In a scene from “The Ghost Trap” are Zak Steiner, left, and Sarah Catherine Hook. Maine Film Center photo “THE GHOST TRAP” I write not just for a Maine newspaper, but a central Maine newspaper, where most folks love lobster, but with prices soaring, cannot afford it. We know zip about the craft of lobstering, but come to stories about it with open eyes and hearts. This week, I’ve been assigned to write about “The Ghost Trap,” a film scheduled to open Wednesday July 17, at the 27th Maine International Film Festival in Waterville. It is based on the novel of the same name, by K. Stephens, and was directed by James Khanlarian, in his directorial debut. To this reviewer, Khanlarian, a young fellow, knows and loves what he’s doing. It always helps. “The Ghost Trap” is engaging, professional and easy on the eyes. Treat it with respect. His film happens to be is set in the lobster business, about which I know less than space travel. But I used to work in the movie world, which I loved, and I am always happy to see a well-written, well-directed film, like this one. Khanlarian is lucky to have one set on the sea and Maine coast that is splendidly photographed by cinematographer artists Matthias Schubert and Michael P. Tedford. It is well-made, carved by caring and professional hands, and definitely worth your attention. This is what I learned: A lot of folks go down to the sea each morning to search for a beloved emblem of Maine — the imperial lobster, not often found on the dinner table of Maine workers. This film is not at all about lobsters, of course, but about the men and women of the sea, who work on dangerous crafts, stand perilously close to falling in and lower wicked-looking baskets, called traps, into the sea to catch … lobsters I learned this as well: A ghost trap is a working trap that has been lowered into the water that “catches and holds lobsters, but when cut off, with its line severed, is no longer connected to the buoy bobbing at the water’s surface, becoming a ghost trap, unseen, lost and then forgotten.” Wow! Did I get that right? Writer/director Khanlarians goes down to his sea each day, not to film a documentary about lobster traps, which would’t last long on Netflix, but about the dilemma of one lobsterman, Jamie Eugley (Zak Steiner, “White Men Can’t Jump”), who is a serious film actor with a bright future. Here, he’s a good guy and a young hero battled with enemies, such as wealthy yachters and, sadly, friends who are unhappily misinformed lobstermen and yachters in polo shirts who don’t fancy lobster boats in their blue Maine waters. Steiner, clearly a talented and tested actor, carves his love for his girl, Anja (Greer Grammer), with gentleness, especially after a rogue wave hits his boat, knocking Anja into the water and putting her into a hospital with a brain injury. But being folks of the sea, their love holds on. The title, “The Ghost Trap,” I should rush to say, is a bit misleading. It’s no spook fable, and not even a documentary about lobster fishing, any more than Hemingway’s “To Have and Have Not” is about the boat rental business. It’s a movie about interesting characters — played by newcomers and veterans — who happen to work in the lobster business and are caught up in a “trap war” with a rival lobstering family. Like Hemingway’s tale, it’s a well-written story about duplicity, jealousy and trying to get though the day — to make a buck in hard times. Like Hemingway’s Harry Morgan and like you and me. That always works when written clearly and put together properly by gifted, trained hands, as is James Khanlarian’s wonderful voyage into the choppy seas of Hollywood. New drama/thriller starring Zak Steiner (Euphoria), Greer Grammer (Deadly Illusions), Sarah Catherine Hook (First Kill, White Lotus) and Steven Ogg (Westworld) “THE GHOST TRAP” plays Wednesday, July 17, and Saturday, July 20, at the Maine International Film Festival in Waterville. J.P. Devine of Waterville is a former stage and screen actor. Review courtesy centralmaine.com
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James Khanlarian’s ‘The Ghost Trap’ Set as Centerpiece Film of Maine International Film Festival6/18/2024 The drama thriller movie The Ghost Trap, which is based on the lobstering novel of the same name by Maine author and screenwriter, K. Stephens, makes its Maine premiere as the Centerpiece Film for the 2024 Maine International Film Festival (MIFF), set to take place July 12-21, 2024.
The dramatic thriller stars Zak Steiner (White Men Can’t Jump, Euphoria), Greer Grammer (Frasier, Awkward, Deadly Illusions), Sarah Catherine Hook (First Kill, The White Lotus), and Steven Ogg (The Walking Dead, Westworld). The cast is further bolstered by Taylor Takahashi (Boogie) Maine residents Xander Berkeley (The Terminator franchise, Shanghai Noon, Apollo 13), and Sarah Clarke (Twilight), as well as Billy Wirth (The Lost Boys). The Ghost Trap features young lobsterman (Steiner) who is forced to choose between right and wrong when his girlfriend (Grammer) suffers a traumatic head injury after being swept off his boat by a rogue wave. Meanwhile, a rival lobstering family sabotages his gear, sparking a deadly trap war. Hook plays the alluring first mate on a schooner named Happy who challenges his loyalties and Ogg plays the antagonistic patriarch of the Eugley family. The movie’s central premise, about the lives of lobstermen, is a topic Stephens has covered extensively as a journalist for the last 30 years. Her Spruce Head lobstermen friends, Ryan Post, Cheri Savage, and Dan Merriam, assisted as script consultants, location scouts, and captaining boats for shots. The producers for The Ghost Trap include Peter A. Couture, Simon Fawcett, Larry Mortorff, Greer Grammer, Zak Steiner, James Khanlarian, and Maine locals K. Stephens Cheri Savage, and Ryan Post. The Ghost Trap is James Khanlarian’s feature directorial debut. “In a general sense, lobstermen are territorial and justifiably suspicious of any outsider who asks too many questions about their business,” said director/producer James Khanlarian. “As expected, a bunch of Hollywood filmmakers coming into the small town of Rockland, ME to do a film about lobstermen was not met with enthusiasm. Once we showed that we were going to treat the profession with respect and portray the real virtues of lobstermen, we quickly gained the full support of the lobstering community. It was such a joy to film in Maine, where the scenery and landscape create the perfect natural setting, and to have worked with such an incredibly talented cast and crew, many from Maine. I think the entire cast wanted to move there by the end of production.” “We are excited to screen The Ghost Trap for its Maine premiere as the Centerpiece film of the 27th Maine International Film Festival,” said Mike Perreault, executive director of the Maine Film Center. “Welcoming these talented filmmakers embodies our core mission of highlighting, supporting, and celebrating made-in-Maine film productions.” See full article here. Freestyle Digital Media, the digital film distribution division of Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group, has acquired North American VOD rights to the drama-thriller “The Ghost Trap.”...Freestyle Digital Media negotiated the deal to acquire “The Ghost Trap” through Alex Nohe at Blood Sweat Honey. The film will be available to rent or own on all digital HD internet, cable and satellite platforms, as well as on DVD, this fall through Freestyle Digital Media.
We ran a contest and got some amazing talent behind what would eventually be chosen as our official poster for the movie. We discussed this poster quite a bit and why it needed to convey both the love triangle and the danger of the lobstering feud. Plus, Dan's boat Antares made it in, so he's pretty pleased about that.
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