Highway Gothic
New York City, New York | Film Feature
Horror, Comedy
From the Makers of Evil Sublet: A family's holiday road trip takes a dark turn when they're trapped on a highway stalked by a killer in a car that might be haunted. Highway Gothic stars Sally Struthers and features art by Bill Plympton in a twisted, gothic tale to make you scream, laugh, and cry.
Highway Gothic
New York City, New York | Film Feature
Horror, Comedy
2 Campaigns | New York, United States
33 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
$5,200
Goal: $75,000 for production
From the Makers of Evil Sublet: A family's holiday road trip takes a dark turn when they're trapped on a highway stalked by a killer in a car that might be haunted. Highway Gothic stars Sally Struthers and features art by Bill Plympton in a twisted, gothic tale to make you scream, laugh, and cry.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Highway Gothic is the first ever supernatural slasher holiday road trip movie with musical numbers and scary clowns, starring Sally Struthers, and featuring the art of Bill Plympton.
I Married a Strange Person, director Bill Plympton
Highway Gothic stars Sally Struthers, Jennifer Leigh Houston, and Lauren Richardson. We're making something you've never seen, featuring genius talents expressing sides of themselves you haven't seen either. This is Sally's first horror lead role. This is Bill's first live-action horror movie. At a moment when a handful of media corporations are producing a steady-diet of of formulaic content, we're cooking up a Thanksgiving feast of thrills and surprises.
From the Evil Minds behind Evil Sublet
Sally made her horror debut with her scene-stealing cameo in Evil Sublet. Her instant chemistry with star Jennifer Leigh Houston, producer Beth Ann Mastromarino, and writer/director Allan Piper made all of them want to follow Evil Sublet with something bigger, bolder, stranger, and with a lot more of Sally in it. The team is made even stronger with the addition of Allan's long-time friend Elizabeth Mei-Ling Yng-Wong, who will be directing in partnership with Allan.
Sally Struthers and Jennifer Leigh Houston on the set of Evil Sublet
Come on this Road Trip with Us!
Much of our budget is already in place. Hop in and get us the rest of the way. With your support, we will shoot Highway Gothic this fall, using the money we've raised to pay cast and crew, build our main set, rent additional locations, and create eye-popping special effects (possibly literally eye-popping — this is a horror movie, after all).
If we exceed our fundraising goals, that will fuel post production. We plan to premiere at a major horror film festival in 2027 and then take the movie on the road, hopefully bringing it to a theater near you. As with Evil Sublet, which is now on Tubi, Amazon, Fandango, Plex, Fawesome, Bloodstream, and more, Highway Gothic will eventually come to one of your favorite streaming platforms.
We want you to join us at whatever level is comfortable for you, whether that's pitching in a couple bucks for gas or contributing at a level where you get to keep an original piece of art or see your name on screen. Regardless of whether you contribute financially, sharing this campaign with your friends and social network is one of the biggest ways you can help. Please come along for the ride!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Animation
Costs $30,000
Human-made animation is labor intensive, but it is worth it. It has beauty and soul that AI could never achieve. Say no to robots!
Haunted Housing
Costs $7,000
We are providing housing for traveling cast members. This looks like a nice place to rent for them.
Special Effects
Costs $10,000
We are working with some genius effects artists. You won't believe what they will create!
Highway Construction
Costs $5,000
Guess what? We're not shutting down a highway to film on. Instead, we're building a highway set. Help us with the road construction.
Air Travel
Costs $3,000
While this movie is about a road trip, we're not making our LA-based actors drive to the east coast.
Location, Location, Location!
Costs $10,000
In addition to our haunted highway, we need a secluded woodland road, and a creepy parking garage.
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Sally Struthers (Dottie) is an American stage and screen icon. She’s a two-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe winner probably best known for her role as Gloria in the groundbreaking TV series All in the Family. She also starred in the Fox television series 9 to 5 and her own CBS series Gloria. She is beloved as Babette on Gilmore Girls. Her most recent television role is as Virginia on Netflix’s A Man on the Inside.
Sally made her horror debut with her cameo in Evil Sublet, for which she won Best Actress in a Comedy at Haunted House FearFest. On Highway Gothic, she is reuniting with the Evil Sublet team for her first lead role in a horror movie.
