Everything changed for New Jersey resident Robert Longo when a trip to an abandoned slaughterhouse discovered through ‘Weird NJ’ influenced him to rethink his career trajectory back in 2006. After capturing images of the location with a friend, Longo started brainstorming ideas for a horror film called “Slaughterhouse” based on what he had seen, but eventually realized the budget would be too high. He quit his job shortly afterwards, keeping his mind set on transitioning from your typical 9-5 to something more creatively stimulating: a career in the entertainment industry.
His goal of a big budget film was out of reach at the time, but he managed to create a successful, far lower budget Youtube series called “Vixens of Virtue.” Although the series was completely unrelated to his abandoned discovery, it eventually landed him a deal with NBD Entertainment and set him up for a bright future in a competitive industry.
Now, his dream to enter the horror realm has evidently become reality. Longo decided to create his very own cinematic horror universe defined by five separate horror films, the first one being “The Husband,” set for release on Halloween.
Each film takes place in a fictional town called The Grove, inspired by the actual New Jersey town Cedar Grove where Longo grew up. “I had that typical 80s childhood where you didn’t come home until the street lights were on and rode your bicycle everywhere,” Longo explains. “My horror movies are based in this fictional town called The Grove where the veil between the supernatural and reality is blurred. Crazy things happen and creatures come in - it’s very influenced by Polish mythology.”
When it comes to the memories of his adolescence in Cedar Grove, they’ve all seemingly shaped Longo into the film creator he is today while everything goes back to his roots. “Cedar Grove was an amazing town to grow up in back then because it had everything - our own movie theater, comic book store, insane asylum, you name it,” Longo revealed. “Everything [in the film] is based on the Cedar Grove that I grew up in.”
The series’ first film, “The Husband,” was originally inspired by an image of a creature discovered through a Polish mythology book gifted to Longo by his girlfriend Eva Mroz, who is also one of the executive producers of the debut film. “The Husband” took 15 months to create, film, and edit, and combines the fears that come with both reality and fiction.
Longo was fully involved in both the pre-production and production of ‘The Husband’ as he wrote, directed, and edited the film, along with the help of an extensive cast and crew. Its concept is incredibly unique and is something horror fans may not have seen anything like before. Longo explains, “The story of ‘The Husband’ surrounds a creature who rises up to defend this woman who is just trying to live her life and get a divorce from her crazy husband. So who is the real monster in the story? We'll have to wait and see this Halloween.”
While Longo was unable to originally make “Slaughterhouse” in 2006 due to budget restrictions, horror fans can look forward to seeing it as the final installment of his five-piece horror series sometime in the future. “I originally wrote ‘Slaughterhouse’ without any consideration for budget, so to come full circle and finally get to do a horror movie, which was my original intention in 2006, to add ‘Slaughterhouse’ to the series, is crazy.”
Horror fans most likely won’t have to wait very long for the next film in the series. In fact, Longo is already gearing up to begin production of the series’ second film, “Meatface,” which he hopes to release next Halloween.
With titles like these, you have to wonder what kind of butcher shop Cedar Grove had during Longo’s childhood.
“The Husband” is available on all of the major cable services on-demand as well as on Amazon Prime on October 31.