Attleboro High Graduate Turns Short Story into Horror Movie

By Ryan Brown/staff writer
Rand Alan Sabatini, one half of Rand Alan Studios, has a passion for storytelling. It is this same passion that led to the second feature length film for his production studio and the completion of a longtime dream.

The movie is "Hecatomb," a horror mystery about a man who reappears in his hometown after 20 years and the secrets that surface as a result. "Hecatomb" premieres Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at Cinemaworld Lincoln in the Lincoln Mall in Rhode Island.

It will be the culmination of an idea that hatched in 1979 when Sabatini was a senior at Attleboro High School. There, he wrote a short story he called "Bleeders." Even back then he wanted to see his story made into a film.

"I was driving to work the other day, thinking about my story being made into a film, with my name on it, and I was getting chills," Sabatini said.
The story behind the script is one that has stuck with Sabatini for a long time, much like the return of the missing character in the story returned after more than two decades. "While the original isn't around anymore, I always told people about the story," he said.

Sabatini was born in Pawtucket and his family moved to South Attleboro when he was 8 years old. The only time he has spent away from the area was a few years in Southern California, and now he has returned to his roots.

Rand Allen Studio is based in South Attleboro and has produced documentaries, helped in various small projects and garnered some small acclaim with last year's independent slasher flick, "Killer Campout."

From the very beginning, the production of "Hecatomb" has been a very local affair.

Special effects are credited to James Friedman, a friend of Sabatini's since high school whose father owns the Union Theatre in Attleboro. Sabatini's English teacher was Friedman's aunt, someone to whom he still gives a lot of credit.

"If I was going to say what the inspiration for the story was, it would be Mrs. Friedman," he said. "She was the one who pushed me to do something instead of just showing up to class and being some punk. She made sure I would do the work that she gave me."

The shooting locations were also a local affair. The production was shot in many area towns including Plainville, Foxboro, North and South Attleboro, Seekonk, Rehoboth, Swansea, Fall River and across the Rhode Island border in Cumberland, Central Falls, Pawtucket and Monroe Dairy in East Providence.

Some of the more notable places included now-closed Union Station Restaurant, Don's Diner in Plainville, Arns Park Motel in North Attleboro, Swansea Public Library, the Russell McCarthy law offices in Taunton, and the old Cumberland Farms site on the North Attleboro-Cumberland border.

The plot of "Hecatomb" is one Sabatini has been telling people about for a long time, and it is what led him to join with Victor Franko to form Rand Alan Studios.
Their meeting was a matter of happenstance, as the pair never directly knew each other but had mutual friends. One night Sabatini had a gathering of those friends and Franko came along. This is where, amid the small talk, Sabatini began to tell his story. Franko enjoyed it so much that he worked on a script with Sabatini and they sent it out to companies in New York City.

But this route did not produce any results and the script was put on hold.

Meanwhile, the fledgling studio spent time working on other projects in the area until they released their first feature length film last year. "Killer Campout" was well received at its screenings and even won the Newport Horror Film Festival.

"Casting was the key part of 'Killer Campout' because it had elements in it that made it more than a slasher film," Sabatini said. "There was a lot of comedy that needed to be understood so it could come across correctly."

But it was not the kind of product that the studio had wanted, as it was done with very little money and limited time.

"Hecatomb" had the potential to become something bigger and better. While the pair had more money for their new production, it was still filmed on a shoestring budget and they needed to work accordingly.

"It's about getting people motivated and involved," Sabatini said of the challenge of making a movie within limited means and hours. "Scheduling is a big part of that, and Victor is really the one with the ability to make sure all the scheduling is done right."

The combination of getting cast, location and crew and bringing together all at the same time would strain anyone's scheduling ability. While principal photography took place over only 23 days, those film sessions were spread out over three months. And despite having more than 100 people working on the bulk of production, only 10 to 20 people would be there at any given time.

The cast has a strong local flavor. While some of the talent came from Connecticut and Providence, Attleboro residents John Gaudreau and Joseph Andreozzi participated, as did Regina Stabinsch, who owns Body Vogue in Pawtucket and used to run Rapture in Attleboro.

Friedman, a professional special effects artist, did the bulk of the work for the production.

Although there are the traditional problems, Sabatini finds making a movie now is less difficult than it was in the past. Like many other independent filmmakers, he says the advent of digital filmmaking has made work easier for the studio. He even likes the quality of it all.

"With digital cameras being as advanced as they are, digital footage can be manipulated to look like traditional film," Sabatini says.

Those involved with the studio for "Killer Campout" learned from their original production, so despite the inconsistent schedule for "Hecatomb," they finished it faster than their first time out. And Sabatini said he worked hard to bring in people and get them as excited about the story as he has been all these years.

"There is a lot of great local talent that can be motivated around here," he said. "Everyone read the script, really liked it and wanted to be involved in it. The cast enjoyed working on this film very much and everyone involved is proud of the product."

The proceeds from "Hecatomb" will be used to bankroll the studio's next production, "Solitaire," a coming of age story. But Sabatini stressed that "Hecatomb" was first and foremost a labor of love.

"'Hecatomb' isn't something that I made to make more money for the studio," he said. "It really is a story I've wanted to make since high school. If it goes anywhere, then I'm going to let it do what it needs to do and not get in the way of it."