The Cinema and Screen Studies Program at SUNY Oswego is still in its infancy. Despite this, one of the students in the program has produced the school’s longest film to date — a 40-minute horror movie titled “Eidolon.”

Jeremy Magnan is a senior, working toward a double major in Cinema Screen studies and creative writing. Magnan wrote, directed, edited and even starred in Eidolon, a film he created for his senior capstone project. He explained that since the Cinema Screen Studies program has only been in existence for two years, he was able to choose almost whatever he wanted to do for his capstone project.   

                               
Magnan defined the title of his movie saying, “One of the more common definitions that I found is (that an eidolon is) a spirit that inhabits an inanimate object, really a fancy way to say ghost.” He noted that the eidolon is revealed at the end of the film. “I like to tease my audience a little bit,” Magnan said.

Eidolon features an eight-person cast, and the plot centers around a “twisted tale of a nervous landlord, an intimidating private investigator and a house haunted by mysterious disappearances.” Magnan got the idea for his film from three short films he had previously shot. He noted that the concepts of his previous films fit together when he added another element, the narrative.

The director enlisted the help of about a dozen of his peers plus the artistic advisement of five or six faculty members. Joshua Adams is one of those faculty members. He helped Magnan in the later stages of the project in the area of film production. “To see a student take such an ambitious road to cinema production is refreshing,” Adams said. “He has definitely taken an experimental approach to it ... He did try to stretch convention a little bit.”

The film was shot entirely at Magnan’s house in his hometown of Central Square. All of the equipment he used for his film was available to him and his fellow classmates on campus. The budget for the project was non-existent and is one of the reasons Magnan chose to shoot a horror film. “You can pull off a lot of frightening moments in film without showing a whole lot,” he said. “In a lot of instances, what you don’t see is a lot scarier.”

Another reason Magnan chose to make a horror film is because he thought the genre is something the whole student body would be interested in. Eidolon’s premier is slated for April 22 at 7 p.m. in 305 Park Hall. He noted that the lecture hall can seat 300-350 people. “It’s not even so much for me at this point,” Magnan said about the premier. “So many people have worked really, really hard on this project. I want them to know what it meant.”

Stuart Stevens II plays the private investigator, Ray Fowler, and worked closely with Magnan on the project. “It was a lot of fun. It was me, Jeremy Magnan and Nick Shelton filming all of the scenes with Jeremy and me in them,” Stevens said. “It was amazing that three kids could get together and make something professional.”

One may assume that because Magnan produced a horror film that he has always been a fan of this genre. This is not the case. “I was definitely the scardie cat when I was little,” he said. “I warmed up to them little by little and got into the theoretical stuff behind them.” Magnan said he then began to study horror films and wrote a lengthy essay on the Saw franchise.

“I sort of established myself as the horror guy on campus which wasn’t what I was going for, but it works,” Magnan said.

The graduating senior is in the process of sending Eidolon to various film festivals and competitions. He has not settled on an exact plan of action after graduation, but he has applied to various graduate schools and is looking for internships in New York City, Toronto and California.

One thing is for sure: Magnan will participate in a collective project over the summer on campus where students and faculty members alike write and direct their own short films. Magnan said he has about half a dozen students on board and at least three faculty members so far. “It’s sort of our way to break down the walls of student and faculty,” he said, noting that a premier of the collection of short films will debut in the fall semester.

A Web site has been created for Eidolon featuring two trailers, a full cast and crew list and stills from the film. Visit www.remy2x.com/mo3 to view them.