Catherine Leoni is a connoisseur of the illusionary arts. She learned her craft from her grandfather, Henry Santorini, a master magician with a disgraced past. Now in search of the fine line between reality and magic, she travels to Death Valley with her gangster husband Robert to meet Taylor Black, a mysterious magician who is about to replicate Santorini’s ruinous past. Adding to the mystery is Wally, who claims he can smell ectoplasm, and Robert’s hit man Bongo. Under Black’s power, Catherine is forced to make a choice…find her own power or succumb to the TRANCE and the seduction of magic. This was the Best Fantasy Feature winner at the New York International Independent Film Festival yet remains obscure.
Acting
Robert Z'Dar as Bongo—his jawline has its own gravitational pull.
Production
Death Valley locations that look like another planet, zero budget.
Director
Gary Orona
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Robert Z'Dar's massive jaw was the result of Cherubism, a rare genetic disorder—he leaned into it for over 100 B-movie roles.
This won Best Fantasy Feature at NYIIF in 2002 then vanished; it's a perfect example of festival darlings that couldn't find distribution in the DVD-to-streaming dead zone.
US
