Actor, writer, producer, director Nick McCallum fills Find Her with classic noir elements of stellar films like L.A. Confidential. With cinematography by Emmy award-winning director of photography Evan Zissimopulos at his side, the filmmaker is in good company.

Filmed in Louisiana and Florida, the story tracks an ex-cop (McCallum from The Staircase, Messiah, 2 Broke Girls), who arrives in a small town. He’s searching for answers to a murdered ranch owner and his missing daughter. Plot twists ensue, and it gradually becomes clear that the cop has his own agenda for uncovering the truth.

Starring alongside McCallum are Stelio Savante (Infidel, The Chosen), Anais Lilit (The Walking Dead: Red Machete), Richard Gunn (Clemency, Hemlock Grove), and John James (My Son Hunter, Dynasty). The cast also features G. Andrew Ahrens, Rebecca Lines, Sydney Bullock, Brandon Stacy, Randal Gonzalez, and Mary Drew Ahrens.

“You’ll see the homage to classic noir films here, which I feel Hollywood doesn't make enough of anymore,” McCallum said. “I'm hoping people watching it go, “You know, that's very Chinatown right there. Or that's very Angel Heart. That type of thing. As a movie fan, I always enjoy seeing that. I love being taken on a ride and the filmmaker is attributing past films that got them there.”

Understanding the Allure of Noir

Any way you spin it, it’s been slim pickings when it comes to noir films over the last decade. When you discover a film that’s capable of offering a great mix of mystery, intrigue, good acting, and the brooding mood of a town and its people, it stands out. That’s what McCallum had in mind going into Find Her.

“When great noir is done right, it almost makes you feel as if you’re in a horror film that’s been done right,” he said. “It gives you a world that’s a little removed from your everyday life. And if you have the right anti-heroes, you end up enjoying the bad guy who's getting to run things.”

That would be McCallum’s character in the film, Isaiah Slade, the steely ex-cop searching for answers in a brooding bucolic setting.

Good noir is like an escape,” the filmmaker added. “With noir, people are drawn into the fantasy. But that darker tone feels more real for the world we're in right now. That's for sure.”

The 18-day shoot took place mostly in Basile, Louisiana — rural and spacious yet an ideal spot for a mystery with its mysterious streams and woodsy landscapes.

All indie filmmakers face challenges, whether they be financial, cast-related, or beyond. Prior to the shoot, McCallum’s line producer had to bow out the day before shooting began due to health issues, but the filmmaker pressed on.

“I woke up in the mornings, preparing the call sheets, putting ink in the printer, and it became kind of like this Zen thing for me,” McCallum noted. “There's just too much work to do. And you just kind of go through it.”

He had plenty of filmmaking experience, though, financing a film on credit cards at one point — his first feature came out eight years.

“There was a lot to take care of, especially when you’re writing the script, too,” he said. “I latched onto the mood of the story and kept the sound in my mind, and the score. I hope audiences feel that. I just love noir in general. Chinatown was a one-of-a-kind movie. I can always have it on in the background. I loved Double Indemnity. I was inspired by those classics. I’m drawn to those worlds. I guess you could call them pretty moody worlds.”

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Is Find Her Part of a Franchise?

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Find Her Films

What’s interesting to note about McCallum and Find Her, is that he originally set his sights on multiple projects with similar themes.

“I basically have five different stories that fall under the Find Her title,” he said, noting how he launched Find Her Films. “This film was the second one I conceived. They all have a version of searching—for a missing wife, a sister, a girlfriend. That kind of tone. With this movie, I had an outline for it. Then I met with my partner, Garrett Andrew Aarons, who plays Garrett Warner in the film, and we collaborated.”

Small-town friendliness kicked in during the shoot, too. McCallum spoke to the local police department, which gave him a point woman he could text whenever he needed scenes that required cop cars.

“It wasn’t like shooting in Los Angeles, right?” he said. “Having the police force help you out was incredible. That scene in the trailer where the cop cars are flying by to go on a murder call—that was all thanks to the local police. In a place like Los Angeles, that that would have had a hefty budget whereas… we just had these great people who were of that great small-town mentality—helping one another.”

McCallum grew up in Pleasanton, Texas, a small town itself. He said that the intimate vibe influenced his work.

“It was refreshing to shoot the film and knowing everybody in town was happy we were making a movie there,” he admitted. “I think that camaraderie really came across. It's funny when you're making a film with a darker tone, yet you’re still able to corral the filmmaking gods and get everybody around you in the spirit.”

He said his biggest hope is that audiences walk away intrigued and feeling as if they went along for a memorable ride.

“I tried to make it in the vein of classic detective shows,” McCallum noted. “I brought a lot of elements from BBC shows. The goal was to introduce the mystery and allow people to follow along with that mystery and an interesting anti-hero.”

Find Her will be available on most major streaming and cable platforms across the U.S. on October 1.