Local filmmaker Jonny Drake to premiere 'Ghost in the Woods' in St. Germain

Local filmmaker Jonny Drake will screen his new horror/comedy short film “Ghost in the Woods” on Saturday, Dec. 6, from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Original 420 Bar and Grill, 420 Highway 70, St. Germain.

The film, which was written, produced, and filmed in St. Germain, is about a writer who moves to the North Woods to escape unresolved trauma, drinking his way to a haunting psychosis. Or is it all real?

The event will feature a short film showcase, live music, and a question-and-answer session with the filmmakers. While technically a horror movie, it does not depict gore or violence, but viewer discretion is advised for adult language and alcohol use.

Chicago native Drake discovered an interest in filmmaking as a child. “My folks got me a video camera when I was a kid — it was VHS, because I’m old.” He then started making short films, often filming his brother and cousin in the family room for “The Jim and Mike Show.”

“I really got into films in widescreen formats because we had square televisions, and I had never seen a widescreen image before until ‘The Last of the Mohicans’ by Michael Mann,” said Drake.

In high school, he continued developing his filmmaking craft, using video media for as many projects as the school would allow, “because at some point you have to actually write a paper.”

He studied photography at McHenry County Community College and graduated from Columbia College Chicago with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in film production.

Drake’s grandpa, Charlie Drake, set roots down in St. Germain back in the late 1960s. Similar to many families in the area, he purchased a cabin in the woods for his family.

“I’ve been coming up here since I was like four years old — my brother and I used to hang out at the Dutch Door when we were kids, and we learned all manner of things, some of which I will not mention, but that’s where I learned how to play pool.”

After working on multiple film sets in Chicago in the Hollywood-style of film production, Drake moved to the North Woods. “I was a production assistant on ‘Public Enemies’, coincidentally also a film by Michael Mann. When we wrapped production after a massive shot with helicopters, explosions, guns, and a thousand extras, production told the PAs to go back to home base, so I went to the bar where we started. Turns out, I went to the wrong party, and it was for all the important people, and I was drinking a beer next to Michael Mann, and he smiled at me, which he is notoriously not known for, and people don’t believe me.”

When Drake started writing “Ghost in the Woods,” he was living up north, experiencing the cold of winter, alone and isolated, aside from bartending at Legends of the North. “It was a dumb winter. We didn’t get any snow, but it was quite cold. It was my first winter up here. And I kind of lost my mind a little bit, and rather than go crazy, I poured my anxieties into this movie.”

A low-budget short film, from inception to screening, its total cost has been approximately $4,000, and the film was shot in four 12-hour days.

“I didn’t get any sleep. We didn’t have any money, so we had to work with what we had. The cabin was in disrepair; it looked like a murder cabin. The front porch was falling apart, with icicles hanging down and a rotted roof — it was perfect.” Drake’s production team also filmed at Legends of the North, which is now the Original 420 Bar and Grill.

As a low-budget film, the production team wore many hats. Drake wrote the script, and his brother Jim Drake and recurring bandmate Jared Olson provided valuable feedback as co-writers. Drake’s other roles included producing, directing, and providing craft services. “I didn’t have enough money to pay any actors, so then I played the lead.”

Jim Drake and Olson co-produced, ran the set, captured location audio, and acted in the film. Locals Craig Born and Wayne McCaughn also star in the film. “I originally planned to film the thing myself, but my buddy Ralph Klisiewicz from Chicago signed on as director of photography, co-producer, and editor.” Eagle River native Case Kramer served as the production assistant and makeup artist. Northern Waters Distillery in Minocqua donated two bottles of Copper’s Run bourbon for filming.

Often, short films are used in the filmmaking industry as a “proof of concept” for a larger project. Drake’s ultimate goal with the short is to produce a multi-season series. The short will be used to seek funding to produce a 45-minute pilot, and then that pilot will be marketed to various television networks, such as HBO. Drake said the process is long. The short is shopped, then the pilot, and if picked up as a series, it would be entirely produced in Vilas County, bringing a long-term project and business into the North Woods.