By Vern Hee – Special to the Pahrump Valley Times

BEATTY — A demonic entity has infested the Amargosa Opera house and is spreading terror throughout the region.

That’s NOT reality.

It’s the plot of a movie being created in southern Nye County by James Horton, manager at Preferred RV in Pahrump and a part time film maker.

Horton has made this story come alive in his new film, Do Not Disturb, shooting began last Saturday in Beatty.

Horton has had a passion for horror films ever since he saw a ghost in the family home in upstate New York as a child. The current lot of horror films inspired Horton to make a better horror movie. He has been on this quest since viewing films like The Blair Witch Project in 1999.

Horton’s dream came one step closer to being realized when he began filming the first four scenes in Beatty. Horton wants the film to rely more on Hitchcock suspense than blood and gore. “Films today are just not scary and they rely too much on special effects,” said Horton.

The filming was done in front of KC’s Outpost, a burger hot spot in Beatty owned by the Johnston family. “My husband knows James. We are all pretty good friends, so that is how we got involved,” said Carol Johnston, owner of KC’s Outpost.

Fliers were distributed prior to the shooting in Beatty by Horton and about 20-30 eager volunteers showed up for the shooting on Saturday. Some people drove all the way from Las Vegas to be in the film. The first scenes required a chili cook-off for the lead, Ernell Manabat, to judge.

Fred and Patti Summers, owners of the Happy Burro, excitedly got involved by setting up a chili booth and some of their spicy chili on the set. They have been making superior chili for contests for many years. This gave the movie contest some authenticity.

Crystal Taylor, the daughter of the Summers’ said about the movie, “It’s all about supporting Beatty and about supporting each other.”

The chili cook-off looked so real that tourists from Wisconsin stopped in at KC’s to try the chili and were surprised to find out the cook-off was not real.

The extras at the beginning of the day were given directions and a summary of the film by Horton. Horton introduced the cast to the gathered crowd.

He then explained, “Today we are staging a chili cook-off scene in the movie. Later the character, Ernell, goes back to his hotel and has an experience with a ghost who changes his life and he transitions from a host of a cooking show to a host of a paranormal investigator show. …”

The Saturday afternoon in Beatty had a carnival atmosphere to it thanks to the likes of The Beatty Cowboys, an outfit of old west gunfighters, who were there to add some Beatty atmosphere to the film. They also provided entertainment in between shots while the Happy Burro and KC’s Outpost provided some good food and drink.

After all the filming was done, the gunfighters treated the cast and crew to an old time gunfight. Horton was excited about the gunfighters and said he would try to work them into the film.

Barrie Berry, director of Vegas Valley Paranormal, is being used as a consultant on the film to make sure the actors portray paranormal investigators correctly. He was on hand in Beatty to lend his chili making skills to the scene. At the end, he toured the Happy Burro with the owners and gave the cast a ghost tour. He said he intends on returning to Beatty soon to investigate more haunted buildings.

From Beatty the crew will eventually shoot the bulk of the movie at the Amargosa Opera House, at Death Valley Junction. This noted haunted location is where Manabat and his crew of paranormal investigators meet the demonic entity in the film.

Horton made this movie a family affair by involving his wife Charissa and his son Damien and daughter Madison Smith. Each family member did whatever they could to lend a hand in the long hours of shooting.

Damien helped with boom microphone and Charissa helped make the scenes run smoothly. Despite having that home movie feel to it, the movie borrows from years of film production experience that Horton has accumulated. That experience is what film investors are relying on to bring them Hollywood gold.

Horton began dreaming of making films as young man in fifth grade. As a child he could not afford a camera so he wrote spooky stories.

“I wrote from the fifth grade all the way through high school until I could afford a camera. We made dozens of films in high school. Most of my writing was spooky sort of stuff. My mentors were George Romero, Wes Craven, John Carpenter, which was the stuff I grew up on.” He continued on, “Once in high school I started making horror films of all different lengths.”

Since high school, Horton has dabbled in a multitude of projects for HBO and other productions. In the 90′s he produced the first documentary called Real Sex for HBO; it became a long running series. He said, “Recently, I did some consulting on Buckaroo produced in the Vegas area with Gary Busey, Lindsay Wagner and Adam West.”

In his own film, Horton is the writer, producer and director and because of his success in the past he said the funding for Do Not Disturb has not been a major concern. Horton said he is shooting at a really low budget and everyone involved in the film will get paid from the earnings. So basically, the cast and crew are all investors in the film and will be paid a percentage once the film is distributed.

He said, “There are no up-front deals on distribution. There’s no value in that to us right now. We’ll have far more value when we end up with something they want…”

All the actors live in Las Vegas during the shooting of the movie. The lead, Manabat, is the Asian version of actor Telly Savalas and has been acting for about 10 years.

“I have been involved in projects from short films to major motion pictures,” said Manabat. ”I heard about this film from friend Stu Chaiken. He introduced me to the project through face book.”

Chaiken also makes an appearance in the film and plays an insurance company risk manager. ” I have played roles in Ironman and the movie 21…”

The love interest of the film is played by a sultry blonde named Vicki Vivieros, who portrays Manabat’s executive producer on the film and has been acting for three years. She was in Beatty to support Manabat and cheer him on.

She said, “After reading what it was about I had to leave the light on for three days. So the fact that I am involved with a scary movie seems crazy to everyone who knows me because I have been terrified of the dark since a child.”

Gunter Nezhoda adds a European flavor to the film. The Austrian native plays the role of the paranormal investigator who teaches Manabat the ropes. He was in Beatty, too. He assisted Horton and was there to give moral support to his fellow actors.

Nezhoda recently changed careers to acting after having a successful career as a musician for 30 years.

“I really have no experience with ghosts and really never looked for it in real life but I am not a skeptic,” said Nezhoda. ”I have read a lot of books to catch me up on the subject to play my role as a paranormal investigator.”

Horton spent around five hours filming in Beatty and a little closer to achieving his goal. When the film is completed sometime in the summer, he has made arrangements to have two showings, one in his home town of Pahrump and the other at the Amargosa Opera House.