Jennifer Leigh Houston (Bonnie, Producer) starred in Evil Sublet, for which she won Best Actress at HorrOrigins Film Fest. Her stage credits include playing Velma Kelly in Chicago, Sally Bowles in Cabaret, Reno Sweeny in Anything Goes, and most recently Gillian in the first-ever production of Vincent Delaney’s new play, The Mallard.
Jennnifer grew up in what she and other past inhabitants swear is a haunted house. It wasn’t until after moving out that she learned her childhood bedroom had been the site of a gruesome teen suicide. As a young woman, Jen was nearly the subject of an exorcism, as a since-defrocked priest sought to convince her that her bisexuality was the result of demonic forces.
Lauren Richardson (Frankie) is an actor and model from Berkeley, California. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Theater and Performance Studies from the University of California, Berkeley, and completed an acting conservatory program at Oxford University in Oxford, England, where she studied British acting techniques and Shakespeare. She also attended a conservatory program at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, where she studied on-camera acting and realism.
Lauren has been performing since the age of 9. Most notably, she appeared in the video game, NBA 2K25, as the first Female MyPlayer.
Allan Piper (Connor, Writer, Director) wrote and directed Evil Sublet, the story of a New York couple who knowingly move into a haunted apartment because the rent is cheap. The movie won 13 festival awards, including Best Director at Haunted House FearFest. Allan also made a cameo in the movie as “The Great Manfredo.”
Highway Gothic is Allan’s fourth feature. He also directed the George Takei-narrated marriage equality documentary, Married and Counting. Before that, he directed and starred in the cult comedy, Starving Artists, which the Boston Globe called one of “the best movies you’ve probably never seen.”
Elizabeth Mei-Ling Yng-Wong (Director, Producer) is an award-winning multi-hyphenate working in a wide range of mediums and genres. She has been a performance, story and dev producer on the motion capture shoots for six iterations of NBA2K, one of the top-selling video games in the world, and has had the privilege of directing the first scenes featuring a female athlete for the WNBA mode since 2024.
Recent producing credits include Spadura, a critically-acclaimed one woman comedy show featuring Dahéli Hall that will premiere as a special in late 2026 and Ship of Dreams: Titanic Movie Diaries, a look into cinema history through the diaries of supporting actors on the set of Titanic. She was Story Producer on TCA Award winning doc series, The Chair (created by Chris Moore) and produced feature narrative Never Here (dir. Camille Thoman) and documentary, The Longest Game. (dir. Camille Thoman).
As an editor, she worked on Sundance feature, White Rabbit (dir: Daryl Wein), Seth Green’s Changeland and the popular Discovery Shark Week Show, Air Jaws. Elizabeth has produced, directed, and edited a variety of branded content, including Science at Play, an international short doc series for Google and Imagination Foundation. Her experimental comedy short, Clown in the Wild, was featured at the 2022 Bideodromo Festival, the international hub for avant garde cinema and video in Bilbao, Spain. Elizabeth is a graduate of Wesleyan University and the Stark Producing Program at USC.
Beth Ann Mastromarino (Producer) is a dynamic creative force with a diverse background spanning film, theater, and music. Beth has produced independent films (including Evil Sublet), Off-Broadway plays and musicals, and international concert tours.
Beth’s sharp eye for detail, strong organizational skills, and passion for narrative are the strengths she brings to every table. Her creative sensibility is enriched by her background as a folk musician, bringing a unique rhythm and emotional depth to her work. Whether behind the
camera, backstage, or on stage, she is committed to crafting impactful experiences that resonate with audiences.
Bill Plympton (Lead Animator) is considered the "King of Indie Animation," and is the first person to hand draw an entire animated feature film. He is a two-time Oscar nominee for his short films, Your Face and Guard Dog.
