MovieChat Forums > The Boogey Man (1980) Discussion > Lommel filmed The Boogeyman in Maryland,...

Lommel filmed The Boogeyman in Maryland,USA

posted 15 years ago by forry-777
8 replies | jump to latest

Doe's anyone know the reason why Lommel filmed this in Maryland?I live very close to some of the locations in the film(looks to me like filming was done on the eastern shore and maybe the Chesapeake Bay Bridge is in a shot or two)and remember the Washington Post newspaper running a story about the filming of Boogeyman in 1980.Just wondering what his connection to Maryland was.he was living in New York at the time from what I can gather.I've always thought this was a well done little shocker.Thank You.

[–] finleproc 15 years ago

Actually, a goog deal of the movie was filmed in and around the little town of LaPlata, Maryland, in the Southern Charles County area of the state, about 40 miles south of Washington, DC. I know this because I was living in nearby waldorf, MD at the time, and knew someone who had connections to the people that owned the tobacco farm where they shot this. One of the reasons they shot the film in that part of the state was because star Suzanna Love had relatives who lived down there. Some of the locations that were used were: the Potomac River bridge (or known as the route 301 bridge) St Ignatius catholic church at chapel point, and along the beach at pope's creek, a great spot with several crab restaurants overlooking the river.

[–] forry-777 15 years ago

Thank you very much for the reply!This is great to know.I thought at first that the bridge used in the film was the Chesapeake Bay Bridge,but after a closer look I went with the Francis Scott Key Memorial Bridge in Baltimore County which crosses the Patapsco River.It's nice to know that it's actually the Potomac River Bridge.I live in Gaithersburg,which I would guess is about 45 minutes from Waldorf and LaPlata.That's really very cool that you knew people that had connections with the farm owners.It's an absolutely beautiful farm and house.Okay,Suzanna Love had relatives in Maryland.Well,that clears up the mystery about why The Boogeyman was filmed in MD.I first saw this movie back in the mid 1980s and always had these questions in mind.I'm going to try and find information on St Ignatius church and pope's creek beach.LaPlata looks like a great little town,thank you again for the most interesting information!

[–] finleproc 15 years ago

I'm glad that you found the information on the film helpful. As I stated, I was living in Charles County, MD back in the fall of 1979 when they shot the film, and at that time the town of LaPlata was a lot smaller than it is now, and I remember them casting extras locally from the Port Tobacco Players, which is a theater company in town. The actual farm that was used was right near St. Ignatius Church, on Chapel Point Rd, which is about 5 miles South of LaPlata. The film actually premiered at the Waldorf Showcase Theatre (now gone) in a shopping center on route 301.

[–] forry-777 15 years ago

I have friends with relatives in Calvert County.Calvert looks very close to Charles County.It would be very nice to take a road trip and visit some of the locations filmed in LaPlata.I did look up St Ignatius church which has a website.The website states that St Ignatius is the oldest continuously serving Catholic Parish in the United States.That's a very impressive historic site.Also,it's very interesting that The Boogeyman was critically lauded.Everyone from Leonard Maltin who said the film was a three out of four star movie and "German art film director Lommel lends unconventional angle to this combination of the Exorcist and Halloween.Effects are quite colorful..." Critic Phil Hardy said "The Boogeyman rises way above the usual level of Halloween clones thanks to ex-Fassbinder collaborator Lommel's direction".I would still love to find that Washington Post article I read in 1980 about the flood of horror movies at the box office that year.I remember that the article mentioned The Boogeyman in particular and described how it was filmed in MD.I bet LaPlata really has changed.That really looks like such a beautiful part of Maryland though.I know how you feel about the Waldorf Showcase Theater closing.When I was a kid I would go to the Rockville Drive-in Montgomery County.I first saw Dawn of the Dead at that Drive-in in 1978 and many other great films as well.It's long gone.Well,thank you again,you really have a great amount of information on this film and have helped me answer questions that I've had for years.

[–] finleproc 15 years ago

Talking about this film really brought back some great memories of living in that part of Maryland back in the late '70s and early '80s, So I recently got in touch with some friends that I still stay in contact with, and they informed me that the actual house that was used in the creepy opening sequence, where Suzanna Love and her brother were living as kids, and where she goes back to 20 years later was located on Oak Avenue in downtown LaPlata, but the house was damaged when a tornado ripped through the town a few years back, and the owners were trying to rebuild it back to it's former glory. They didn't mention the exact address, but you should be able to recognize it. That was one location that I didn't even know about.

[–] forry-777 15 years ago

That's really cool about the house being in downtown LaPlata.Very scary part of the film,very much influenced by the opening of Halloween.I really liked the way the colors were used in this opening part.I always thought the boyfriend was terrifying after the mother put the stocking over his face.Very disturbing.The film holds up well in my opinion.Acting is very good by all involved and we get John Carradine also!I remember the tornado.that's great that stay in contact with people you knew that long ago.

[–] finleproc 15 years ago

If you plan on going down to Charles County and LaPlata, by all means do go down to Captain Billy's Crab House at Pope's Creek. I am from Pennsylvania, in particular the Philadelphia area, and I always tell my friends about this place, because it is in my opinion, hands down, the best place for Maryland crab cakes that I ever had, and I've been to several places on the Eastern shore, but like I said that's just me. As I stated in one of my earlier posts, the scene of the kids barbeque on the beach, when one of them gets it in the kneck with a skewer, was filmed right there by the Potomac shoreline next to the Captain Billy's, and you can see the Potomac River Bridge (officially called the Governor Nice Memorial Bridge) carrying route 301 into Virginia. I meant to tell you this in my last post, but I thought I'd pass this on to you.

[–] forry-777 15 years ago

Thank you much!I'll be sure and check out Captain Billy's!