The Local Source for News and Information Since 1980
WYE MILLS - The Island of Horror Film Fest debuted local independent film “Hyde” on Nov. 1 at Chesapeake College in Wye Mills, where the feature took first place in the People’s Choice vote. Studio 29 Films’ production was one of 274 submissions in the 2025 festival.
Writer and director Matthew Winstead, joined by members of the cast and crew onstage at the Todd Performing Arts Center, answered questions from the audience both before and after the premiere.
Winstead said his version of “Hyde” is a retelling of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novella, “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” exploring the duality of human nature, of good vs. evil. The story entered public domain in 2012, and Winstead took the original structure and gave it a modern twist. While shooting started in February 2024 and wrapped in December 2024, the project was years in the making.
“At the end of 2025, we have hit every roadblock and stumble along the way, people moving away, three cast members dying, computer problems, camera problems, inner fighting, financial problems, you name it, we’ve had to overcome it,” Winstead said. “And it’s kind of funny, because other than Dave Draper’s face on the poster, I’ve kind of been the face of this project over the years. But let me tell you that this doesn’t happen without Mitch Winstead; it doesn’t happen without Dave Draper; it’s a long list ….”
Draper stars as the title character, Edward Hyde, and is credited as producer. Winstead’s brother Mitch served as cameraman, music composer, editor, and was generally the driving force behind the scenes.
Winstead was pleased with the audience’s positive reaction and said he didn’t realize so many people were going to laugh in multiple spots. It was also fun to listen as people recognized familiar faces and places.
Viewers had numerous questions. As Draper’s character spirals into darkness his presence appears larger, darker and more menacing. One audience member asked, “How did you make Dave’s beard grow?”
Winstead said, “Dave actually … allowed me to have ownership of his hair and his facial hair for the better part of a year. So, I kind of just told him what I needed week by week, and he delivered.”
Another viewer said he had worked on an independent movie years ago and knew firsthand the struggle of getting to the finished product. “So, congratulations to everyone involved. Also, congratulations on taking a known story and putting also a fresh spin and some twists on it that I didn’t expect and hadn’t seen before, and a very entertaining film,” he said,
During the movie, Sarah Hyde, played by Avra Sullivan, slaps her husband in a moment that brought wide reaction from the audience. The viewer asked, “The slaps, how many takes did it take for the slap timing? It’s unexpected and looks great.”
“Believe it or not, I think he did one take for the most part, for each slap, right?” Winstead said, turning to Draper and Sullivan who nodded in agreement.
“So, that speech in the kitchen, just a little behind the curtain here, is my favorite scene in the whole movie. I think that those two right here did a phenomenal job delivering a scene that makes you feel like you’re watching a conversation that you really shouldn’t be a part of,” Winstead continued. “It’s raw; it’s ugly. It’s, you know, anyone that’s ever lost anyone, especially a child, has been there, so great job, so great job to them.”
Speaking of Draper later, Winstead added, “I will say, he took all the slapping like a man. But, believe it or not, she didn’t actually make face contact with him once.”
Mitch Winstead responded to a question about what cameras and editing tools he used to get to the finished product. “I used a DJI Osmo Pocket 3. So, that camera is very small, it’s got a built in gimbal …. We went through a mixture of cameras.” As for editing, he said he used DaVinci Resolve Studio, start to finish. “And it was a process. I’ve never put anything that big together, but it came together and I’m happy with the results.”
Sullivan, an experienced stage actor and co-founder of the local Shore Shakespeare group, said “Hyde” was her first film.
“It was completely different from anything that I’ve experienced in the theater world. Things in film are done so differently, so, it was a huge challenge for me,” Sullivan said, mentioning how odd it felt to perform the scenes out of order, and, of course, there are cameras.
“I think at the seemingly popular scene in the bed, I think that Mitch was standing on top of us with the camera. He actually stepped on my foot at one point,” she said. “It was a completely new experience but it was great.”
Asked about creative challenges, Winstead said, “The snow was something that we did not anticipate. You notice that one minute it’s all sunny and a nice warm day, then all of a sudden it’s snowing. That’s because where we went to go film that, in Virginia, it started snowing on our way there, and we didn’t know it was going to snow that day.
“We were hoping the whole time on the way there that maybe it’ll stop, maybe it won’t be bad. And it didn’t, and it was. And we were up on a mountain and icy steel steps and tower, but now, looking at it, I can’t picture that scene without snow. The snow is a character in the movie. … that’s kind of something that happened during filming that we didn’t anticipate and we just kind of rolled with it. I think it’s a lot of fun.”
Another cast member mentioned shooting in the rain on the day of the accident, which also added to the atmosphere.
“We did a poor job of checking the weather before we filmed it,’ Winstead said, evoking laughter from the crowd. “So, it just kind of started raining, and we’re like, you know what, let’s go with it. Pneumonia, who cares. Let’s just lay out on the road and pretend like you’re dying.”
Other questions centered on the creation of ghosts, the stunt fall from a tower, and if Winstead and crew would consider making another movie. Winstead said he had several projects in mind, but nothing currently in development.
As for those who didn’t make it to the premiere, Winstead plans to get the film on a streaming service after the first of the year, hopefully by March at the latest.
