SSP native releases fright flick in time for Halloween
Jake Spitzack
Staff Writer
Ready some popcorn and gather your closest friends for an evening of eerie fun, brought to you by South St. Paul native Nicholas Bain. “Voice of Shadows,” a horror film written and directed by Bain, was released September 17 and is available on digital and streaming platforms.
Filmed primarily in Lanesboro, Minn., and starring Minneapolis native Bee Vang (“Gran Torino”) and South American actor Guillermo Blanco (“The Queen of Flow”), the movie follows a young, working-class man named Gabriel as he and his girlfriend Emma move to the country to a large estate she stands to inherit. However, not everything is as it seems when they learn that for the inheritance to take effect, she must adhere to an increasingly strange set of rules while staying there for the weekend. As things escalate and Emma is pulled deeper into the darkness by a mysterious cult, Gabriel battles his dark past and must find a way to save her and himself before a powerful evil awakens and they are lost forever.
The inspiration for the movie was exploring what a working-class person might be willing to do to get ahead, and what they might be willing to sacrifice, Bain said.
“I like to play with stereotypes but we have a lot of original elements in [the film]. There’s also a lot about religious faith. It’s sort of a redemption story for the main character, who has a lot of internal conflict throughout the story and has to sort of redeem himself for something he did when he was younger.”
Most of the movie was filmed in about two weeks at the James A. Thompson House in Lanesboro, which operates as a bed and breakfast. Its world premiere was at last year’s Twin Cities Film Festival, where it was awarded runner-up for Best Minnesota Made Film. In the past year it has been on an international film festival circuit, notching more awards including Best Feature Film at Romford Horror Festival, Latitude Film Awards, and Bestlov Festival, and Best Visual Effects at the Los Angeles Crime and Horror Festival.
Actor Guillermo Blanco praised Bain for his work.
“From the moment we first discussed the project, and as Nick began crafting the script, I knew we were working on something special,” he said in a statement. “The love and passion we poured into this film, especially in the challenging post-pandemic environment, are reflected in every scene. ‘Voice of Shadows’ is not just a movie, it’s a testament to our resilience and commitment to storytelling.”
Bain wrote the screenplay in 2020, the first year of the pandemic.
“It’s extremely meaningful to get to this point,” he said. “To go through pre-production and actual production was extremely difficult, and when you make an independent film, you don’t know if you’re going to get a distributor. But we did and we’ve had good success, and we’re looking forward to seeing what happens.”
Bain has written a few other screenplays for movies that were never made – as is commonplace in the industry – and that was part of the reason he wanted to try his hand at directing and producing his own film. Past works that came to fruition include several short films and a 2017 kids adventure movie shot in Bayport, Minn. called, “Kid West.”
Bain attended New Life Academy in Woodbury through his junior year of high school then transferred to South St. Paul Secondary for his senior year. He’s lived in California for a few years but his parents, sister and other family members still live in South St. Paul. Bain has a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from the University of Minnesota and works full-time at a mortgage company.
The not-rated film is about 90 minutes long. Find it on Apple TV+, Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, and local cable and satellite providers.