Red River Road
A family of four isolating against a pandemic virus that spreads through the internet and robs you -- often violently -- of your ability to perceive reality, begins to unravel when they suspect one or all of them might be infected.
A slow-burn psychological thriller shot entirely under Covid lockdown with a real family serving as the entire cast and crew.
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Paul SchuylerDirectorThe Tuna Goddess, Runner, BOMB
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Paul SchuylerWriterThe Tuna Goddess, Runner, BOMB
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Jade SchuylerProducerThe Tuna Goddess, Runner, BOMB
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Paul SchuylerKey Cast"Steven"Give or Take, They Are Mine
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Jade SchuylerKey Cast"Anna"Cowboy Drifter, Runner, They Are Mine
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Quinn SchuylerKey Cast"Wyatt"The Jethroverse
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Shaw SchuylerKey Cast"Sean"The Jethroverse
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Project Type:Feature
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Genres:Horror, Suspense, Psychological Drama, Family Drama, Psychological Thriller, Sci-Fi
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Runtime:1 hour 30 minutes
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Completion Date:June 7, 2021
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Production Budget:10,000 USD
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Country of Origin:United States
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Country of Filming:United States
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:Digital
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Aspect Ratio:2.40:1
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
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GrimmfestManchester
United Kingdom
World Premiere
Official Selection -
Provincetown International Film FestivalProvincetown
United States
July 10, 2021
Northeast Premiere
Official Selection -
Stony Brook Film FestivalPort Jefferson
United States
July 23, 2021
Long Island Premiere
Winner: Spirit of Independent Filmmaking Award -
Portland Horror FestivalPortland, OR
United States
August 5, 2021
Northeast Premiere
Official Selection - Closing Night Film -
Phoenix Film FestivalPhoenix, AZ
United States
August 20, 2021
Southwest Premiere
Official Selection -
A Night of HorrorSydney
Australia
September 7, 2021
Australia
John Wiggins Spirit of Independent Filmmaking Award
Paul Schuyler is a prototypical film brat. That kid who grew up with a Super-8 camera in one hand, and a video camera in the other, turning living rooms into sound stages, back yards into back lots and friends and relatives into actors. He studied at The School of Visual Arts in NYC, where he took advantage of their hands-on approach to master every aspect of production. After graduating, he moved Los Angeles and cycled through a quick succession of production jobs before he raised the money to shoot his first feature-length film, WASTED, which saw a limited theatrical run in LA, but didn't find commercial distribution -- all too common in the days before streaming.
Disappointed, but undeterred, he joined The Beverly Hills Playhouse as a director, where he was privileged to study with BHP founder, the late Milton Katselas. Determined to “crack the code” of acting from the inside out, Paul eventually succumbed to the acting bug himself. A life changing event, followed quickly by a second life changing event: directing his future wife and creative partner Jade, in A Streetcar Named Desire
Outside of filmmaking Paul has been many things: a VP of marketing for a software startup. An accomplished musician. A chef and restaurant owner. A small business owner. A dad. A triathlete. An actor.
Film credits include: Rapid Fire, Wasted, BOMB, Runner and music videos for TwelveHourMary, Tori Amos and Pat Benatar. As an actor he has appeared on stage in Lone Star, Driving Miss Daisy, 39 Steps, On Golden Pond, Boundless, Flowers in the Desert and the premiere of The Tuna Goddess, which he co-wrote with Jade. Screen acting credits include They Are Mine, BOMB and the upcoming Give or Take.
When the going gets tough, make art.
I was prepping to direct the film version of our play The Tuna Goddess when the first COVID lockdown happened. As anyone remotely involved in film knows, momentum is everything on a project. We had names attached, money committed, dates set. But the reality started to clarify almost immediately: with an August start date, there would be no way to safely shoot our film. And, even if there were guidelines for shooting safely—which were still months away from being set—it wouldn’t be the film we wanted to make.
That’s a bitter pill to swallow. To fall short just inches from the finish line.
Faced with the prospect of being stuck in our house for an unknown period of time, feeling sorry for ourselves, I hit upon a very simple idea: what could we shoot here with just the four of us? We’re all experienced actors; I have everything on hand to shoot, cut, score and mix a film.
That night I woke from a sound sleep with Red River Road playing in my head like an internal movie. Over the next 10 days I basically transcribed that movie to the page and we had a script.
What started as an exciting and intriguing prospect to my family quickly became an endurance test of their collective patience toward me as the cold hard reality of how much work and heavy lifting would be required hit home.
But we’re nothing if not tenacious. And, with a few bumps and bruises (both physical and emotional) to show for our trouble, we made our movie.
We're excited to get Red River Road out into the world. Our mission was to try and make some sense of the weird world we suddenly find ourselves in, and entertain along the way.
We hope you enjoy watching as much as we enjoyed creating it!