The Waldgeist poster, courtesy Brad Burke.
GALES CREEK – A film by local director Brad Burke, partially shot in Gales Creek, debuted on Amazon’s video streaming service in February.
Waldgeist is a supernatural horror film that Burke says avoids the trope of “jump-scares” while re-visioning—and sometimes breaking—other classic horror film elements and motifs.
It follows the story of a single father and detective who must protect his family in a race against time as the victims of a cold case come back to life to haunt those close to him.
Brad Burke in the director’s seat. Photo courtesy of Brad Burke
Waldgeist was written with USC film student Olivia Cordell during Burke’s time at the University of Oregon, in Eugene in 2013. The two had met in high school. After graduation, the production was revived in 2015 with a new cast and crew comprised of friends and former classmates.
The original cut was around 30 minutes, but Burke and co-producer Claire Haines determined it had potential to succeed as a feature length film and the project was expanded.
Waldgeist was shot mostly in Tigard, with some scenes filmed in Gales Creek and Eugene. The film is comprised of a host of local actors, including Alicia Hueni who won the 2017 Oregon Independent Film Festival award for her role as Morgan Grey.
The film was released by Green Studio Productions, LLC on February 15th, and is available for streaming by Amazon Prime members.
Burke’s ties to Gales Creek extend past using the region as a shooting location; his mother, Sarah Kral, owns the Scholls Valley Native Nursery, located in Gales Creek on Half Mile Lane.
Waldgeist can be viewed by clicking this Amazon Prime video link.
This article has been corrected to show that student Olivia Cordell attended USC.
