DOOR TO DOOR: Passion Project Bonds Community

Filmmaker Jimmy Wienholz exemplifies everything that’s great about indie horror.  He turned a personal dream into a community effort, inspiring his peers to participate enthusiastically.  His hard work and cavalier spirit was clearly infectious.

His first feature film, DOOR TO DOOR, premiered last weekend at The Speak Easy in downtown Modesto, where a makeshift red-carpet became a jubilant celebration.  The party atmosphere carried inside where supporters and film enthusiasts filled the venue to capacity.

DOOR TO DOOR was a passion project.  As a lifelong horror enthusiast, Wienholz decided that the best way to break into filmmaking was to make a damn film!  It sounds simple enough, but anyone who’s ever succeeded at it will tell you otherwise.  Bringing a feature-length film to fruition is a task of monumental proportion, and the fact that DOOR TO DOOR was filmed in sleepy Modesto (far from Hollywood and other major horror enclaves) is especially impressive.

From the press release: “The filming of DOOR TO DOOR took place throughout the Central Valley, however most of the film was based in Modesto, CA. A large amount of the cast and crew are also local actors, film makers, or horror enthusiasts.  DOOR TO DOOR started as a total passion project and has snowballed into a 60 film that director Jimmy Wienholz couldn’t be more proud of.  The film was shot with donations from an Indiegogo fundraiser and a lot of volunteer work.  Nobody on the cast or crew was paid any money, nor did they ask for any.  Everybody involved is working for one thing: to bring pride to Modesto, CA!”

Attending the premier was an incredibly positive experience; the community spirit was heartwarming.  In addition to meeting most of the cast and crew, I also met Weinholz’s parents who couldn’t be prouder of their son’s accomplishment; his mother’s cheers were the loudest of the evening!  After the film, we were treated to an extended blooper-reel that had the crowd rolling.  It wasn’t the biggest film premier I’ve ever attended, but it was certainly one of the most enjoyable!

Here’s the film’s official synopsis:

DOOR TO DOOR is based on seven people each of which is guilty of one of the seven deadly sins.  The film’s main antagonist “The Doorman” approaches each of the seven as a door-to-door salesman selling a new product that his corporation is producing called “Septum” (Latin for 7).  The Doorman claims that this new pill is obviously a cure all miracle drug for what ails each person.  For example he tells the girl who is guilty of gluttony that it’s a weight loss drug, or the guy guilty of wrath it’s a blood pressure suppressant that will help him calm down. However after taking just one of the pills, our victims experience their own personal nightmares that they can’t escape.  The film features 7 custom-fabricated demons for each of the nightmares (see pictures below).  Will our victims have what it takes to survive the hell that The Doorman has brought them too? 

You can read a review of DOOR TO DOOR, written by The Blood-Shed’s own Film Phreak: HERE.

You can also stay up to date on future screenings of DOOR TO DOOR by following the film’s Facebook page: HERE.

—

Are you part of a supportive indie horror community?  Sound off in the Comments section!

Follow me on Twitter @josh_millican for quality horror articles worthy of your performance.