OBSERVER Photo by Damian Sebouhian Camera crews at the top of the Dunkirk Lighthouse shoot one of the movie’s exterior scenes featuring actor Craig Sheffer in the foreground.

Lake Erie breezes stir the soft rush of waves around Point Gratiot as warm sunlight streams through the trees. It’s a typical August day at the Dunkirk Lighthouse — or is it? One of Lake Erie’s most picturesque landmarks is actually the setting of a new horror movie.

“Widow’s Point” incorporates elements of the supernatural and the macabre in what promises to be Fredonia-native Gregory Lamberson’s most captivating psychological thriller to date.

The movie is being shot in two other locations in Western New York; however, most of the lighthouse and exterior scenes are being filmed at the historic lighthouse, which has long been associated with paranormal activity.

Lamberson’s background

Lamberson, who was born in Gowanda but raised in Fredonia, knew from a very early age that he wanted to be a storyteller, particularly in the horror genre. His biggest influence is Dan Curtis, the creator of “Dark Shadows” and producer of many TV movies of the 1970s including “The Night Stalker.” After graduating from Fredonia High School, Lamberson went on to study filmmaking at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan.

“I only went to college for a year though,” Lamberson explained. “At that time, there were a lot of horror movies shot on 16-millimeter film, but they were playing at regular movie theaters. That’s what I wanted to be doing. I didn’t want to be making little silent short films, like you were doing in film school. I got right into it and the first movie I did was ‘I Was a Teenage Zombie,’ where I was the production manager. I worked for free. I learned as much during the four weeks on that movie as I learned a whole year in film school.”

In 1988, Lamberson had his big break with the cult film “Slime City,” which he directed and produced. Lamberson spent 21 years in New York City before moving back to the Buffalo area to raise his family and continue his career. He has directed and/or produced more than a dozen films and written a dozen books including “Johnny Gruesome,” which is currently a film in production, set to premier in October.

Lamberson enjoys both writing and directing, but for very different reasons. “The novel writing is always more satisfying because what’s on the page is exactly what I want. When you’re on a film, it’s a super collaborative medium. I never take the credit, ‘A film by…’ because everybody here does something I can’t do,” he explained. One of those individuals is Lamberson’s wife, Tamar. While Tamar has been involved in Lamberson’s work in many different capacities, her primary role in “Widow’s Point” is producer and, according to numerous cast and crew members, she is a fine one, at that.

Making ‘Widow’s Point’

“Widow’s Point” marries Lamberson’s two passions, writing and directing, as he wrote the script for the novella of the same name by Richard Chizmar and his son, Billy. Chizmar, who owns specialty horror press Cemetery Dance Publications, gave Lamberson a pre-publication copy of the book in December, and Lamberson wrote the screenplay in just one week. “My connection to Chizmar is he’s invested in some of my smaller films, so he knows I can make these films on a budget. He’s had enough Hollywood experiences that he’d rather go the independent route,” Lamberson explained.

What exactly does the independent route entail? Lamberson explained that “Widow’s Point” is considered an “ultra low budget feature,” which must be filmed for under $250,000. At this budget, the Screen Actors Guild allows producers to cast union actors alongside non-union actors. “It’s a crew of 30 to 37, depending on the day, plus the actors,” Lamberson explained. “There are a good 70 people that will be drawing a check of some kind from the production.”

Having grown up in the area, Lamberson considered Dunkirk’s lighthouse an obvious choice, but Sturgeon Point Lighthouse in Derby was also considered. “We looked at both lighthouses and both of them had things we liked that the other one didn’t have. This one just appealed to me because I did grow up here, and it was available when we needed it.”

Lamberson laughed, “My memory of the lighthouse is that I didn’t know there was a lighthouse for the longest time. I would see this building from Point Gratiot, and I didn’t know there was a lighthouse too. I remember at one point seeing a sign for it, but I didn’t know exactly where it was.” Nearby, a Dunkirk Lighthouse employee chuckled and commented that Lamberson is not the first area native to be unaware of the lighthouse’s location.

