Local fright flick to screen Sat.

Just in time for Athens' favorite annual holiday, a local filmmaker has released a twisted cinematic tale of Halloween.

"œHalloweenies," written, produced and directed by Dane McCarthy, tells the story of a "œseriously dysfunctional" group of acquaintances, McCarthy said Wednesday.

The movie will screen at the Athena Cinema Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

For a quick plot summary, we'll quote from the blurb on the DVD box: "Travis, a young artist in love with horror, lacks a girlfriend, a job and a direction until four 'friends' move in. Bella, dangerous object of universal lust. Hulking, sinister Howie. Simple-minded Breck. And charming, manipulative Corey. During one Halloween night, Travis discovers a different kind of fear as his 'friends' go on an insane rampage of robbery and murder."

The film has been in the works for about three years. All the actors are locals, and the movie was shot on location around the county, in spots including Athens, Nelsonville and Glouster.

Specific locales included the old YMCA in Nelsonville ("really creepy and abandoned," according to McCarthy), and Bonnie's Restaurant in Glouster ("really rugged-looking, the outside as well as the inside.")

McCarthy said that despite its title, the film isn't meant as a spoof of horror flicks. "It has some humor," he said. "But the movie's mainly about the characters. I tend to write scripts about small groups of characters "“ kind of a tribe "“ and all the complex relationships between those people."

So where does it rank on the shock-and-gore-o-meter? Are we talking "Pumpkinhead?" "The Hills Have Eyes?"

"I think some viewers might find it disturbing in places," McCarthy said. "I'm not so sure they'll be scared by it. I mean, my God, these days, what does it take to scare somebody, with movies like 'Saw'?"

He did reveal, however, that "there is some blood, there's some deaths, there's some murder. But I want people to care about the characters, to care whether they live or die. That's really important to me."