Shooting movie 'Unholy Communion' in MN a blessing both in front and behind camera
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (FOX 9) - On a warm winter day, a bit of movie magic is being made here in Minnesota.
A film crew has turned a former children's camp in Eden Prairie into a stand-in for the small town of Scandia and cameras are rolling for a homegrown murder mystery.
It's a homecoming of sorts for actor Adam Bartley, who graduated from Eden Prairie High School before moving to Los Angeles.
"It's just been a dream. I am right now where we're sitting in Eden Prairie, five minutes away from where I started acting when I was 13, which is so special," Bartley told FOX 9.
He's appeared in TV shows like "Longmire" and "Night Sky", but this is the first time he's been able to practice his craft on screen in his hometown.
"I've spent the last 15 years all over the country, working away from my family, having to zip back to see family when I can for Vikings games. But to be able to go to work and to do what I love, and then, you know, have a beer with my brother on the weekends, it's just wonderful. It's been incredible," said Bartley.
Bartley plays a small-town investigator who is trying to catch a serial killer who is targeting priests.
For four weeks, "Unholy Communion" has been filming at locations around the Twin Cities, mostly along West 7th Avenue in St. Paul at places like Keenan's Bar and Mancini's.
"I call it kind of a Minnesota film noir vigilante murder mystery. There's strands of forgiveness in the film, and it has kind of a transcendent denouement that leaves people really thinking," said the movie's director and writer Patrick Coyle.
Not only did Coyle, who lives in St. Paul, cast two native Minnesotans, Bartley and Vincent Kartheiser, who played Pete Campbell on "Mad Men", in the two main roles, but he also assembled a crew of mostly Minnesotans to be his supporting cast behind the camera as well.
"It's really rare. Most stuff comes out of Los Angeles or New York. This is my fourth feature film. I've shot all four in the Twin Cities and I just absolutely love shooting here," said Coyle.
The movie is based on the book of the same name by retired Scandia dentist Thomas Rumreich.
Rumreich was sexually abused by a priest as a freshman at St John's University in 1960 and the five years he spent writing the novel was a way for him to process his anger at the Catholic Church.
"We are kind of entering a time in our society now where we're more open to talking about these things, and we realize that these things that have happened. These abuse situations are not the fault of the individual who has been abused. So I became more comfortable talking about it," Rumreich told FOX 9.
Rumreich drew both on that experience and his 16 years assisting the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office as a forensic dentist, where he helped identify the remains of Katie Poirier, who was kidnapped from a Moose Lake convenience store by Donald Blom back in 1999, to create his fictional tale.
"We were using literally little scraps of bone tissue that we got out of Donald Bloom's fire pit. But we were able to identify her and that was a very interesting case, tragic as it was," said Rumreich.
Rumreich says after his book was published, a number of people told him it would make a good movie. So he contacted Coyle and the two fleshed out a screenplay and found 15 investors to finance the film.
"I feel really good about this. I think this movie is going to be really terrific. It's going to be well done and when I see the enthusiasm on the part of the staff, it's incredible," said Coyle.
For Bartley, the role of Chris Majek is a chance to demonstrate his range and hopefully shine the spotlight on the film industry in his home state at the same time.
"I think we're making something really special, and I really do believe that people can be really proud of this film and that it's made by Minnesotans for the most part. I think people will really love the film," said Bartley.