‘Undead County’ film shows zombie genre hasn’t died off
If you need proof that the zombie genre is very much alive and kicking, check out “Within The Woods of Undead County,” a horror extravaganza set and shot in Carbon County.
Now available for streaming via Amazon, and as a DVD via the Screamtime Films website, the movie is the work of a handful of area artists, including Tamaqua’s Nicholas Pontoski, who co-wrote and directed; Palmerton’s Joshua Solarczyk, and Lehighton’s Jarred Yurkunas, who produced, and Tamaqua’s
Justin Stephens, who co-wrote the screenplay from his original concept.
The plot revolves around a gang of friends (Gabriella
Harry, Mike Motyl, Cory Hadelong and Angela McCormack) who walk north in an attempt to escape their homes in a plague-affected Philadelphia. Eventually they hit the woods of Schuylkill Country, where they come to realize that the zombies they’ve been trying to outrun have been following them all along.
While the production spent a few days filming at Blue
Ridge TV13 in Lehighton and at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, most of the movie was shot in an enormous wooded area behind Leiby’s Restaurant in Tamaqua.
“The property we filmed on was actually owned by the grandfather of our very own TJ Chinaski, who played the crazed hillbilly in the film,” says Pontoski, who works day jobs in technical support at a computer company and as a freelance videographer. “After TJ showed Justin the property, Justin envisioned the movie being filmed there. The property was vast, lush, and free to film on, so filming there made the most sense.”
A longtime fan of zombie movies, particularly the “Resident Evil” series, Pontoski took on the project hoping he could give “Within The
Woods” something unique.
“Most zombie films are all about blood and gore,” says the filmmaker, 29, who was born in Philadelphia and raised in Bensalem, Danville, and Tamaqua. “There’s always a lot going on and it’s typically very overwhelming. I really wanted this to be somewhat subtle, and about human emotion. I wanted the story to be about the characters, not the zombies.”
Shot for about $25,000, the movie was first conceived in 2012 and filmed in 2016. The production benefited from film fans driving in from all over the Northeast to work for free as extras.
So far, “Within’s” only theatrical release was a sold-out screening this
Summer at the Angela
Complex in Coaldale. A potential run at the Mahoning Valley Drive-In in Lehighton is being discussed and an extras-laden Blu-ray is in the offing.
In the meantime, Pontoski is working on his next movie about a young woman haunted by demons.
“I have a pretty strong urge to tell stories,” he notes. “The most fulfilling aspect for me would be telling a story through a visual medium that triggers some kind of an emotional response from an audience. If I can make the audience feel something, then I’ve done my job.“
Amy Longsdorf is a contributing writer.