New Jersey Stage logo
New Jersey Stage Menu


?>

 

Manhunt Flips The Formula


By Gary Wien

originally published: 10/19/2014


When you think of horror films, chances are you imagine teenagers in peril. That's the classic formula but not what you'll find in Manhunt. In the upcoming horror flick from Jay Lee (Zombie Strippers!), we see what happens when a couple of guys who know how to take care of themselves wind up in a worst case scenario while on vacation with their lifelong pals. We're talking the ultimate wrestler versus psycho killer mountain man smack down!

Here's how the story is described on the film's website: For three years Buck Severs, World Wrestling Champion, has been M.I.A. After a family tragedy and a major injury in the ring, Buck decides to return to "Bro's Weekend" with his three best friends and try to put some perspective on his life. But Buck learns a little too late that the weekend will take place on a wildlife preserve, closed for 40 years, a vast, densely forested no-man's land of no laws, no rangers, and no rules. He will also find out a little too late that on the preserve lives a wild man, a feral and inbred killer whose one pleasure is to hunt the humans that dare to trespass onto his domain. It will be up to Buck to find the fighter within himself if he is to survive the weekend.

Ed McKeever, one of the producers of the film reached out to New Jersey Stage and said they were trying to get to the next level and do something different by shooting a kind of badass horror movie with bikers, deranged mountain men, great fight scenes, and a good story line. We said, "You had me at badass."

"It's fine to have the teenager in peril and the young girl, but we want to see some guys out there that can kick ass," said McKeever. "And it's known from the beginning that they can kick ass. That's the difference with this film, you know these guys can handle themselves. It means the killer has to become that much more scary because he's not going after teenage kids. The real incubus is what would happen if a bunch of guys who could handle themselves wind up fighting Jason Voorhees or Michael Myers."

McKeever is a Jersey guy who has produced several low budget horror films, including some shot in the Pine Barrens and Atlantic City areas. His role as producer involves connecting people and finding all of the different pieces of the puzzle. One of the biggest pieces is finding investors and finding the people that can help facilitate making the project "sexy" for investors. This means bringing on good actors, directors, the works. In this case, he's already got a director with a well known name in the business. Jay Lee's first feature, Noon Blue Apples, was an official selection of the 2002 Sundance Film Festival and his next release, The Slaughter, won a dozen awards on the festival circuit and was picked up by Lionsgate for distribution. His career continued to rise with the release of Zombie Strippers!




Follow New Jersey Stage on social media
Facebook, Threads, Instagram, Twitter, Bluesky



"We're going for broke with this," said McKeever. "We're not getting any younger. We're not that old, but we don't have that newness appeal anymore. We're all kind of established in our work life and the movies have always taken a back seat while we worked out our professional careers. Now it's time to go for the jugular. We want this movie to be over the top, fights, blowing up cars, destroying cabins - we want to make a movie that stands out! Jason Lee's name being associated with it will really help us with the distribution of the movie. We're hoping this is our foray into a bigger type of film, to catapult us to the next level, which would be shooting million dollar features."

McKeever draws on the classic horror films he saw as a kid for inspiration. Three films instantly pop out for him, The Exorcist, The Shining, and Jaws. "The Exorcist is a great film because of the way it was shot, it's just scary. The Shining was another beautifully shot film. And, to me, Jaws is the ultimate horror picture. It's got everything - comedy, drama, and what you absolutely need, an unbelievable protagonist!"



Gary Wien has been covering the arts since 2001 and has had work published with Jersey Arts, Upstage Magazine, Elmore Magazine, Princeton Magazine, Backstreets and other publications. He is a three-time winner of the Asbury Music Award for Top Music Journalist and the author of Beyond the Palace (the first book on the history of rock and roll in Asbury Park) and Are You Listening? The Top 100 Albums of 2001-2010 by New Jersey Artists. In addition, he runs New Jersey Stage and the online radio station The Penguin Rocks. He can be contacted at gary@newjerseystage.com.



Follow New Jersey Stage on social media
Facebook, Threads, Instagram, Twitter, Bluesky


FEATURED EVENTS

ART | COMEDY | DANCE | FILM | MUSIC | THEATRE | COMMUNITY

To narrow results by date range, categories,
or region of New Jersey
click here for our advanced search.


FREE

FREE SUMMER MOVIE: Despicable Me 4

Tuesday, July 01, 2025 @ 7:00pm
State Theatre New Jersey
15 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
category: film


 

FREE

FREE SUMMER MOVIE: Despicable Me 4

Tuesday, July 01, 2025 @ 10:30am
State Theatre New Jersey
15 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
category: film


 

How

How to Train Your Dragon in Concert

Friday, July 11, 2025 @ 7:00pm
Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC)
100 South Street, Morristown, NJ 07960
category: film


 

How

How to Train Your Dragon in Concert

Saturday, July 12, 2025 @ 2:00pm
State Theatre New Jersey
15 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
category: film


 

FREE

FREE SUMMER MOVIE: Moana 2

Tuesday, July 15, 2025 @ 7:00pm
State Theatre New Jersey
15 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
category: film


 



Advertise with NJ Stage for $50-$100 per month, click here for info





 

EVENT PREVIEWS

Count

Count Basie Center for the Arts presents An Evening With Francis Ford Coppola and screening of "Megalopolis"

(RED BANK, NJ) -- Legendary director, Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, The Outsiders) is bringing his monumental 2024 film, Megalopolis, to select cities across the country. The tour kicks off at the Count Basie Center for the Arts on Sunday, July 20, 2025 at 7:00pm.



The

The Williams Center to Screen "Wayward Kin" by David Joseph Volino

(RUTHERFORD, NJ) -- After a four-year-long production process, filmmaker and New Jersey native, David Joseph Volino, is sharing the full-length feature, Wayward Kin, with local audiences. See the film for one night only at The Williams Center in Rutherford on Wednesday, July 23, 2025. The screening begins at 7:00pm with the cast and crew in attendance.



The

The ShowRoom presents ENCORE: Rock Cinema Returns! A Summer Series of Legendary Sound and Vision

(ASBURY PARK, NJ) -- The ShowRoom Cinema is turning up the volume this summer with ENCORE: Rock Cinema Returns!, a series of must-see music films that combine incredible sound with captivating visuals. Screenings include The Who's Tommy; Pink Floyd: The Wall; Ladies & Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains; and Streets of Fire.



Winners

Winners of the 2025 New Jersey International Film Festival Announced!

The Competition component of the 2025 New Jersey International Film Festival has just concluded! Overall, we had a very good festival this year and I want to thank the hundreds of people who viewed the terrific films we screened in-person and online. I also want to thank all of the filmmakers, cast and crew who came to the in-person screenings to talk about their films with our audiences.



Amazing

Amazing Supporting Actresses screens at the 2025 New Jersey International Film Festival on Saturday, June 7th

Arturo Dueñas’ Supporting Actresses (Secundarias) is a love letter to theater, but more than that, it’s a bustling, compelling portrait of the people who make it come alive. Set against the backdrop of an opening night performance at the Calderón Theater in Valladolid, this Spanish-language film blurs the line between fiction and reality in deeply satisfying ways. It’s shot (or appears to be shot) in one, continuous take, and that single, unbroken breath captures the anxiety, chaos, beauty, and deeply human moments that unfold behind the curtain.