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That Pittsburgh has a vibrant and multifaceted film community isn’t a novel idea. But a new film entirely shot in Pittsburgh, by an up-and-coming local filmmaker, starring local WTAE news reporter Sheldon Ingram? That’s Pittsburgh overload.
House of Tears, premiering Thu., Dec.12 as part of The Lindsay Theater and Cultural Center’s Emerging Filmmakers Showcase, has all that and more. The debut feature by 25-year-old Pittsburgh filmmaker Joshua Poe offers a throwback to the locked-room murder mysteries of Clue and Agatha Christie. It follows a world-renowned chocolate maker named Vincent Loren (Ingram), who hosts a dinner party with 11 other guests, only to quickly realize that they are being picked off one by one by an unseen entity.
House of Tears pays homage to mystery classics without being confined to a single genre. The film, bathed in red blood and aesthetics, owes as much to Italian giallo master Dario Argento and old slasher films as the cult film adapted from a famous board game. “I always loved the board game and movie Clue,” Poe tells Pittsburgh City Paper. “So for my first foray into the horror genre, I decided that I wanted to make a movie similar to that film, but more horror-based.”
That kind of mashup spirit taps into the rich roots of Pittsburgh’s horror history and its commitment to DIY filmmaking, creativity spurred on by pure passion, grit, and talent. Both traditions started with George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, and have carried on through independent Pittsburgh filmmakers like Steve Rudzinski (whose holiday horror Curtains For Christmas also makes its local debut at The Lindsay on Dec. 19).
Poe, a Bethel Park native and graduate of Denison University, worked on short films before making House of Tears. After a friend suggested a short set in one place, the concept led to a full-length script for House of Tears.
The two-week-long shoot unfolded in two different Pittsburgh locations, including a house owned by a crew member’s grandfather, but the work did not stop there. “Since we wrapped in late winter, we have been basically working on something every day for this film,” says Poe. “Putting together this movie has been a ton of fun, and I am so proud of each and every one that helped us along the way because it is truly amazing to see the work pay off.”
Everything the film embodies is exactly why The Lindsay created the Emerging Filmmakers Showcase. The free screenings provide opportunities to connect audiences with their local film scene and vice versa, with the Q&A portion after the screening helping bridge that gap.
“The Pittsburgh film industry is bursting with talent, and The Lindsay wants to be the first place all local filmmakers go to show their latest projects and take advantage of our state-of-the-art technology.” Josh Axelrod, communication director for The Lindsay, tells City Paper.
Seeing a feature-length film through from conception to the big screen is an intense labor of love, and the Emerging Filmmakers Series provides a low-budget production to be seen on the big screen, in all of its DIY glory. Plus, who doesn’t want to see Sheldon Ingram try to solve a bloody whodunnit in a big, creepy house?
This article appears in Dec 4-10, 2024.
