Film shot around the metro area makes debut

By Ben McCarthy

The heat index was still clinging to triple digits on Tuesday night as a crowd wrapped around Main St. waiting to get ushered into the Midland Theatre to see the premiere of Don’t Move, a horror film partially filmed in south Kansas City two years ago. 

Based on the 2020 novel of the same name from James “Murr” Murray (of Impractical Jokers’ fame) and Darren Wearmouth, the film utilized a number of Midwestern locations to flesh out a story about a church group’s annual retreat that turns deadly when they wander into the “Ozark Wilderness.”

The “Ozark Wilderness” that viewers will see when the R-rated movie opens nationwide this weekend, is actually the wooded area behind the Children’s International world headquarters, sitting just off Red Bridge and Blue River roads. The forested area was once part of Red Bridge Farm, a 200-acre estate owned by former Kansas City Mayor Bryce B. Smith, who lived there during his mayoral tenure in the 1930s. It now features public amenities like Alex George Wetland Park and the Blue River Parkway Trails, but during the fall of 2024 it became a primary filming location for Don’t Move. 

The film’s trailer went live almost two months ago, showcasing some other well-known areas around town. Viewers might spot scenes filmed at: 79th and Metcalf in Overland Park, Excelsior Springs, and Milo Farm in Buckner, MO, where a Civil War-era cabin was constructed on the property. 

Loni Bernard, owner and operator of Milo Farm, says a cast and crew of about 200 people were on the property filming for two weeks. That shooting commenced following production in south Kansas City in October 2024. Bernard spoke of an exciting chase sequence involving a certain creature. 

While Bernard was not able to see the CGI monster in-person, she was impressed by other elements she saw first-hand, including how a set builder from the television series Yellowstone was flown in to build out the needed cabin, and did so in a creative way that enriched the film’s story. 

“They built [the cabin] around a tree, to make it look so old that the tree had grown up through the middle of it,” Bernard said. “I was excited when they told me they were going to keep the cabin up, rather than tear it down when they finished.” 

Bernard has since hosted additional Hollywood productions after Don’t Move filmed there in 2024, and conducted its reshoots last year. A former resident of Overland Park, Bernard is one of the few sources familiar with the project that has been willing to speak to the Telegraph about the film over the past two years. 

Tuesday’s local premiere (New York city actually had a premier the night before, and Los Angeles the following evening) was just as strangely secretive as the local production the Telegraph visited two years ago. That secrecy and caginess extended into subsequent conversations with the film’s producers. 

In October 2024, the Telegraph visited Children’s International and saw a full-fledged Hollywood production operation underway, with a half-dozen production trailers and rows of other vehicles congesting the parking lot. Producers David Wulf  and Ethan Berman described it only as an “independent film project.” 

Rather than the typical “red carpet experience” promised on the film’s website, the atmosphere outside the Midland was rather muted, with the special occasion not mentioned on the venue’s marquee (which was recently fully restored to match its classic 1927 appearance). There would be no spotlights outside the heavily guarded doors, just surly security guards rattling off instructions. 

The event promised a Q&A after the film to take moviegoers behind the scenes of it’s local production with Murray and select cast members on hand, including Lyndsy Fonseca, and Overland Park-raised Rob Riggle. Staff at the Midland would not confirm that the scheduled guests would be appearing, and said the filmmakers and the “tour” had insisted on the on-going secrecy.  
Alex and Sam, a young couple from Brookside, found themselves toward the end of the line for the 7pm scheduled start time, but were content waiting outside in the unseasonably humid heat for the chance to be a part of their first movie premiere. Alex said she was a big fan of the rapper “Russ” who is part of the cast, and Sam spoke of his fondness for the Impractical Jokers, which was created by Murray and his three lifelong friends after forming a comedy troupe, The Tenderloins, in 1999. 

While attendees at Tuesday’s premiere paid over $60 for a seat inside the nearly 99-year-old Midland Theatre, moviegoers can find Don’t Move playing at area theaters this weekend for much more reasonable prices.

Don’t Move finally lands in theaters nationwide on September 11th. 

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