The Haunted City Series by Director Chris R. Notarile Moves to CHPT3

Chris R. Notarile the director and writer who helmed Haunted City in 2019, has now completed Chapter III of Hunted City. The Haunted City is now an anthology of three-parts, a series of unfolding short films that will keep growing. The horror film is a twist on the Crow series, which see a vigilante ghost sets out to free trapped spirits; doomed to continuously relive their own demise by avenging their deaths, freeing them.

The cast of the Haunted City Chapter I are Edward Kasper (Thomas), Tom Patrick Propofsky (Det. Haloran), Tess Speranza (Jane), Aaron Toft (Jim), Laura Van Yck (Death), and Ivy Votolato (Karen). The next two Chapters (II & III) see Tess Speranza (Jane), and Laura Van Yck (Death) reprise their roles as protagonist and antagonist. Tess and Laura (who played from the Many Deaths of John Wick) are our link to the films mythology.

Watch The Haunted City Series on YouTube

Other additional cast include, for Chapter II: Cast (Haunted City II): Ryleigh Leggett (The Child), Shannon McDermott (Phantom Selista), and Matthew Thomas Stallings (Lewis); and Chapter III: Lindsey Bean (Josie), Chris Bostrom (Charon), and Llenelle Gibson (Mimzy).

For the third instalment (Chapter III), Jane’s mother’s soul is dragged to hell, and she must set out to rescue her. But if Jane cannot escape hell, she will forever be trapped inside her mother’s worst nightmares.

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The story from “Chapter I” follows Jane, a vigilante ghost who sets out to free trapped spirits, doomed to relive their own demise until Jane avenges their deaths. Chris (writer/director) put a twist on the second (Chapter II), when Jane from the first victory goes on the hunt for a child murderer, Jane crosses paths with the notorious trouble making phantom, Selista; and the two clash over his fate.

A Word from Chris R. Notarile
A lot of people over the years have asked me to make a Crow fan film. And as much as I’d like to, I just couldn’t see myself doing it. I like the idea of an avenging spirit, and I like the the gothic motifs and visuals associated with the Crow, but there is only so much you can do with that character before it becomes redundant. The Crow has a singular mission, avenge his or her death, and move on. We’ve seen it done numerous times and I just didn’t want to be another fish in the sea. So I got to thinking

Believe it or not, I actually did write a Crow script YEARS ago, but never made it. It inevitably became the origin story for Haunted City’s Jane. With the Crow, he/she is physically there. But with Jane, she’s an actual spirit. She is intangible. She can’t be seen and she cannot touch a lot of things. I think having such freedom to move, combined with such physical limitation makes for a more interesting character.

Jane is definitely a soul who did not want to walk into the light. She has unfinished business and she intends to stay as long as she can. And Tess Speranza played her to the T. Cold, calculated, bitter, and pragmatic. For an eccentric person, it was really interesting to see her become so muted when playing Jane.

Laura Van Yck reprises her role as Death. Jane needed someone to talk to, and rather than have it be some random reaper, I figured why not Death incarnate? My personification of Death is human by nature. I figure when your entire existence is dedicated to the end of life, you develop a very in depth understanding of the human condition.

For this short, I didn’t want to start things off with an origin story. How Jane died is not important, at least not right now. I just wanted to jump right into her new “life” as a vigilante ghost, and show how she goes about avenging others.

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Tell us what you think of the “Haunted City Chapter III“. What are you thinking? What more information do you need? Do you have any suggestions? Or did this help you? Lets have your comments below and/or on Facebook or Instagram! Or join me on Twitter @oladapobamidele

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