Five Across The Eyes

Five Across The Eyes is a suspense/horror film directed by Greg Swinson and Ryan Thiessen and produced by Trauma One Entertainment. It was shot in 2005 in Morristown, TN and neighboring Greene County, TN.

Taglines:
* Getting home by curfew is gonna be hell.
* This summer the sh*t hits the van.
* The taste of blood and broken teeth isn't so bad.

Plot

On their way home from a high school football game, five teenage girls become hopelessly lost. When they stop to get directions at a desolate store, the girls are involved in a minor fender bender which leaves an unattended SUV one headlight short. Inexperienced and frightened that they'll get into trouble, the girls flee the scene of the accident and speed away down the dark and unfamiliar roads. As they blindly make their way across an area the locals call "The Eyes", the girls are suddenly shocked to see one lone headlight appear behind them. As the driver of the damaged SUV begins one terrifying assault after another, the five girls will lose their innocence and possibly their lives in this brutal and shocking thrill ride.

Production
The script was originally entitled Chased and written by Marshall Hicks, a film school buddy of Greg Swinson. In early 2005 Marshall agreed to let Greg make the film, knowing the script would undergo extreme changes in order to fit the budget.
The film was shot over the course of nine long days in June of 2005. The filmmakers had three cameras rolling for every scene.

Trivia
* The film happens entirely in real time. In other words, the time portrayed in the story is about 90 minutes, the running time of the film.
* The first line and last line of the movie are the exact same. 'Hey.. don't mess up my mom's van'.
* The teeth that Caroline spits out are real. Greg Swinson's sister had two teeth pulled the day before filming began. So, his sister handed them over for the greater good of movie making.
* The title "Five Across The Eyes" was inspired from the chorus of the song "Case Closed" by The Duskfall. During production, The Duskfall heard about the film and donated the song featuring the title phrase to the filmmakers.
* The actress originally cast in the role of Isabella dropped out of the film one day before filming began. Sandra Paduch was then given the role with less than 24 hours to prepare.
* During the casting process, three of the actors who were offered roles, passed on the film after reading the full script, due to the graphic nature of the story.
* The film was shot in and around Morristown, TN. The same town that The Evil Dead was shot in 26 years earlier.
* Every single shot in the film was taken from inside the white van that serves as the main location of the film.
* The phrase "five across the eyes" is slang for "a slap in the face."
* To this day, Shannon McDowell and David Risdahl, the composers for the film, have never met. Even though they produced the entire score for the film together. Co-director Greg Swinson would send tracks back and forth between the two to allow them to work on the music.
* The white van used in the film was owned by one of the director's mother. The SUV that the villain drives, was owned by the director himself.
* The character's names, still from Marshall Hicks' original draft, are all named after daughters of Alfred Hitchcock's leading ladies.
* One night during filming, the production was raided by the local police. The officers even pulled their guns on Veronica Garcia, who was playing the villain, and covered in fake blood. After the producers explained what they were doing, the officers stayed on location to talk to the cast and watch a couple of takes.
* The score in the film was designed to appear as songs coming from the van's radio.

Cast

*Jennifer Barrnet as Stephanie
*Angela Brunda as Caroline
*Danielle Lilley as Jamie
*Sandra Paduch as Isabella
*Mia Yi as Melanie
*Veronica Garcia as The Driver

Awards
* Best Independent Feature at the Southern Appalachian International Film Festival in 2006.
* Best Original Soundtrack at the Southern Appalachian International Film Festival in 2006.

Notes and references

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See Also

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