Kissing Darkness (2014) Online
A group of college boys, bored with the every day "gay life" of LA, decide to skip Pride weekend in exchange for a camping trip in the woods. Quickly overcome with boredom in their new surroundings, the boys venture into a game that ultimately unleashes the vengeful spirit of a local legend known as Malice Valeria. Overcome by her deadly plan of tainted love and her thirst to take back what was lost long ago, the boys must now band together before they fall victim to the poisons of a broken heart.
| Credited cast: | |||
 | Nick Airus | - | Vlad |
| Allusia Alusia | - | Lesbian #1 |
| Sean Benedict | - | Brendan's Lover |
| Daniel Berilla | - | Ashton |
| Ish Bermudez | - | Vampire Victim |
 | Kyle Blitch | - | Skylar |
| Roger Duplease | - | Fiance |
| Jeneva Jones | - | The Wilhite twins |
 | Ronnie Kroell | - | Brett |
 | Sean Paul Lockhart | - | Jonathan |
| Kyan Loredo | - | Best Friend |
| Griffin Marc | - | Keith |
 | Steven Tylor O'Connor | - | Vampire Victim |
| James Townsend | - | Brendan |
| Misty Violet | - | Lesbian #2 |
Kerwi LLC (which produced the film and had complete control over the cover art) actually tried to pass off a version of cover art that had actors Sean Paul Lockhart and Nick Airus' heads switched for one another. The cover was blasted by fans on social media as being a complete and utter failure as it looked absolutely ridiculous due to the size difference between the two actors. The riot of dissatisfaction it caused with cast, crew, and fans resulted in Kerwi LLC putting the heads back on the appropriate bodies. This act resulted in certain members of the film withdrawing their involvement in promoting the movie any further.
During a late night of filming in Griffith Park, the cast and crew found themselves locked in the park after going over schedule. They had to drive back and forth through the expansive park to several of the parks many entrance/exits before finding an unlocked gate.
The film had been in and out of production since 2006. The fourth attempt made it a reality.
The film originally was slatted to star Benjamin Gilbert (Caleb Carter). After he passed away, the film was put on the back burner until writer/director, James Townsend, had a recurring dream to try to get the film made, one more time.
Donna Michelle, sister of writer/director, James Townsend, was originally slatted to play the role of Malice Valeria.
In 2012, the producers did not want Daniel Berilla to be in the film. James Townsend fought for him to be in the film and won. A week into production, the producers apologized to Daniel in person and admitted the debate James put up, to have him in the film... admitting they were nervous about the selection at first but then very happy with his performance.
James Townsend was originally supposed to play the role of Brett. However, once production was on the fast track, he stepped down from the role, only allowing himself to accept the much smaller role of Brendan.
The Ouija board used in the film was made out of an old cutting board by the mother of the films writer/director, James Townsend.
One of the drag queens featured in the film, Allusia Alusia, served as a backup performer for singer Christina Aguilera during the 2012 American Music Awards.
A number of scenes featuring the character, Malice Valeria, were filmed with her doing her blocking movements in reverse, to give a subtle non-human aspect to her interactions.
Despite having hotel rooms available, the entire cast decided to stay at the main cabin in the film for the duration of the Crestline, CA shoot. They felt "roughing it" would bring them together closer as friends and shine through better on camera.
LA based underwear company, WhiteyTighties, provided the matching black underwear worn by the cast for the film's ending scenes.
Actor, Sean Paul Lockhart, did much of the food preparation/cooking for cast/crew while on location at the main cabin, in Crestline, CA.
The "Wilhite Cabin" was actually an apartment in West Hollywood, CA. The entering and exit of the cabin was done with green-screen renderings of a woodsy exterior.
The "Wilhite Cabin" is named after Erica Wilhite, a friend and previous co-worker of the film's writer/director, James Townsend. Erica contributed a small portion of funds to the film's production and had several lines based on actual quotes and inside-jokes from her.
The drunk-Ouija board scene took an entire night to film. Towards early morning, there was not enough fire wood on hand to keep the fireplace burning. Actor, Sean Paul Lockhart, and writer/director James Townsend took a walk to gather more wood but actually stole or - "borrowed" firewood from a nearby cabins woodpile.
Alough it is establishes that the cabin has 2 bedrooms, the audience only ever sees 1 bedroom entirely. This is because the second bedroom was indeed being used as an actual editing room for the film as scenes were shot, thanks to the low budget and tight scheduling.
The character of Skylar (played by Kyle Blitch) sings "I'm not a squirrel... not yet a beaver..." towards the end of the film. This line is an homage to "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" by singer Britney Spears.
A pink squirrel is hidden in several scenes throughout the film. The pink squirrel has served as the logo/mascot of ITP Productions and is used as an on-going "Easter Egg" in the majority of their films.
The film premiered it's teaser-trailer at Eleven Nightclub in West Hollywood, CA in October 2012 as part of the annual Sassy Halloween Party.
The wedding dress worn by the character Malice Valeria, was purchased from a vintage shop on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles. Because of this, there were no duplicates and the dress had to be spot cleaned a number of times during make-up effect scenes.
The camping tent scenes were actually filmed in a backyard in Anaheim, CA.
User reviews