Watching a potential winter storm. Cloudy with rain and snow this evening, becoming all snow overnight. Low 24F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 100%. Snow accumulating 1 to 3 inches..
Watching a potential winter storm. Cloudy with rain and snow this evening, becoming all snow overnight. Low 24F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 100%. Snow accumulating 1 to 3 inches.
From left, actor Ed Abbate, production manager Michelle L. DiBernardo; Bernie Miles III and building owner Ray Worcester check out the set location for the “Brainhunter — New Breed,” which will be partly filmed at 591 W. Main St., behind the Credo Community Center. Kara Dry/Watertown Daily Times
Production manager Michelle L. DiBernardo tours the building at 591 W. Main St., behind Credo Community Center, where the low-budget film “Brainhunter — New Breed” will be partially shot, and where actor Tom Sizemore is scheduled to be filmed. Kara Dry/Watertown Daily Times
From left, production manager Michelle DiBernardo and Bernie W. Miles III brainstorm creepy uses for a rusted cabinet at 591 W. Main St., behind the Credo Community Center, where the film “Brainhunter — New Breed”, will be partially filmed. Kara Dry/Watertown Daily Times
From left, production manager Michelle DiBernardo, Bernie Miles III and building owner Ray Worcester tour 591 W. Main St., where parts of the low-budget film “Brainhunter — New Breed”, will be shot. Kara Dry/Watertown Daily Times
Production manager Michelle L. DiBernardo on Feb. 9 displays her hat, a promo for “Brainhunter — New Breed.” Kara Dry/Watertown Daily Times
Bernie W. Miles III shows production manager Michelle DiBernardo around 591 W. Main St. Kara Dry/Watertown Daily Times
Production manager Michelle DiBernardo hopes to get this 1978 Mercedes-Benz, stored at 591 W. Main St., up and running for use in filming “Brainhunter — New Breed.” Kara Dry/Watertown Daily Times
From left, actor Ed Abbate, production manager Michelle L. DiBernardo; Bernie Miles III and building owner Ray Worcester check out the set location for the “Brainhunter — New Breed,” which will be partly filmed at 591 W. Main St., behind the Credo Community Center. Kara Dry/Watertown Daily Times
From left, production manager Michelle DiBernardo and Bernie W. Miles III brainstorm creepy uses for a rusted cabinet at 591 W. Main St., behind the Credo Community Center, where the film “Brainhunter — New Breed”, will be partially filmed. Kara Dry/Watertown Daily Times
Production manager Michelle L. DiBernardo on Feb. 9 displays her hat, a promo for “Brainhunter — New Breed.” Kara Dry/Watertown Daily Times
The person in charge of special effects for the film “Brain Hunter: New Breed” is looking forward to do his bit of skullduggery for the production.
WATERTOWN — Inside a dark, cold, former factory off West Main Street, with the only light dustily shimmering shyly through grimy windows near the roof line, Michelle L. DiBernardo opened the creaky door of some sort of metal industrial cabinet and could not contain her excitement.
“Oh my gosh! You can put jars of eyeballs in here!” she said.
With her own eyes of a moviemaker, in this case production manager, Ms. DiBernardo, owner of DiBernardo Productions, Syracuse, saw lots of potential at 591 W. Main St. for filming scenes for the horror film, “Brain Hunter: New Breed” during her first earlier this month.
“This is the brain hunter’s home, and he’s going to mutilate people,” Ms. DiBernardo said as matter-of-factly as one could while uttering that sentence.
Production manager Michelle L. DiBernardo tours the building at 591 W. Main St., behind Credo Community Center, where the low-budget film “Brainhunter — New Breed” will be partially shot, and where actor Tom Sizemore is scheduled to be filmed. Kara Dry/Watertown Daily Times
Ms. DiBernardo was in town one day earlier this month to scout the building, owned by Raymond E. Worcester, Watertown, located in back of the former ARC Jefferson-St. Lawrence building now owned by Credo Community Center. Mr. Worcester said he purchased the building about six years ago for $1,000.
Ms. DiBernardo heard about the building by Watertown resident Ed Abbate, who has been enjoying his extracurricular activities as a movie extra since 2004. He is friends with Bernard W. (“Bernie”) Miles III, who often works with Mr. Worcester and helps to manage his business.
“One day I stopped by to talk to him and said this place would be a awesome spot for a horror film,” Mr. Abbate said.
He sent photos of the building to Ms. DiBernardo and followed up with verbal reminders.
“He said, ‘Listen! There’s this abandoned building we have and you should use it.’ He kept telling me and telling me,” Ms. DiBernardo said.
She said that Mr. Miles and Mr. Worcester have been very accommodating, and on this day they were showing her around. The pictures she was sent of the building encouraged her actual visit to the site.
“The building just fits,” she said.
