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An independent film called “Crimson Cove” is set to have its premiere at the Tara Theatre on Jan. 8.
Directed by Georgia-based filmmaker Loyd Bateman, “Crimson Cove” follows a group of friends who inadvertently find themselves at odds with a small surfer community while on a bachelor trip. The rising tensions explode, turning a carefree weekend away into a nightmare.
Bateman’s film industry background is rooted in stuntwork, having worked in numerous films from “Avengers: Endgame” to “I, Robot.” But, while action might be a familiar genre for him, it wasn’t necessarily the genre he thought he would work in as a director.
“Leaning into action is great, but I could always do it. It almost felt like a handicap,” Bateman said. “So I wanted to work on the things that I was sure I wasn’t good at, and try to improve at those things.”
“Crimson Cove” definitely doesn’t skimp on the action, but it’s also interested in pack mentality and tribalism, particularly in niche communities. In 2024, Irish filmmaker Lorcan Finnegan offered a surreal physiological take on a group of local surfers who torment a newcomer with his film “The Surfer.” “Crimson Cove” is a grimier, bloodier, version of that concept.
Bateman didn’t write the script for “Crimson Cove” — that credit goes to actor and fellow stuntman Phillip Mitchell — but he was drawn to Mitchell’s depiction of insider v. outsider animosity.
“I feel like it’s funny how people kind of clump up and then make fun of whoever is orbiting,” Bateman said. “I’ve always kind of been an outsider like that. I’ve always felt like I was not one of the clique. I was always sort of orbital, in everything I’ve ever done.”
It makes sense, then, that the making of “Crimson Cove” felt like a true boots-on-the-ground indie film experience — from scrapping scenes due to costs to location and weather issues, the cast and crew had to be flexible. According to Bateman, while the plot of the film didn’t change much from the first time he read the script, the scenes themselves evolved quite a bit, and the ending changed entirely.
“We changed the finale pretty much 100 percent, because it was on a boat, and there was a bunch of other stuff,” Bateman said. “It was just too expensive.”
Read in full at RoughDraft Atlanta
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