A couple of questions for you as Halloween approaches:

First, do you know Alex Cherney? He’s a native of Long Island, but has been a Cornwall resident for six years. By trade, he is a filmmaker with several features under his belt across genres.

Second, do you like horror films? If so, let’s talk about what Cherney has been doing recently.

He made a movie - The Mid-Night Driver - that was filmed predominantly in the Hudson Valley (Cornwall and Fishkill) as well as on Long Island in the fall of 2023. The film is currently on its festival run and recently won Best Horror Film at MidWest Weird Fest, along with playing Chattanooga, Nevermore and Salem Horror.

The plot? When a young girl summons a driver using a seemingly innocent ritual, she must fulfill his demands if she ever wants to get back home in 1992 Long Island. Eek.

“It’s been very well received by audiences thus far - as seen on Letterboxd - and has been called a dread-filled atmospheric film that captures the feeling of the early 90s, and plays much like an installment of Goosebumps or Are You Afraid of the Dark?,” Cherney, the producer and director, said this week.

Third question – what are you doing at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 28?
If you’re interested in horror films, that night he will host a free, early screening of the film at the newly opened Storm King Theater. “Seats are filling up fast, so reserve yours while you can,” he said. (stormkingtheater.ludus.com/select.php?time_id=382727)

Recommended for ages 14 and up, the 80-minute movie could easily be considered a “kickoff event” for Halloween weekend.

Filming The Mid-Night Driver in the Hudson Valley was rewarding to Cherney – “It’s such a beautiful area, lots of the locations were inspirational in the writing process.”

And that’s good, because even while promoting The Mid-Night Driver, he’s been busy working on something else. “I just finished a prequel to this film, Jezelin,” he said. “I actually am holding a first-look screening of it the following day, October 29, in Manhattan at Cinema Village, at 7 pm.”

To attend that show, visit riverspiritstudios.com/jezelin.