By Doug Trumm

Over one and half years of production on the monastic thriller “Save Benedict” will finally come to fruition tonight.

The film will premiere at 8 p.m. in the SBH Theater at SJU. The CSB/SJU community will get to see the 35 minutes of cinema that senior Peter Mullin, the film’s writer and director, and rest of the cast and crew have been toiling on for so many months.

A question and answer session will follow the film.

Sophomore supporting actress Jenny Holmseth said that she is excited for t he big night.

“I’m dressing for a movie premiere,” Holmseth said. “So I hope there’s a red carpet.”

Mystery

More than a chance to show her fashion sense, the premiere will be the first time that Holmseth views the film.

“We did all the shooting last spring and later on did some voice-overs, but since then I’ve just been waiting for it to show,” Holmseth said.

Since she was only in a few of the scenes, Holmseth said that she doesn’t really know what to expect from much of the film.

And the filmmakers don’t want to reveal the mystery too soon. Senior Charlie McCarron, who co-composed the music for the film with SCSU grad Jonathon Woods, has seen the final cut but refused to talk about plot.

“I don’t want to give too much away,” McCarron said.

Mystery Revealed

Posters and press releases have revealed some of the details.

“Save Benedict” is a thriller. A detective returns to St. John’s to uncover a 30-year-old murder mystery. While pursuing this mystery, the film tells the story of St. Benedict and visits SJU folklore.

McCarron said that the film will have a more traditional score with some weird elements.

“There are rumble-y, scary bass notes and rumble-y ghost sounds,” McCarron said.

For a historical scene with St. Scholastica and St. Benedict, McCarron went for a medieval feel.

“I listened to a ton of medieval and renaissance music before I put together a melody,” McCarron said.

McCarron and Woods worked on different sections of the movie and composed separately, but McCarron liked the results.

“I think our styles compliment each other well,” McCarron said.

Secret Locations

While McCarron had the luxury of pre-viewing the film, the actors got the chance to visit some restricted St. John’s locations. Senior Jake Swenson, who plays a monk, visited the basement of the Abbey during a scene.

“I had never been in the basement of the Abbey,” Swenson said. “It was pretty creepy; there was a skeleton down there.”

Swenson said that the skeleton didn’t have anything to do with the film.

Holmseth wasn’t in the Abbey basement or tunnel scenes, but she lugged a camera so that they would let her down there. She agreed with Swenson’s assessment.

“It got kind of scary down there, especially some of the prayer rooms,” Holmseth said.

Mullin and the crew tried to use lighting to add to the sinister mood.

“The way Peter did the lighting made it even creepier,” Swenson said. “It’s not your typical dorm room.”

Community Support

Students, faculty and local businesses combined to support the film.

SJU Center for Undergraduate Research and Development and Sommers Film Studio sponsored the project. Alumnus Stephen Sommers, director of “The Mummy” and “Van Helsing,” created Sommers Film Studio to support filmmakers on the campuses.

Swenson said that the monastery was very cooperative with the project as well.

With over 100 community supporters, the film has many to impress.

Although “Save Benedict” promises suspense, Holmseth said there are also comedic moments and should appeal to all.

“The (cast and crew) were all CSB/SJU students, except for two,” Holmseth said. “It will be fun to watch, because everyone will know someone.”

Filed under: Arts, Variety by Justin Roth