SAN DIEGO — Fans of classic horror films turned out this week for a special screening of a cult favorite, Slaughterhouse. Both the original Slaughterhouse movie and the upcoming sequel were filmed in San Diego County.
“We sure appreciate you coming out,” director Rick Roessler greeted the audience before Wednesday night’s screening.
The crowd that turned out was a combination of film crew insiders, aspiring actors, and classic film fans. The 1987 slasher film played at the Adams Avenue Theater, a newly renovated venue in Normal Heights.
Roessler introduced the movie and told the crowd his team was wrapping up production of the sequel filmed in Campo.
“Slaughterhouse II, we're continuing to shoot. We're doing pickups right now,” said Roessler.
The original Slaughterhouse was filmed in Lakeside, National City and San Ysidro with a budget of $110,000.
Both films include a father-son team of murderous villains who prey on unsuspecting locals. There is lots of squirting blood.
“We shot a lot of it down in the Tijuana Slough. That's where the main structure was that we used as the exterior and some of the interiors,” said Roessler.
After the screening, the director took questions from the crowd. Many wanted to know about the sequel that included everyday residents of Campo recruited as characters for the film.
“We were pretty lucky to find Bryan (Butler) at the Transport Museum in Campo. When we went out there to look at the site, we saw Bryan and we went, wow, he's great,” said Roessler.
Mary Grondona plays “Ashley” in the sequel. “I'm excited to see how the editing kind of enhances the story, and all the different music and the sound effects,” said Grondona.
Fans said they are looking forward to Slaughterhouse II.
“It was super cool seeing an older film, you know, like an 80s film. And then what they're doing now on the second one, I think it'll be really cool. I’ll definitely come out and see it,” said Taylor Kirby.
Slaughterhouse II is set to be released in the Spring of 2024.
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