BOARDMAN, Ohio – Warren-based filmmaker Travis Bowen gets a little bit Shakespearean in his new movie.
He wrote, directed and plays a key role in “Midnight Massacre,” which will premiere at 6 p.m. Saturday at Movies 8.
“It’s apocalyptic and futuristic” and loosely based on Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar,” Bowen said.
He plays the character Julius Caesar, who is part of a terrorist group that is trying to create a new government after World War III. His cohorts’ names happen to be Cleopatra (played by Susie Feldman) and Mark Antony (Joe Mohn).
The film is set in the near future.
Saturday’s screening is open to the public. Tickets are $10 and include a free “Midnight Massacre” movie poster.
Feldman has the starring role. She and other members of the cast and crew will appear in person at Saturday’s premiere.
Feldman’s background includes appearances in the television shows “The Two Coreys” and “The Surreal Life.”
The cast also includes Linda Harrison, a sci-fi film icon who played Nova in “Planet of the Apes’; Byron Cherry, who appeared in the TV show “The Dukes of Hazzard”; and Don Pedro Colley, who appeared in “THX 1138,” “Beneath the Planet of the Apes” and “The Dukes of Hazzard.”
The film was shot in various locations in the Mahoning Valley and in East Liverpool.
It’s the fourth full-length film made by Bowen. His earlier works are the zombie saga “Dead Life” (2005) and the slasher flicks “The Girls” (2011) and “The Girl 2” (2024).
“Midnight Massacre” is actually adapted from an earlier film Bowen wrote, “Hollow Earth.” The filmmaker scrapped his plan to shoot that one because of its high budget, and then downsized it into “Midnight Massacre.”
Bowen has already started work on his next movie, “Curly,” a road-trip comedy that will feature nationally known comedian-actor Tom Arnold.
Pictured at top: Susie Feldman pauses during the shooting of “Midnight Massacre.”