The Devil of Leeds Lane
Burlington, New Jersey | Film Short
Horror, Teen
Mary Leeds made a pact -- she feeds unsuspecting virgins, like Ben, to her pet/co-conspirator: the Jersey Devil. Ben has been infatuated with Mary for a while, and there’s a blossoming energy there that makes it harder to make a meal out of him. How can she make him less appetizing, FAST?
The Devil of Leeds Lane
Burlington, New Jersey | Film Short
Horror, Teen
1 Campaigns |
90 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
$8,663
Goal: $10,000 for production
Mary Leeds made a pact -- she feeds unsuspecting virgins, like Ben, to her pet/co-conspirator: the Jersey Devil. Ben has been infatuated with Mary for a while, and there’s a blossoming energy there that makes it harder to make a meal out of him. How can she make him less appetizing, FAST?
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
"The Devil of Leeds Lane" is a love letter to creature features, teenage awkwardness and the inability to just say what you mean, and of course New Jersey's favorite weird little guy: the Jersey Devil. We're set to shoot the first weekend in May 2025.
The Jersey Devil is a beloved cryptid from South Jersey without much media of his own out there. He is a fascinating and frankly goofy-looking creature that deserves his day in the sun. We have a lot of love for this freaky dude and his impact on New Jersey. We can't wait to bring him to life in the form of a stop-motion puppet! Jackson (Co-Writer/Producer/Production Designer) has made a few of these puppets before, including a fellow cryptid: the Mothman. He will be in charge of our beloved friend.
(The Mothman Diaries- Jackson's previous work)
(Writer/Director - Samantha LaRochelle)
I have always really loved the Jersey Devil as a Jersey native myself, and I've been desperate to make something with him for years. I also really enjoy writing about the awkward stages of life, especially the glory of the teenage years, where everything feels like the End of the World as you know it. It turns out, most of your World Shattering Problems could be solved with one open and honest conversation.
I have been making short films since I was 14 years old, elevating the scale and ambitions of my projects as I go. This will be my most ambitious film yet, and I believe we do have something really special in this story. Everyone who has read the script so far has felt the magic in it, and I really feel we have a film that can go the distance.
Honesty: Being honest and saying how you feel can be scarier than any monster.
Youth: Everything feels Life or Death when you're 17, and in this case it just might be!
(It Follows, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Swamp Thing)
(Scout Photos of the Pine Barrens, NJ)
Our goal is to raise $10,000 to finish out our production costs ($5,000) and fund post production ($5,000). These funds would help us to pay for our location fees (as the tall pines are almost a character in their own right in a Jersey Devil movie); our camera equipment rentals; paying, feeding, transporting, and housing our cast and crew; stop motion animation costs; festival submission fees; and more. Above is a more detailed breakdown of our budget and what the money will be used for in production and post-production. It is important to us to pay our collaborators fairly, and to do the material justice by making the best looking film we can.
Samantha and Jackson are also personally putting in over half of the total budget themselves. We're putting our money where our mouth is on this one, and would love your support to get us the rest of the way there!
Share this Seed & Spark with your friends and family! Text the link, put it up on your social media! Let anyone who would like this project know that it exists and we're looking for some more support to make it happen. Follow us on Instagram and Tiktok @thedevilofleedslane for updates on the project!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Location Fees
Costs $2,000
Having some nice tall pines on a white sandy road is so integral to the essence of the Jersey Devil.
Animation
Costs $800
The stop motion animation of the Jersey Devil is what makes this a Creature Feature (short...) Help us pay our animator!
Festival Submission Fees
Costs $2,000
The big ticket festivals have some hefty submission fees. We also have to enter a good amount of festivals in order to play at a few.
Editing Costs
Costs $1,000
Coloring, Sound Editing, Music. Some of these costs are covered already, but help us get the rest of the way there!
Casting
Costs $1,500
Help us cover our casting fees and pay our cast for their time and talent!
Camera Package
Costs $1,000
Help us cover the costs of the equipment! Let Jack (DP) have access to the good stuff by helping us cover some of the camera package costs.
Art Department
Costs $1,000
Help us cover some of the costs for Set Decoration, Costumes, and Props!
Contingency
Costs $500
Help us cover all those things that inevitably go wrong! Picture car repair, more crafty because a raccoon got to it, you name it!
Share this update!
