Film adaptation of Stephen King short story to have Maine premiere at Emerge fest

When adapting Stephen King’s short story “Suffer the Little Children” for screen, Corey and Haley Norman — the Portland-based director-writer duo and married couple behind Bonfire Films — didn’t let the name behind the source material serve as a burden. Instead, they saw it as a dream project where they could have fun making a film that stayed true to the spirit of the original story.

But what about showing the film to the horror master himself?

“I’m not gonna lie, I think that’s where the pressure is,” director Corey Norman said, noting that every time he gets ready to send it, he makes another minor tweak in an effort to get the film as close to perfection as possible. King hasn’t seen it yet.

Recently coming off a long stretch of overnight shoots for an upcoming horror anthology called “The Witching,” the Normans will get a bit of a breather to enjoy the Maine premiere of “Suffer the Little Children” at the Emerge Film Festival, scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday, April 30, at the Franco Center Heritage Hall in Lewiston.

In “Suffer the Little Children,” Corey and Haley introduce us to Ms. Sidley (Anne Bobby of “Nightbreed” fame), the kind of stern, rigid schoolteacher who probably still haunts your nightmares even as an adult. Sure, she’s nasty, but that’s really only the beginning of her problems, as she slowly begins to believe her pupils’ bodies are becoming hosts for monsters. Is she onto something, or is she just losing her sanity?

As audiences have come to expect from Bonfire Films, “Suffer the Little Children” is every bit as dark and twisted as some of their previous efforts (the team’s “ABCs of Death 2” contest submission “M is for Mother” comes to mind). But, as Corey Norman notes, movies are meant to induce feelings, and those feelings aren’t always good.

The original text is heavy on internal voice, but the Normans chose to avoid a voiceover in their film, with a little help from Bobby. The Bonfire crew has worked with the seasoned actress previously on “The Hanover House,” and while Corey Norman was intimidated at first (after all, she’s worked with Clive Barker and Oliver Stone, for crying out loud), as a relatively new director, he found her to be nurturing.

“[Bobby] really brought it with the body language and the facial expressions and her eyes to motivate how she’s feeling, what she’s thinking,” said screenwriter Haley Norman on Bobby’s portrayal of Ms. Sidley.

In addition, Corey Norman chose to open the film with soft pops of pastels, and slowly suck the color from the film as Ms. Sidley makes her descent, helping to give “Suffer” context while avoiding the voiceover.

For the Normans, when seeking inspiration for this film, they had to look no further than their own past, revisiting their favorite Stephen King films of old.

“We went back and watched a bunch of the old Stephen King films before doing this,” Corey Norman said. “I wanted this film to definitely feel like a Stephen King film that we would’ve watched when Haley and I were kids. There was just a certain style and nuance, and what I will always consider to be some of the best Stephen King movies.”

In true King-crazy fashion, the Normans ensured “Suffer the Little Children” is chock-full of inside references, including nods to “The Shining,” “11/22/63,” “The Green Mile” and “Cujo.”

While the Normans continue to seek perfection of their adaptation for one Mr. Stephen King, the rest of Maine will have only two opportunities to see “Suffer the Little Children,” first at Emerge — where Corey and Haley are eager to relax, hang out with like-minded film fans, and surround themselves with movies — and then at the Sanford International Film Festival in May.

For more information on the Emerge Film Festival, visit emergefilmfestival.org, and for more on Corey and Haley Norman’s Bonfire Films, visit bonfirefilmsonline.com.

Original story found at Bangor Daily News.