Still Ohio
In a misguided attempt to save her relationship, College student ANA (Fernanda Lopez), a textbook push-over that can barely keep control of herself in her own head, decides to transfer to a new college for her boyfriend, DOUG. Instead of picking her up from Buffalo and bringing her all the way to Tulane, Doug arranges for Ana to carpool with three of his rambunctious friends, HENRY (Michael Zapesotsky), JULIA (Sofia Angelopoulos), and JOHNNY (Jake Melamed). However, along the way, Ana discovers Doug does not know these strangers nearly as well as she was led to believe.
As their journey takes them through Ohio, Ana and the three students find themselves returning to the same gas station over and over again, no matter which way they go or what they do. With each recurring visit, the station’s cashier and patrons, WEIRDO (Tate Rehklau) and TRUCKER (Erik Aude), become more and more sinister and the environment more dangerous. Searching for a way out, Ana discovers that something is odd about the bathroom mirror; Her reflection is always not quite accurate. When Ana tells the group, the three students all shut down Ana’s ideas and concerns, pushing her even further into her own shell. However, Ana is determined to find a solution so she can reunite with her boyfriend. But can she convince the others of her suspicions before the gas station drones trap them there forever?
Kaylin Allshouse
My name is Kaylin Rizer Allshouse, and I am the writer and director of Still Ohio.
Ten years ago, I was a wide-eyed eighteen-year-old who, like Ana, thought I knew exactly who I was and what I wanted. I was going off to college, itching to dive head-first into adulthood, and totally naive of what was to come.
Reflecting back on that time a decade later, I now know that becoming an adult really means that for the first time in your life, you’re discovering how little you know about the world. Suddenly, everyone seems like a stranger, every place feels like a trap, and you can feel incredibly alone. There are no signs telling you where to go, and no one is showing up to rescue you. All you have left is yourself and you don’t even know who that is yet.
Becoming an adult is terrifying.
And yet, most coming-of-age stories are either high school rom-coms or dystopian blockbusters. By choosing to focus instead on college-aged students through the lens of a contained horror story, Still Ohio will allow audiences to reconcile with just how terrifying and vulnerable it can be to take charge of your own life for the first time. However, it will also capture just how truly liberating that experience can be....especially when the alternative is turning into...well, I guess you'll have to watch to find out!
This project will be my first feature film, but with six years of professional film work, three award-winning shorts, and my talented friends working as crew members, I feel confident in my ability to take on this next step in my career. I already have a team of trusted collaborators to create this project with, including my fellow members at d5 Pictures. As a crew we pride ourselves on being able to do a lot with a little, fostering our shared talents to experiment with grounded stories, and our ability to pivot immediately.
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