Filmed in Montrose, ‘Dark of Light’ premieres this week

PHOTO COURTESY DARK OF LIGHT

Five weeks after the idea for a film came to Kerry Patton, he and his production partners, Ed Luecke and Mark Dennebaum, were filming “Dark of Light.”
Patton, an Air Force veteran turned actor, writer, stuntman, and ‘Dark of Light’ director who resides in the Montrose area, brought the initial story to Luecke.
The story – which brings about the hashtag #whatwouldyoudo – explores how one man deals with the loss of a child to a child predator.
Patton says, “What would you do as a hashtag was easy. It could have been ‘What is justice?’ We are conditioned to have faith in justice system but is it truly just?”
“If we were to lose a child to a predator, and we know for certain (that person) did it, is our justice system truly serving justice when it takes years of appeals in the legal game. I don’t know,” he continued. “It’s very easy to say we will do something but to actually do it is difficult.”
Luecke said, “It’s a revenge story but with a little more depth than that. You’re watching (Patton) in the movie and think ‘Would I do this?’”
The idea for the film developed after Patton heard a local news story. He wrote out 20-25 pages and gave them to Luecke.
Luecke was tasked with adding dialogue without adding filming locations or additional characters.
A longtime film buff who has always wanted to make his own movie, Luecke said he wrote it the way he always wanted to see stories develop in movies.
With the budget at $10,000, there are no big action scenes and not a lot of actors.
“I knew we would be working with a few people at one location would limit us in what we could do, but it also heightened the creativity,” Luecke said.
About 95 percent of the film was shot on a Post Pond Road property in Montrose, with two people off camera and three actors – one of which was the director. Sean Regan also was on the set to help for two of the five days of filming. “You can’t get anymore stripped down than what we were doing,” Luecke said.
Patton, who acted in the television series “The Outsiders,” believes the small cast and crew shared the same vision for the film. “That’s why I like independent films,” he said, “Everyone gets on the same page right away and they go for it.”
“Mark Dennebaum and Ed Luecke are so talented and so artistic,” Patton said. “They see things the rest of us don’t see. It really helps tremendously.”
And it’s a project Patton, Luecke and Dennebaum are passionate about.
“I was on ‘Outsiders’ for six months and was passionate about it,” Patton said. “But this is a whole different level of passion. It’s not a zombie flick or a sports movie, it’s a story about a purpose and a meaning which is meant to make viewers discuss it as a community.”
‘Dark of Light’ is Patton’s first turn on both sides of the camera. “It’s a little surreal to be quite honest,” he said.
Even more touching, he said, is that the movie – which is set to premiere this weekend at the Montrose Theatre, is sold out for Friday and Saturday showings. “That’s quite humbling,” he said. “It shows the community in which we live, and how much support the community gives to one another. It’s one of the greatest things about living where we live.”
“Dark of Light” premieres this weekend at the Montrose Theatre, with those involved in the production meeting with the audience after the show at the Montrose Country Club on Friday evening; and at McCormack’s at the Inn on Saturday night.
“It’s about the conversation,” Patton said, “We’re trying to bring people together to talk to have a conversation, and our first step is here in Montrose.”
The film, which was purposely timed for released during April as Child Abuse Prevention Month and Sexual Assault Awareness Month, is set to release on April 25 on Amazon and Itunes.