Bill's short, Push Comes to Shove won the prestigious Cannes 1991 Palme d'Or; and in 2001, another short film, Eat, won the Grand Prize for Short Films in Cannes Critics' Week. After producing many shorts that appeared on MTV and Spike and Mike's, he turned his talent to feature films. Since 1991, he's made ten feature films. Seven of them, The Tune, Mondo Plympton, I Married a Strange Person, Mutant Aliens, Hair High, Idiots and Angels, and Cheatin', are animated. Bill Phas also collaborated with Madonna and Weird Al Yankovic in a number of music videos and book projects. In 2006, he received the Winsor McCay Lifetime Achievement Award from The Annie Awards.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Highway Gothic is the first ever supernatural slasher holiday road trip movie with musical numbers and scary clowns, starring Sally Struthers, and featuring the art of Bill Plympton.
I Married a Strange Person, director Bill Plympton
Highway Gothic stars Sally Struthers, Jennifer Leigh Houston, and Lauren Richardson. We're making something you've never seen, featuring genius talents expressing sides of themselves you haven't seen either. This is Sally's first horror lead role. This is Bill's first live-action horror movie. At a moment when a handful of media corporations are producing a steady-diet of of formulaic content, we're cooking up a Thanksgiving feast of thrills and surprises.
From the Evil Minds behind Evil Sublet
Sally made her horror debut with her scene-stealing cameo in Evil Sublet. Her instant chemistry with star Jennifer Leigh Houston, producer Beth Ann Mastromarino, and writer/director Allan Piper made all of them want to follow Evil Sublet with something bigger, bolder, stranger, and with a lot more of Sally in it. The team is made even stronger with the addition of Allan's long-time friend Elizabeth Mei-Ling Yng-Wong, who will be directing in partnership with Allan.
Sally Struthers and Jennifer Leigh Houston on the set of Evil Sublet
Come on this Road Trip with Us!
Much of our budget is already in place. Hop in and get us the rest of the way. With your support, we will shoot Highway Gothic this fall, using the money we've raised to pay cast and crew, build our main set, rent additional locations, and create eye-popping special effects (possibly literally eye-popping — this is a horror movie, after all).
If we exceed our fundraising goals, that will fuel post production. We plan to premiere at a major horror film festival in 2027 and then take the movie on the road, hopefully bringing it to a theater near you. As with Evil Sublet, which is now on Tubi, Amazon, Fandango, Plex, Fawesome, Bloodstream, and more, Highway Gothic will eventually come to one of your favorite streaming platforms.
We want you to join us at whatever level is comfortable for you, whether that's pitching in a couple bucks for gas or contributing at a level where you get to keep an original piece of art or see your name on screen. Regardless of whether you contribute financially, sharing this campaign with your friends and social network is one of the biggest ways you can help. Please come along for the ride!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Animation
Costs $30,000
Human-made animation is labor intensive, but it is worth it. It has beauty and soul that AI could never achieve. Say no to robots!
Haunted Housing
Costs $7,000
We are providing housing for traveling cast members. This looks like a nice place to rent for them.
Special Effects
Costs $10,000
We are working with some genius effects artists. You won't believe what they will create!
Highway Construction
Costs $5,000
Guess what? We're not shutting down a highway to film on. Instead, we're building a highway set. Help us with the road construction.
Air Travel
Costs $3,000
While this movie is about a road trip, we're not making our LA-based actors drive to the east coast.
Location, Location, Location!
Costs $10,000
In addition to our haunted highway, we need a secluded woodland road, and a creepy parking garage.
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Sally Struthers (Dottie) is an American stage and screen icon. She’s a two-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe winner probably best known for her role as Gloria in the groundbreaking TV series All in the Family. She also starred in the Fox television series 9 to 5 and her own CBS series Gloria. She is beloved as Babette on Gilmore Girls. Her most recent television role is as Virginia on Netflix’s A Man on the Inside.
Sally made her horror debut with her cameo in Evil Sublet, for which she won Best Actress in a Comedy at Haunted House FearFest. On Highway Gothic, she is reuniting with the Evil Sublet team for her first lead role in a horror movie.
Jennifer Leigh Houston (Bonnie, Producer) starred in Evil Sublet, for which she won Best Actress at HorrOrigins Film Fest. Her stage credits include playing Velma Kelly in Chicago, Sally Bowles in Cabaret, Reno Sweeny in Anything Goes, and most recently Gillian in the first-ever production of Vincent Delaney’s new play, The Mallard.