From left, production manager Michelle DiBernardo, Bernie Miles III and building owner Ray Worcester tour 591 W. Main St., where parts of the low-budget film “Brainhunter — New Breed”, will be shot. Kara Dry/Watertown Daily Times
In the film, the building will be the home of the brain hunter. Ms. DiBernardo, who lives in Cicero, said “Brain Hunter: New Breed” scenes will also be shot at a Syracuse-area supermarket, ambulance squad and police department building.
Motioning to the entrance of the old factory, Ms. DiBernardo said, “Four college kids are running from this brain hunter creature and he’s going to have bodies, and there’s going to be brains.”
The Watertown scenes for the movie are set to be filmed in the building on March 3, 4 and 5.
Robert Resto, Westchester County, is director, writer and producer of “Brain Hunter: New Breed.”
“There’s four college students, typical horror movie stuff, where they go and want to party and hang out in this old, abandoned building in a town called Cemetery Town where all the original killings happened,” Mr. Resto said in a phone interview.
The movie is a sequel to his 2013 film, “The Brain Hunter.”
“It’s a sequel, but I’m also trying to launch it kind of like its own movie,” Mr. Resto said.
Bernie W. Miles III shows production manager Michelle DiBernardo around 591 W. Main St. Kara Dry/Watertown Daily Times
It’s a low-budget film, but it does have some star power lined up. Actor Tom Sizemore will play the role of main character Detective James Slant. Mr. Sizemore is known for supporting roles in such movies as “Saving Private Ryan,” “Born on the Fourth of July,” “Black Hawk Down” and “Natural Born Killers.”
“Tom’s been attached to this film for the past year-and-a-half,” Mr. Resto said. “But due to COVID, we couldn’t film. Now that we’re gearing up to do it, he’s still on board. He loved the script and the character.”
Ms. DiBernardo said that moviemakers have invested $40,000 for the Watertown aspect of the film, with $22,000 going toward crew and $10,000 to cast.
“The rest is being divided into the travel, lodging, catering, insurance, props and wardrobe,” she said.
For special gory effects, Ms. DiBernardo said that Robert Cobasky will be flown to Watertown from Phoenix, Ariz. He’s a sculpture artist and mold maker who specializes in horror and monsters.
“It’s going to look so real,” Ms. DiBernardo said. “It’s going to be gory.”
Watertown residents Lashuan Martin, a grandson of Mr. Abbate, and Mr. Miles will be among brain hunter victims at the Watertown shoot.
Mr. Resto said he’s enjoyed horror films since he was a child.
“I used to watch the old Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff films with my grandfather,” he said. “I just wanted to make more.”
He especially enjoys the 80s’-genre of horror films. “Brain Hunter: New Breed” is set in the 1980s.
“The ’80s was the greatest decade for horror films,” Mr. Resto said. “I’m going to bring that back with this movie.”
Mr. Resto and Ms. DiBernardo are more than professional partners. They became engaged this month, on Valentine’s Day.
“When she’s part of a project, she goes full force,” Mr. Resto said of his fiancé.
The 591 W. Main St. site is the former GLV Black Clawson Co. paper research center.
“I’ve been slowly fixing it up as best I can with my limited income,” owner Mr. Worcester said.
He estimated he’s put about $25,000 to $30,000 into the building.
“A lot of the work I’ve done myself,” Mr. Wocester said. “I’ve had a couple of contractors in there and I ended up fixing what the contractors didn’t do right.”
One area of the building he renovated is on the second floor of the east side of the building. It can now be used as office space.
“The whole floor was rotted out,” Mr. Worcester said. “We completely rebuilt the second floor.”
He sees lots of potential in the building.
Production manager Michelle DiBernardo hopes to get this 1978 Mercedes-Benz, stored at 591 W. Main St., up and running for use in filming “Brainhunter — New Breed.” Kara Dry/Watertown Daily Times
“I’m trying to make it a multi-purpose building, with electronics at one end, automotive at the other end with maybe small engines in the middle, eventually,” he said.
Something in the building that caught Ms. DiBernardo’s eye is a 1978 Mercedes-Benz sports coupe, which she’d like to be a prop in the film.
“I got that for my wife,” Mr. Worcester said. “She (Estella) wanted a sports car. But she can’t drive standard and that was the only automatic I could find.”
He stores the car, a hardtop convertible, at the 591 W. Main St. building. It needs a fuel pump, he said, something that Mr. Miles was scheduled to do.
“It was all clean at one time,” Mr. Worcester said of the Mercedes. “It’s all dusty now.”
As Ms. DiBernardo continued to roam the site, she saw potential props in just about every corner. She sought tables where the “Brain Hunter” could potentially gather his goods. She finally decided on a metal table.
“That looks more surgical,” she said.
Multiple award-winning writer of life in the north country
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