all the way back to 2013.
Koryta's road to writing the book was a long one, too. In 2010, he told NPR he became fascinated with West Baden Springs as an 8-year-old, when his dad took him to visit the then-dilapidated structure.
'œIt stands out as a very vivid memory because even in that state of disrepair, you could sense the grandeur that had been there,'ť he said. 'œWith that arose this question of why had it ever been here, and then why did it disappear? From that point on, I was very interested in the history.'ť
According to the synopsis, the book '“ and movie '“ follows Eric Shaw, a washed-up filmmaker who receives an odd offer to make a documentary about 95-year-old billionaire and West Baden resident Campbell Bradford.
Along the way, he discovers West Baden Springs: 'œa glorious domed hotel where movie stars, presidents, athletes and mobsters once mingled, and hot springs whose miraculous mineral water cured everything from insomnia to malaria.'ť
The story follows Eric as he becomes obsessed with the hotel and the area's famed 'œpluto water.'ť He fights hallucinations and a 'œlong-forgotten evil.'ť
The movie was written and directed by Paul Shoulberg. No release date has been set.
__
Source: Evansville Courier & Press