About This Team
Samantha LaRochelle (Co-Writer/Director) is a Jersey native filmmaker pictured above in an aquarium in NJ with the Jersey Devil himself at the age of 16. She's been making shorts since she was 14, but please don't go looking for those early ones. Or do, and send us screenshots to laugh at. She's always been drawn to the sticky transitionary times of adolescence when everything feels like the End of the World and telling someone you like-like them is like dismantling a bomb with no training. She's excited to get the Jersey Devil involved in that mess to really get things cooking. Since graduating from NYU Tisch, she has been working in Film & TV as a Clearances Coordinator and Writers' PA. Her most recent credits include Severance Season 2 and CNN's Have I Got News for You.
Jackson Lowen (Co-Writer/Producer/Production Designer) was born in Texas and grew up making stop motion movies using Lego Star Wars minifigures. When he was a sophomore in high school he experienced sleep paralysis for the first time and had a week where he thought he was being abducted by aliens (he wasn’t). That kicked off his love of the paranormal, and after he spent a summer in college driving a UFO tour van out in Marfa, Texas, he really fell in love with local legends and folklore. Driving through the Pine Barrens, it’ s hard to miss all the love for the Jersey Devil, and he absolutely HAD to make a movie about him.
Emma DeWitt (Mary) is a New York and Boston-based actor/director. Some credits include In The Air (Off-Broadway, upcoming), The Cineplex (TV Pilot), The Cape Cod Shakespeare Festival, A Christmas Carol (asst. director, Hartford Stage Co.), as well as Hand to God and The Rocky Horror Show (director, The Hartt School). Emma is beyond excited to be working on this film, which will be an addition to the long list of works they have been involved in with supernatural elements. I guess that childhood obsession with horror media (which they were way too young to be consuming, so don’t tell their parents) is coming back to them. Massive thanks to everyone involved in this project!
Joseph Lamberti (Ben) is an actor currently living in New York City. He is a first year student at Pace University completing his BFA in Acting for Film, Television, Voiceover, and Commercial. He got his start in musical theater performing in roles such as Monty Navarro (A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder) and Mark (Rent). However, in the past year, he has been getting into screen acting. So far, he has been in Hot American Rain (Independent film) and I’m Gonna Die Tomorrow (Short film) which was directed by his good friend and roommate Nicholas Ferrari. He is excited for this opportunity to work with a group of such talented filmmakers and looks forward to shooting.
Jack Mannion (Director of Photography) is a cinematographer based in New Jersey and active worldwide. After graduating from Mason Gross School of the Arts with a BFA in Digital Filmmaking, he has worked on a wide variety of commercials, short films, feature films, art projects, and anything film- and video-based. Recent credits include the feature films Drink & Be Merry and Bottom Feeders.
Alex Raphael (Assistant Director) is filmmaker from Texas who calls Brooklyn home. He works as a Production Assistant on movies such as the upcoming Darren Aronofsky feature Caught Stealing and the Bruce Springsteen biopic Deliver Me From Nowhere. He writes short stories, loves cats and dogs, and can always be found peeling an orange.
Montserrat Fleck (Co-Producer) is a producer originally from Washington and currently based in NYC. A graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in Dramatic Writing and a minor in Comedy, she has worked across the entertainment industry, including at DreamWorks Animation, Warner Bros. Discovery, Milojo Productions, and Inner Child Productions.
James O'Connor (Co-Producer) is a north shore Chicago raised filmmaker who recently wrote and produced his own short film, Bells through the Night, a haunting tale about a couple of ill-fated youngsters who meet a mysterious force in an East Coast forest (recurring themes in his work clearly). Working for more than five years in the New York Film and TV scene, James crossed paths with both creators of Leeds Lane. One said, “We could really use your expertise.” The other said, “Wait, were you the taller PA on Let the Right One In?” James joined this project for three simple reasons. The script, the people, and the performances, all of which, he can honestly say, are elite. He’s proud to be a part of this project, and cannot wait to share it with you!
Laine Margulies (Associate Producer) is a New York based producer, originally hailing from Maryland. They are currently working as an assistant to a partner at 3Arts Entertainment in New York City. Prior to that, they interned at Likely Story and Playground Productions. They are happy to be here.
Carly Kline (Associate Producer) is a producer/performer based in the NYC area! After graduating from NYU Tisch Film and TV in 2022, she has worked on a number of sets, produced, directed, and starred in several live comedy shows in NYC, as well as digital! She is incredibly fascinated by the origin of The Jersey Devil because her fiancé is obsessed with cryptids! Also, she truly believes in Sam and Jackson’s amazing vision for this story to come to life! Let’s make this Jersey Devil film happen y’all!