Jennnifer grew up in what she and other past inhabitants swear is a haunted house. It wasn’t until after moving out that she learned her childhood bedroom had been the site of a gruesome teen suicide. As a young woman, Jen was nearly the subject of an exorcism, as a since-defrocked priest sought to convince her that her bisexuality was the result of demonic forces.
Lauren Richardson (Frankie) is an actor and model from Berkeley, California. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Theater and Performance Studies from the University of California, Berkeley, and completed an acting conservatory program at Oxford University in Oxford, England, where she studied British acting techniques and Shakespeare. She also attended a conservatory program at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, where she studied on-camera acting and realism.
Lauren has been performing since the age of 9. Most notably, she appeared in the video game, NBA 2K25, as the first Female MyPlayer.
Allan Piper (Connor, Writer, Director) wrote and directed Evil Sublet, the story of a New York couple who knowingly move into a haunted apartment because the rent is cheap. The movie won 13 festival awards, including Best Director at Haunted House FearFest. Allan also made a cameo in the movie as “The Great Manfredo.”
Highway Gothic is Allan’s fourth feature. He also directed the George Takei-narrated marriage equality documentary, Married and Counting. Before that, he directed and starred in the cult comedy, Starving Artists, which the Boston Globe called one of “the best movies you’ve probably never seen.”
Elizabeth Mei-Ling Yng-Wong (Director, Producer) is an award-winning multi-hyphenate working in a wide range of mediums and genres. She has been a performance, story and dev producer on the motion capture shoots for six iterations of NBA2K, one of the top-selling video games in the world, and has had the privilege of directing the first scenes featuring a female athlete for the WNBA mode since 2024.
Recent producing credits include Spadura, a critically-acclaimed one woman comedy show featuring Dahéli Hall that will premiere as a special in late 2026 and Ship of Dreams: Titanic Movie Diaries, a look into cinema history through the diaries of supporting actors on the set of Titanic. She was Story Producer on TCA Award winning doc series, The Chair (created by Chris Moore) and produced feature narrative Never Here (dir. Camille Thoman) and documentary, The Longest Game. (dir. Camille Thoman).
As an editor, she worked on Sundance feature, White Rabbit (dir: Daryl Wein), Seth Green’s Changeland and the popular Discovery Shark Week Show, Air Jaws. Elizabeth has produced, directed, and edited a variety of branded content, including Science at Play, an international short doc series for Google and Imagination Foundation. Her experimental comedy short, Clown in the Wild, was featured at the 2022 Bideodromo Festival, the international hub for avant garde cinema and video in Bilbao, Spain. Elizabeth is a graduate of Wesleyan University and the Stark Producing Program at USC.
Beth Ann Mastromarino (Producer) is a dynamic creative force with a diverse background spanning film, theater, and music. Beth has produced independent films (including Evil Sublet), Off-Broadway plays and musicals, and international concert tours.
Beth’s sharp eye for detail, strong organizational skills, and passion for narrative are the strengths she brings to every table. Her creative sensibility is enriched by her background as a folk musician, bringing a unique rhythm and emotional depth to her work. Whether behind the
camera, backstage, or on stage, she is committed to crafting impactful experiences that resonate with audiences.
Bill Plympton (Lead Animator) is considered the "King of Indie Animation," and is the first person to hand draw an entire animated feature film. He is a two-time Oscar nominee for his short films, Your Face and Guard Dog.
Bill's short, Push Comes to Shove won the prestigious Cannes 1991 Palme d'Or; and in 2001, another short film, Eat, won the Grand Prize for Short Films in Cannes Critics' Week. After producing many shorts that appeared on MTV and Spike and Mike's, he turned his talent to feature films. Since 1991, he's made ten feature films. Seven of them, The Tune, Mondo Plympton, I Married a Strange Person, Mutant Aliens, Hair High, Idiots and Angels, and Cheatin', are animated. Bill Phas also collaborated with Madonna and Weird Al Yankovic in a number of music videos and book projects. In 2006, he received the Winsor McCay Lifetime Achievement Award from The Annie Awards.