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.”