Damn Handy epitomizes the notion that it takes a village to make a film.

The Craft and Flatliners screenwriter Peter Filardi is turning Guilford, the coastal Connecticut town he now calls home, into a microcosm of Hollywood. Upon meeting Roger Clark, best known for portraying Arthur Morgan in the video game Red Dead Redemption 2, at a local dog park during the pandemic, the two knew they had to work together.

The first person they went to was Alec Asten of Connecticut-based production company Firesite Films. Following a successful collaboration on the 2021 short Hazardous — with Filardi writing and directing, Clark acting and producing, and Firesite producing and recruiting crew — the team was eager to reunite.

They’re back with Damn Handy, a horror-comedy short in which a routine plumbing call spirals into a nightmare. Clark stars as the unassuming plumber who reveals “some tricks up his sleeve,” as the actor puts it, when things go awry.

Filardi is a lifelong horror fan, thanks in part to Stephen King. “When I was 12, my grandmother gave me the hardcover copy of Salem’s Lot. I read that, and it just blew me away. It was vampires and horror set in a town very similar to the one I was living in. I’ve always liked the notion that life is more than it seems; that there’s an added wrinkle of magic or danger.”

His affinity for the genre has come full circle twice over: first when he wrote the teleplay for TNT’s 2004 Salem’s Lot miniseries and again when he co-wrote and served as showrunner alongside his brother, Jason Filardi, on Chapelwaite, Epix’s recent adaptation of King’s “Jerusalem’s Lot” short story.

Clark proudly shares Filardi’s appreciation for horror. “It’s the one genre where you can still make really good, top-notch stuff and not have to blow a budget. It’s not cheap, but the limitations are not as budgetary as they are in other genres. Horror is where it’s at!”

The Damn Handy team is giving back to the community by inviting Guilford High School students interested in the arts to work on the production. More than production assistants making coffee runs (not that there’s anything wrong with that!), these teens are gaining invaluable experience in key crew positions

“These shorts don’t make any money,” Filardi humbly explains. “They’re just to have fun, to teach, to inspire, to share my passion for horror movies with other people. I’ve always been open to the collaborative process. Everyone is working for free, for the love of cinema. It’s not my film; it’s our film. I get a huge kick out of seeing people thrust into those key positions and stepping up. In my experience, 99.9% of the time they do exactly that. It’s very rewarding.”

One such up-and-comer is special effects artist Gianna Amter, who will be attending college to become a teacher next year. She started learning how to do makeup via YouTube tutorials for her family’s Halloween parties when she was in seventh grade. Damn Handy marks her first movie. “It was a little stressful at first, but once I figured out how everything goes, it’s been great. Peter’s super nice and understanding. He’s helped me through every step of the way.”

Amter’s most involved task was designing and applying monstrous makeup on a deformed boy that lurks in a crawlspace. Fresh-faced Elliot Evans, a fellow high schooler, had no complaints about undergoing the extensive process. A budding horror fan, he was drawn to the concept. “Being in a basement alone is always terrifying, no matter what, and especially a crawlspace, where it’s so low and so dark. Playing into that basic fear makes it work so well. I also like the comedic stuff that’s in it.”

Script supervisor Jillian Noyes, who has been working with Firesite since earning her film studies degree in 2019, notes how Filardi’s concept utilizes horror as allegory. “Everyone can relate to the fear of a large business moving into a small town and ruining people’s lives along the way, which is kind of the subtext of the film. I think everyone is fearful of the idea of losing control of yourself, of having your secrets revealed and having to deal with the consequences of that.”

Damn Handy is not just a communal experience but a family affair. Production designer Kim Handelman’s teenage daughters Cassie and Lexi serve as costume designer and prop master, respectively. The camera department is headed by husband-and-wife duo Doug and Tiffany Lively, while their son, David, is composing the score. Clark’s 10-year-old son, Colin, makes his film debut with a small but integral part.

Clark also enlisted his Red Dead co-star Kaili Vernoff, who jumped at the chance to work with him again and step outside her wheelhouse. “When you’re a woman past 40, a lot of what I play are attorneys and moms of teenagers — which I love doing; I’ve made a career doing it — but the opportunity to get to play someone with a whole internal life was really thrilling.” She teases that her character, Marge, is potentially unhinged.

“Look, I’ve been on strike for a while!” Vernoff chuckles, referring to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike. “This contract is not struck, so I have the opportunity to come do something with like-minded, creative individuals, and I can’t believe how much talent is here in Guilford. There’s real camaraderie, and everybody’s excited to be doing this.”

“Peter is so easygoing,” enthuses Kellari Crispin, who plays Marge’s sister. “He invites creativity. He just sort of whispers directions that, as an actor, can push you over the edge and help with the character. He’s so patient and humble. He’s done lots of stuff, but he’s picking up leftover coffee cups and cleaning up. Nothing is below him.” Everyone I spoke to echoed similar sentiments about Filardi’s generosity.

With the four-day shoot complete, Damn Handy is aiming to wrap post-production by January in order to submit to summer film festivals. Funds are currently being raised on Indiegogo — not for Filardi, Clark, or even the cost of making the film, but rather to compensate the more seasoned crew members who donated their time to work alongside the newcomers.

The film industry is notoriously difficult to penetrate, perhaps now more than ever, but witnessing a damn handy mentor like Filardi nurturing passionate young people gives hope for the future of independent cinema.