New Film with Lots of Eichler!

Filmmaker's own SoCal MCM is the setting for supernatural thriller with a modern twist
By Adriene Biondo
Fridays on the Homefront
Just released: 'Mid-Century,' a film set in an Eichler home that throws out old-fashioned notions in favor of a complex storyline with a modern twist rooted in the past. All photos courtesy Mid Century Movie LLC - Lionsgate

Ghost stories often take place in creaky, old Victorian houses. But not 'Mid-Century,' the brand-new film that throws old-fashioned notions out their antiquated windows in favor of expansive panes, sleek sliders, and a complex storyline rooted in the past with a modern twist.

Set in producer-writer-actor Mike Stern's own Eichler home in Southern California, the supernatural thriller combines dreamlike cinematography with villainous acts. It follows a young couple who books a weekend in a mid-century modern vacation rental, only to have things turn ugly once they realize the owner is a murderous psychopath.

But how did 'Mid-Century,' Stern's first producer role, ever complete the long, streaming journey from Stern's ambitious mind to viewing screens in our living rooms? It all began, he recalls, with "one day, sitting in our Eichler home, looking out the window…"

Fridays on the Homefront
A 'Mid-Century' scene outside Stern's Orange Eichler.

"I realized that no one has ever made a haunted-house movie in a mid-century modern home," says the enterprising Stern, who, in his acting roles, has appeared in such films as 'Edge of Tomorrow,' 'Out of the Furnace,' and 'Jack Reacher.' Stern also works in politics as a communications director.

Even as a low-budget concept set in Stern's Eichler in the Fairhaven tract of Orange, 'Mid-Century' still needed fundraising to get started. Stern found investors who were committed to the project, but then, during pre-production, the pandemic kicked in.

"The initial idea was to make a super inexpensive short film, but after I wrote the script, I found a director [Sonja O'Hara] who I really admired, and it snowballed into a much bigger project."

  Fridays on the Homefront
Producer Mike Stern: "I made this film for Eichler and mid-century modern enthusiasts."
  

"What I attempted was a cult film—a kind of zany-strange-horrific but also funny, supernatural thriller that is most definitely a commentary on the politics of our time," Stern explains. "A lot of folks, when they say they want to make America great again, want to take us back to the mid-century."

Filming in a home with as much glass as an Eichler has its challenges, but the film uses them to best advantage.

Fridays on the Homefront
Shane West and Chelsea Gilligan, two main stars of 'Mid-Century.'

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