SUFFIELD, CT — A lifelong interest in horror movies and television has led to an opportunity for a Suffield resident who grew up in Enfield to produce, direct and star in a motion picture of that genre, set to debut next month.
Chris Mortensen, a 2002 graduate of Enrico Fermi High School, grew up in a house of playing music and watching movies. He was very shy as a child, but his dad Ron, a photography and nature lover, taught him what it takes to make a movie and who makes movies. His mom Sandy “was not only a cool school bus driver, but a music disc jockey as well,” he said.
Sandy got her son interested in classic horror monster movies and TV shows. He said he used to sneak and watch the scarier ghost movies with his two older sisters. As a teenager, he adventured into scarier slasher horror movies like “Halloween” and “Scream.”
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“One of my first jobs was working at a video store, where I bought movies and studied them,” he told Patch. “I love to collect movies and have a huge collection.”
Mortensen listed his top five favorite movies growing up as “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome,” “Labyrinth,” “Return to Oz,” “Legend” and “Blade Runner.” He cited admiration for directors as diverse as Ridley Scott, Walt Disney, Alfred Hitchcock, Mario Bava, Don Bluth, Wes Craven and Dario Argento.
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At age 11, he got the courage to ask for his very first video camera, and partnered up with his two best friends, Joey and Matt, and formed CJM Film. In 1996, they started making fun amateur movies, especially horror flicks.
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He broke out of his shy shell in college, working on theatre productions such as “Lysistrata,” “Into the Woods” and “Laramie Project.” He helped form and produced a theatre group in Enfield, Live & In Person Productions, with credits including “Clue,” “The Lion In Winter” and “Rope,” which was also his first theatre production as a director.
Mortensen submitted a short film entitled “Faith Hope Love” to Fox’s “On the Lot” in 2007. It was a short-lived reality show dedicated to finding America’s next movie director, American Idol style.
“Nothing came out of this audition, but I did not give up,” he said.
In 2008, he married his wife Michelle, who he had met at Asnuntuck. They have a daughter, Ava, and a son, Quinn.
With no budget, Mortensen had only a story, a camera, friends and co-workers from Costco Wholesale, where he has worked for 20 years. He created a movie entitled “Heathen” in 2011, filmed in and around Enfield and released privately.
“”Heathen” is a story about a family falling apart after local murders brought upon a dark secret in a family’s past,” he said. “As Edgar Allen Poe quoted, ‘The scariest monsters are the ones that lurk inside our souls.'”
On the 10th anniversary of “Heathen” in 2021, Mortensen remastered what he could with his old movie, and released his preferred version on YouTube, calling it “Heathen, the final cut / theatrical version.” He was very proud of his classic and dedicated it to his father, who passed away in 2019.
After the mini local success of “Heathen,” he knew it was time to make another film of suspense. After years of canceled and shelved projects, he started writing “Tragic” in 2021, using what he learned from Hitchcock and the Italian genre of Giallo.
Being a big fan of cult classic movies such as “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane,” “Sunset Blvd.” and the rock drama “The Rose,” Mortensen gathered his Costco crew to create his new movie. It was not enough, sp he had to use other options like his theatre mates, assistants from Enfield Public Access and resources on Facebook independent filmmakers’ pages.
“”Tragic” is a story about three famous actors – Madge Margo, Olivia Victor and Ryan Gavin from the 1980s TV show “Parker & Park in the Park,”” he said. “After 25 years, their producer wants his old washed-out stars back in action, but some dark secrets and mysterious murders from their past may interfere with their comeback.”
With a production budget of zero, filming began in autumn 2021, also in and around Enfield. Mortensen did all the filming, editing and directing, but the production was put on hold many times due to COVID-19, recasting of characters and horrible opposite schedules of the cast.
“It took three years to complete this production, with filming wrapped up in spring 2024,” he said. “With all bad luck on the journey of making this movie in pre- and post-production, I almost gave up many times. I owe many thank yous to Bryon Kozaczka, who signed on for a small part as an actor. After reading the amazing screenplay, Bryon saw the potential and passion of my work and story. After a couple of great meetings, I assigned Bryon as co-producer and formed a team, “79/83 Productions.”
Mortensen taught Kozaczka about video editing, while Kozaczka shared his knowledge of audio and sound fixing with Mortensen. Ava Mortensen was also assigned a part as an actress, and also as a makeup artist and production assistant.
“Behind every great man behind the camera is a great wife,” Mortensen said. Michelle served as a production assistant on the film, which also stars Karen Dardanelli, Cindy Graham, Nick Alaimo, Tom Lucia, Fredd Baber and Robert C. Williams.
“Tragic” is set to be released in late summer or autumn. Mortensen and the crew have secured the chance to premier the film on the big screen on Saturday, Aug. 10 at 3:30 p.m. at Agawam Cinemas. Admission is $12 per person, via Venmo, with reservations required by emailing [email protected].
The trailer for “Tragic” may be viewed here.
“I want to thank everyone who helped make this movie and to remember never to give up,” Mortensen said. “I want to continue to teach and inspire.”
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