Elaine Bell (Intimacy Coordinator) is a New York-based Actor and Intimacy Director/Coordinator passionate about telling bold, authentic stories with care and creativity. With training through IDC and a B.A. in Theatre, she brings a collaborative, consent-forward approach to every project. Some of Elaine’s intimacy work includes the films Cherry Condoms, All That’s Left, and The Allegory, as well as a stage production of Silent Sky.
This film marks her first foray into horror comedy— and her first run-in with the Jersey Devil— and she’s thrilled to be conjuring chaos and comedy alongside such a creative and imaginative crew.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
"The Devil of Leeds Lane" is a love letter to creature features, teenage awkwardness and the inability to just say what you mean, and of course New Jersey's favorite weird little guy: the Jersey Devil. We're set to shoot the first weekend in May 2025.
The Jersey Devil is a beloved cryptid from South Jersey without much media of his own out there. He is a fascinating and frankly goofy-looking creature that deserves his day in the sun. We have a lot of love for this freaky dude and his impact on New Jersey. We can't wait to bring him to life in the form of a stop-motion puppet! Jackson (Co-Writer/Producer/Production Designer) has made a few of these puppets before, including a fellow cryptid: the Mothman. He will be in charge of our beloved friend.
(The Mothman Diaries- Jackson's previous work)
(Writer/Director - Samantha LaRochelle)
I have always really loved the Jersey Devil as a Jersey native myself, and I've been desperate to make something with him for years. I also really enjoy writing about the awkward stages of life, especially the glory of the teenage years, where everything feels like the End of the World as you know it. It turns out, most of your World Shattering Problems could be solved with one open and honest conversation.
I have been making short films since I was 14 years old, elevating the scale and ambitions of my projects as I go. This will be my most ambitious film yet, and I believe we do have something really special in this story. Everyone who has read the script so far has felt the magic in it, and I really feel we have a film that can go the distance.
Honesty: Being honest and saying how you feel can be scarier than any monster.
Youth: Everything feels Life or Death when you're 17, and in this case it just might be!
(It Follows, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Swamp Thing)
(Scout Photos of the Pine Barrens, NJ)
Our goal is to raise $10,000 to finish out our production costs ($5,000) and fund post production ($5,000). These funds would help us to pay for our location fees (as the tall pines are almost a character in their own right in a Jersey Devil movie); our camera equipment rentals; paying, feeding, transporting, and housing our cast and crew; stop motion animation costs; festival submission fees; and more. Above is a more detailed breakdown of our budget and what the money will be used for in production and post-production. It is important to us to pay our collaborators fairly, and to do the material justice by making the best looking film we can.
Samantha and Jackson are also personally putting in over half of the total budget themselves. We're putting our money where our mouth is on this one, and would love your support to get us the rest of the way there!
Share this Seed & Spark with your friends and family! Text the link, put it up on your social media! Let anyone who would like this project know that it exists and we're looking for some more support to make it happen. Follow us on Instagram and Tiktok @thedevilofleedslane for updates on the project!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Location Fees
Costs $2,000
Having some nice tall pines on a white sandy road is so integral to the essence of the Jersey Devil.
Animation
Costs $800
The stop motion animation of the Jersey Devil is what makes this a Creature Feature (short...) Help us pay our animator!
Festival Submission Fees
Costs $2,000
The big ticket festivals have some hefty submission fees. We also have to enter a good amount of festivals in order to play at a few.
Editing Costs
Costs $1,000
Coloring, Sound Editing, Music. Some of these costs are covered already, but help us get the rest of the way there!
Casting
Costs $1,500
Help us cover our casting fees and pay our cast for their time and talent!
Camera Package
Costs $1,000
Help us cover the costs of the equipment! Let Jack (DP) have access to the good stuff by helping us cover some of the camera package costs.
Art Department
Costs $1,000
Help us cover some of the costs for Set Decoration, Costumes, and Props!
Contingency
Costs $500
Help us cover all those things that inevitably go wrong! Picture car repair, more crafty because a raccoon got to it, you name it!
Share this update!
About This Team
Samantha LaRochelle (Co-Writer/Director) is a Jersey native filmmaker pictured above in an aquarium in NJ with the Jersey Devil himself at the age of 16. She's been making shorts since she was 14, but please don't go looking for those early ones. Or do, and send us screenshots to laugh at. She's always been drawn to the sticky transitionary times of adolescence when everything feels like the End of the World and telling someone you like-like them is like dismantling a bomb with no training. She's excited to get the Jersey Devil involved in that mess to really get things cooking. Since graduating from NYU Tisch, she has been working in Film & TV as a Clearances Coordinator and Writers' PA. Her most recent credits include Severance Season 2 and CNN's Have I Got News for You.
