Surf City perfect setting for filmmaker

Huntington Beach filmmaker Rocky Costanzo couldn’t see any other location for his production company than right here in his hometown.

Despite the Southern California film industry being largely concentrated in Los Angeles, the Surf City native holds the beach town close to his heart.

“I just don’t see anywhere more fitting than here in Huntington Beach, and L.A.’s not too far,” Costanzo, 33, said. “I’d rather be right here. It’s so different in L.A. ? it’s a different lifestyle. It’s more fast paced ? and I’m not really into that scene too much.”

Costanzo’s company, LifeLine Entertainment, has recently grabbed at success with its latest horror flick, “Hallowed,” and is set to begin filming in August for “Amhurst,” his newest project.

“Hallowed” was released May 23 on DVD to stores around the United States and Canada through Universal’s independent distributors New Light Entertainment and Visual Entertainment, and is available at Surf City’s own DVD Planet.

Those who watch the film will get a glimpse of Huntington Beach, horror style. Except for one scene shot in Pasadena in homage to John Carpenter’s “Halloween,” the film was shot entirely in Orange County, including Huntington Beach.

“We spent a few nights behind the Newland House and the wilderness area behind the beach,” he said.

Other scenes were shot in private residences and in Central Park, something Costanzo said he tries to do in every movie he films.

After seeing his mother brutally murdered by his father, the film’s main character Gabriel goes to church looking for a safe haven. There, his head is not cleared and he remains troubled by his abusive family life.

Fast forward into Gabriel’s adulthood and he’s become a psychotic killer going door to door, luring his victims by claiming he is doing God’s work. Costanzo was inspired by a combination of his experiences with what he called “harmless” religious missionaries who came to his door as a teenager, and two short films he had previously made.

“It very much looks like a film done in the ‘80s, and there’s nothing really modern, which I thought was a good idea,” he said. “I wanted something unique. I did a lot of research and talked to a lot of horror fans, and I’m not real jazzed on modern films coming out ? they just seem to be wall-to-wall special effects.”

Films with blood and gore spewing out of every orifice and million-dollar budgets don’t necessarily excite Costanzo.

“I’m more into where it could be real,” he said. “With ‘Hallowed’ we keep to that. If Gabriel was to get shot or something, he’s dead, so he’s not going to keep getting up and coming after you.”

The Marina High School graduate began his career in front of the camera, taking minor roles on TV shows like “The Wonder Years,” “Beverly Hills, 90210” and “Evening Shade.”

“That’s when I really started getting into the whole filmmaking part of it ? being on the sets and watching how people move around ? it was really intriguing,” he said. “I wasn’t too good an actor, so I thought, why not go behind the camera?”

So that’s what he did. He began making short films and did spots on public access TV when he was a teenager.

“We kind of got serious probably around 2000 when we made our first feature film, ‘Return to Innocence,’” he said. “That was the first time we actually got a little bit of money together and just went full swing ahead and really tried to make something.”

Costanzo’s first film went on to various film festivals and was self-distributed on DVD. LifeLine sold more than 36,000 copies of the DVD and was the third-best selling DVD on Amazon in the Netherlands for seven months straight, producer Roy Thomasson said.

“It was really the stepping-stone into what we’re doing now,” he said.

“With ‘Hallowed,’ it was lighter and fun, and I just wanted to make a little slasher flick,” Costanzo said. “My dad would take me to see those things when I was, like, 5 with my older sister?. It was the horror films that really made me want to be a filmmaker.”

All of LifeLine’s films cost less than $100,000 to make ? “Hallowed” cost a mere $40,000 ? and the money is usually funded by the company itself, making it a true independent label, Costanzo said.

“If we fund it ourselves and do it ourselves, it’s a lot more rewarding,” Thomasson said. “We’ve really developed the art of guerrilla filmmaking ? getting it done the best you can with as little cost as possible.”

This guerrilla approach has gotten them in some hot water with local law enforcement, but Thomasson said it’s all part of the excitement.

“It’s a fun way, with the adrenaline,” he said. “We got a nice $150 ticket for filming without a permit, but ? no harm, no foul, you pay the ticket and you move on.”

With the advances they received from Universal’s independent distributor, LifeLine Entertainment is moving on to bigger and better things with its latest projects. Costanzo has high hopes for “Amhurst,” which he called a supernatural thriller. Costanzo and his crew have everything set to begin filming in Big Bear Aug. 5. They haven’t forgotten Huntington Beach, though. He will return to Bartlett Park behind the Newland House and Huntington Beach Central Park for filming.

“I really think this film is going to do something great,” Costanzo said. “I’m really proud of [‘Hallowed’], but I know we’re capable of doing a lot better.”

The new project is a family affair, with Costanzo’s sister joining the group as the screenwriter.

“Other than that, we’re not going anywhere,” Costanzo said. “We’re going to be persistent and keep making movies. We have a goal ? to make a film a year and just keep doing what we love to do.”hbi.29-hallowed-1-BPhotoInfo0E1SDLJC20060629j1joj8nc(LA)Huntington Beach resident Rocky Costanzo is the producer and director of the movie “Hallowed,” released on DVD May 23.