Casting the lead

Casting “Widow’s Point” began with the lead, Craig Sheffer, whose long list of credits includes leading roles in “Some Kind of Wonderful,” “Nightbreed,” Oscar-winning “A River Runs Through It” and television series “One Tree Hill.” In “Widow’s Point,” Sheffer plays Thomas, a writer who stays in a haunted lighthouse as a marketing gimmick for his next book.

Lamberson and Sheffer met five years ago in Buffalo while working on “Battle Dogs” for the Syfy channel. Sheffer recalled, “Both of us like writing and reading. He (Lamberson) told me about some things he was writing. ‘Carnage Road’ caught my ear, so I read it on set in two days and asked him if he was interested in optioning it…We became friends pretty quick.”

Options for “Carnage Road” are still being explored, but Sheffer is looking forward to resuming work on the project with Lamberson some time in the near future. Reflecting on acting in horror films as opposed to other genres, Sheffer said, “The greatest thing as an actor is having to play off illusions, because you have to start channeling whatever energies you’re feeling. I take it very seriously. Acting-wise, it’s a hell of a lot of fun! I enjoy the horror genre.”

Working alongside Sheffer has been an inspiring experience, it seems, for all involved. Cast member John Renna of Cheektowaga said, “Sometimes you meet actors and people who are famous, and you’re not always sure what they’re going to be like. Sometimes they’re not nice! But Craig is the nicest, most down-to-earth guy you’ll ever meet. He’s always ready to have a good time and smile, but he’s extremely professional and focused. And he’s also fearless. You don’t know where he’s going to go with the scene or where he’s going to take it. His character, Thomas, is like an onion with lots of layers. It’s like a character study but also like a mind-trip with a lot of strange, situational happenings that would just drive somebody nuts. Craig is the kind of actor who is not scared of that. That’s acting in a nutshell. You have to not be scared … But any chance Craig can get to make people have a good time, laugh and be comfortable on set, he’ll take that chance. It’s just a testament to his personality.”

Sheffer and the rest of the crew have spent the past few weeks in western New York, as the movie is also being shot in a house in Clarence and on a sound stage in Buffalo. Sheffer is no stranger to small-town, rural life, having grown up in York, Pa. where he recently spent the last six years as a caregiver to his mother and brother. Speaking of Dunkirk, Sheffer said, “I love this little town … I’m a country guy; I live in the mountains. I love nature. This is a really beautiful area — I’ve never been here before. It has a real peacefulness to it.”

Sheffer has many years of experience acting in both big budget and independent films, and appreciates the differences in both. “So much of independent movies aren’t always on time,” he explained. “You can plan things out, but you have to fly by the seat of your pants depending on what actors are ready, the degree of makeup, changing shots. Obviously, the biggest difference is pace.” Sheffer referenced “A River Runs Through It,” which took four months to shoot, one scene often taking an entire day. By comparison, “Widow’s Point” is being shot in approximately three weeks.

Poised for success

The film is already making headlines, as entertainment magazine Variety highlighted Sheffer’s role in “Widow’s Point” in their daily film news roundup earlier this month. “In 32 years, that’s never happened,” said Lamberson of his movie’s attention in Variety. For Lamberson, casting an actor of Sheffer’s caliber is key to the film’s critical and commercial success, and is the result of a strong working relationship and friendship — a mutual admiration for each other’s work.

Although Sheffer has already completed his scenes at the lighthouse, other cast and crew members are returning this week to finish shooting exterior scenes. The Dunkirk Lighthouse will be closed to visitors during this time. Read next Sunday’s OBSERVER for profiles of local actors and crew members involved in “Widow’s Point.”

OBSERVER Photo by Damian Sebouhian
Camera crews at the top of the Dunkirk Lighthouse shoot one of the movie’s exterior scenes featuring actor Craig Sheffer in the foreground.

OBSERVER Photos by Damien Sebouhian
Fredonia-native Gregory Lamberson, left, directs leading actor Craig Sheffer during a scene in Lamberson’s “Widow’s Point” at the Dunkirk Lighthouse.

Craig Sheffer goes over his lines for Fredonia-native Gregory Lamberson’s latest movie, “Widow’s Point,” at the Dunkirk Lighthouse.