Jackson Lowen (Co-Writer/Producer/Production Designer) was born in Texas and grew up making stop motion movies using Lego Star Wars minifigures. When he was a sophomore in high school he experienced sleep paralysis for the first time and had a week where he thought he was being abducted by aliens (he wasn’t). That kicked off his love of the paranormal, and after he spent a summer in college driving a UFO tour van out in Marfa, Texas, he really fell in love with local legends and folklore. Driving through the Pine Barrens, it’ s hard to miss all the love for the Jersey Devil, and he absolutely HAD to make a movie about him.
Emma DeWitt (Mary) is a New York and Boston-based actor/director. Some credits include In The Air (Off-Broadway, upcoming), The Cineplex (TV Pilot), The Cape Cod Shakespeare Festival, A Christmas Carol (asst. director, Hartford Stage Co.), as well as Hand to God and The Rocky Horror Show (director, The Hartt School). Emma is beyond excited to be working on this film, which will be an addition to the long list of works they have been involved in with supernatural elements. I guess that childhood obsession with horror media (which they were way too young to be consuming, so don’t tell their parents) is coming back to them. Massive thanks to everyone involved in this project!
Joseph Lamberti (Ben) is an actor currently living in New York City. He is a first year student at Pace University completing his BFA in Acting for Film, Television, Voiceover, and Commercial. He got his start in musical theater performing in roles such as Monty Navarro (A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder) and Mark (Rent). However, in the past year, he has been getting into screen acting. So far, he has been in Hot American Rain (Independent film) and I’m Gonna Die Tomorrow (Short film) which was directed by his good friend and roommate Nicholas Ferrari. He is excited for this opportunity to work with a group of such talented filmmakers and looks forward to shooting.
Jack Mannion (Director of Photography) is a cinematographer based in New Jersey and active worldwide. After graduating from Mason Gross School of the Arts with a BFA in Digital Filmmaking, he has worked on a wide variety of commercials, short films, feature films, art projects, and anything film- and video-based. Recent credits include the feature films Drink & Be Merry and Bottom Feeders.
Alex Raphael (Assistant Director) is filmmaker from Texas who calls Brooklyn home. He works as a Production Assistant on movies such as the upcoming Darren Aronofsky feature Caught Stealing and the Bruce Springsteen biopic Deliver Me From Nowhere. He writes short stories, loves cats and dogs, and can always be found peeling an orange.
Montserrat Fleck (Co-Producer) is a producer originally from Washington and currently based in NYC. A graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in Dramatic Writing and a minor in Comedy, she has worked across the entertainment industry, including at DreamWorks Animation, Warner Bros. Discovery, Milojo Productions, and Inner Child Productions.
James O'Connor (Co-Producer) is a north shore Chicago raised filmmaker who recently wrote and produced his own short film, Bells through the Night, a haunting tale about a couple of ill-fated youngsters who meet a mysterious force in an East Coast forest (recurring themes in his work clearly). Working for more than five years in the New York Film and TV scene, James crossed paths with both creators of Leeds Lane. One said, “We could really use your expertise.” The other said, “Wait, were you the taller PA on Let the Right One In?” James joined this project for three simple reasons. The script, the people, and the performances, all of which, he can honestly say, are elite. He’s proud to be a part of this project, and cannot wait to share it with you!
Laine Margulies (Associate Producer) is a New York based producer, originally hailing from Maryland. They are currently working as an assistant to a partner at 3Arts Entertainment in New York City. Prior to that, they interned at Likely Story and Playground Productions. They are happy to be here.
Carly Kline (Associate Producer) is a producer/performer based in the NYC area! After graduating from NYU Tisch Film and TV in 2022, she has worked on a number of sets, produced, directed, and starred in several live comedy shows in NYC, as well as digital! She is incredibly fascinated by the origin of The Jersey Devil because her fiancé is obsessed with cryptids! Also, she truly believes in Sam and Jackson’s amazing vision for this story to come to life! Let’s make this Jersey Devil film happen y’all!
Elaine Bell (Intimacy Coordinator) is a New York-based Actor and Intimacy Director/Coordinator passionate about telling bold, authentic stories with care and creativity. With training through IDC and a B.A. in Theatre, she brings a collaborative, consent-forward approach to every project. Some of Elaine’s intimacy work includes the films Cherry Condoms, All That’s Left, and The Allegory, as well as a stage production of Silent Sky.
This film marks her first foray into horror comedy— and her first run-in with the Jersey Devil— and she’s thrilled to be conjuring chaos and comedy alongside such a creative and imaginative crew.