A historic building in Orillia is serving as the sole set for Sean Cisterna’s latest film.
The Path of Totality is being shot entirely in the basement of the now-shuttered Orillia Central School on Coldwater Street, its character lending itself well to the creepy nature of the psychological thriller.
This is the third time shooting in Orillia for Cisterna, who attended Monsignor Lee Catholic School as a kid. This area was the setting for his first feature, Moon Point, and he also filmed the mockumentary comedy Boy City here in the summer.
Both are a far cry from his latest effort.
“This is, by far, the darkest thing I’ve ever done, and that just got some creative juices flowing that I’ve never tapped into in my previous work,” Cisterna said.
The Path of Totality focuses on Grayson Lee (Jonathan Kim), who wakes up one day in a creepy interrogation cell, with not much around him besides a monitor through which a “suspicious figure” talks to him.
“Grayson must use his wits and previous experience as a computer hacker to escape this room,” Cisterna explained.
That suspicious figure is known as Dr. Moon (Daniel Park). It’s a character that is, well, out of character for Park in terms of his previous roles.
“It was difficult because he’s all powerful. I had to be bigger than I am and have an attitude bigger than I am,” Park said. “It was hard to pull that out of me because I’m a bit of a shy guy, but Jonathan really fuels you. He’s such an intense actor. Watching him really feeds me to get into that role.”
To give the most genuine performance possible, he immerses himself in the role of Dr. Moon.
“I can’t think of anything worldly. I can’t think of small things like this. I have to think beyond the earth, beyond the skies, and really open up my imagination,” he said.
It’s working, if you ask Kim.
“While I’m in the take, I feel resentment and hatred, all these different things, and he’s able to bring it out of me. When you have someone you can work off of, it’s a gift,” he said.
The setting helps, too.
Kim is in one room and Park is in another, which makes for an interesting — and sometimes challenging — acting dynamic.
“It’s been one of the biggest undertakings for myself because it’s a two-hander; it’s just Grayson and Dr. Moon,” Kim said. “That room that I’m stuck in is like another character. It brings it to life.”
Like many protagonists, the character of Grayson Lee is not without his flaws.
“He’s someone who has chosen the wrong path and, as a result, he’s gotten into this situation that he’s in, but at the same time, you feel for him every single moment,” Kim explained. “There’s so much manipulation, so much deceit between him and Dr. Moon, I feel like the audience will really empathize with him.”
To help make their performances authentic, Kim and Park agreed to avoid each other as often as possible, even off camera, despite the small set.
“Jonathan is a consummate professional. He’s walking up and down the stairs in character. I totally avoid him,” Park said. “Even if he’s in the same room, I’ll move further away from him to maintain that distance that we have.”
“It’s definitely been very difficult,” Kim added, “but when I’m done this project, Grayson will always be there because you always take a bit of a character with you after you’re done shooting.”
Being contained to a relatively small area should make for an “immersive” experience for audiences, said producer Laurence Gendron.
“I think they’ll be able to feel the character’s distress and really get involved and almost feel as contained as him,” she said.
The same goes for the “ominous” Dr. Moon.
“We hope that he’s going to give the audience the same chills that he gives the character, Grayson,” Gendron said.
While The Path of Totality is essentially a two-actor film, Orillia Central School might as well be a supporting role. Its character stood out to Cisterna when he was seeking places to film.
“We were looking for something on the older side yet still had all the infrastructure that our crew could utilize,” he said. “This is not something you’d find in Toronto without astronomical prices. It’s great to come and spend our dollars here and support the community.”
Filming began Nov. 25 and is set to wrap up Dec. 10.
A release date is not yet known, but it will be sometime in 2022.