Locally filmed movie featuring Lorain lighthouse ranking high on Amazon charts

LORAIN — A movie featuring Lorain's most famous icon is drawing a lot of attention. "Beneath the Light," a supernatural thriller set in Lorain's lighthouse that was written and filmed locally, became available Jan. 14 on Amazon to watch for free for those with Prime memberships. By Friday, the movie was No. 4 in all horror films and No. 8 in drama, with a viewership rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars. "People are enjoying it and they're giving it a great review," said the film's director and co-writer, Lorain native John Baumgartner. "Obviously we are thrilled and it is so cool to see something take on a life of its own. It's surreal." The movie tells the story of Jacob, a young man who returns to Lorain after his mother's death from dementia. Jacob cannot remember his childhood before the age of 10, but he is haunted by memories of a girl. Longing to know what happened to her, he takes a temporary job fixing up the old lighthouse while he's back in his hometown. He soon discovers the lighthouse has mysteries of its own. Exterior shots of the lighthouse were used, and other historic buildings in downtown Lorain, including the Palace Theatre, were used for interior scenes during filming in 2023. The premiere was held at the Palace last fall. "Even though I knew this, I still underestimated the passion for our lighthouse," Baumgartner said. "I think half of that is people love that iconic lighthouse so much. I'll be posting around on Reddit, and I'll see people say 'I'll hit play because I can't resist a lighthouse.' The beacon is drawing them in." The film then hit multiple streaming platforms Oct. 14, including Amazon, YouTube, Fandango and Google Play, under the "new releases" category for a three-month window, available for viewers to buy or rent. "Whatever happened in those three months pleased them," Baumgartner said. "Amazon saw the numbers were good and I guess they liked the film. Some of that is Amazon's secret sauce but now the algorithm has sniffed blood in the water and people are liking it so much." Baumgartner said he "gives a lot of credit to local media, and social media and the rabid support of the people of Lorain" who overwhelmingly financially supported the movie and packed the house for its premiere. Baumgartner, who's spent two decades in Los Angeles writing and directing for film and television, began writing the film when he returned to Lorain to help care for his ailing mother a few years ago during the pandemic. He then collaborated with Dr. Cindy Davis Seng of Amherst, a Cleveland Clinic psychiatrist who had been dabbling in screenwriting and television consulting, to co-write the script. Davis Seng then signed on to produce the film. Davis Seng said it was "difficult to describe the feeling" of coming home from a long day of work to settle in on her couch, turn on the TV and find the movie she had such a personal hand in making pop up as a trending recommendation, reaching No. 4 among heavy-hitters like the multi-Oscar-nominated "Sinners." "Excitement, joy, accomplishment," she said. "And so grateful to our astonishing community of local supporters, family and friends who created the initial spark by watching the movie and being so supportive." "It's all just good fodder for the investors to feel good and to help us nurture more work in this area," he said. "There are a lot of texts going back and forth, a lot of happy dances. A lot of my industry friends in L.A. are thrilled and supportive." Baumgartner said he doesn't know yet if those rankings reflect only American viewers or includes Canada, "but at the very least that is nationwide. What an achievement." Contact Rini Jeffers at rinijeffers@gmail.com.