Local moviemakers are honing their craft as horror film Sadie Clove just received its first screening. Trussville based director Kenneth Hurd and area Birmingham writer Spencer Simpson debuted their first feature film recently at Bottletree Cafe in downtown Birmingham. Calling on a cast and crew of local talent they embarked on a four-year project, which resulted in—Sadie Clove.

Inspired by horror classics like The Exorcist and Audrey Rose, Hurd and Simpson bounced ideas off each other about demons, from there, the movie’s storyline expanded.

As the opening scene appears on the screen a peculiar music box plays a creepy tune, rivaling the eeriness of the Halloween theme. The main character, Sadie Clove, is suffering from repressed memories or trauma according to her psychiatrist played by Leeds resident Dave Crabb. Having been in 18 films Crabb has been kissed by Molly Shannon in Talladega Nights and shared a scene with Arnold Schwarzenegger in Stay Hungry. When asked how he got involved with Sadie Clove, he replied, “It’s what I do.”

After casting was completed in August of 2010, the filmmaking began in October and was finished by December. The cast spent the duration of filming Sadie Clove in various locations around the greater Birmingham area.

While family and friends came out to support the local stars of the film, the screening at Bottletree served dual purposes—a cast reunion/initial screening of the movie. Since wrapping Sadie Clove some of the actors and crew had not seen each other for almost a year. Not only was this viewing a wrap party for the cast and crew, it was also the first time audiences saw the film. With its devilish delivery, it is up to audiences to determine if Sadie Clove will become a horror cult classic.

The team of Hurd and Simpson are already hard at work on their next feature film—Four Magpies, which wraps next month.

For more information on projects from Death By Flypaper Films “like” Sadie Clove on Facebook.