Savage Weekend

Savage Weekend (1979)

You have been chosen. You are doomed. Prepare for a... SAVAGE WEEKEND

Several couples head upstate to the country to watch a boat being built. Unfortunately they are stalked by a murderer behind a ghoulish mask.

Date of release
1979-03-09
TMDB
4.4 / 10 (51)
Runtime
1h 27m
Genres
Horror, Thriller
Director
David Paulsen

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Budget: $58K
  • Filmed in: New York City

Savage Weekend is a 1979 American slasher film directed by David Paulsen and starring Christopher Allport, David Gale, William Sanderson, and Caitlin O'Heaney. The film follows a woman who retreats to upstate New York with her wealthy boyfriend, her sister, and friend, only to be stalked by a killer in a disfigured mask.

Production

Savage Weekend was written and directed by David Paulsen, in his directorial debut. The project originated after an investor who had agreed to fund a different film for Paulsen retracted the majority of the money he had promised, instead allotting $20,000. With such a small budget in mind, Paulsen wrote an original screenplay for a horror film that could be made with few resources.

Savage Weekend was shot in the Hudson River Valley on a remote lake location over a period of around three weeks. In addition to the initial $20,000 invested in the project, Paulsen was able to accrue an additional $38,000, resulting in a final budget of $58,000. Paulsen described the shoot as "hellish," and filming of exterior sequences was often impeded by clouds, which affected the outdoor lighting.

Actress Caitlin O'Heaney, then a recent graduate of Juilliard, had been a stage actress in New York, and had recently performed on Broadway with Katharine Hepburn at the time of being cast. O'Heaney auditioned for the part at the suggestion of her agent, and claimed she took the role in order to establish herself within the Screen Actors Guild.

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