Hamilton’s Auchmar Mansion has landed a starring role in the fourth season of a Netflix show as filmmakers seek space to film while adhering to social distancing guidelines during the pandemic.
The anthology series Slasher takes its viewers to an island mansion for its fourth season, where a rich patriarch invites his heirs to his mansion to compete to inherit his fortune. But, as the greedy family competes, they begin to get murdered one by one….and no one escapes the island.
“Auchmar Mansion was chosen for a few reasons,” filming manager Michael Knox said. “Its historic, ‘rich’ look, the grounds, and its location outside of the GTA that allows for a government grant incentive which helps fund the (rather small) budget.”
Productions are moving filming outside of the GTA in an effort to social distance. (Credit: Google)The production qualifies for the Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit (OFTTC) and also got a regional bonus considering all or at least 85 per cent of filming takes place outside of the GTA, an initiative the Ontario government is using to encourage local provincial production.
“While the budget is rather small, the show is entirely Canadian: cast and crew,” Knox said.
The Auchmar Manor estate occupies eight acres of grounds featuring an exterior stone wall and outbuildings. (Credit: Robin Mckee)The crew plans to use the exterior of the building and part of the grounds but not the inside.
“We are shooting only the exteriors of the building and grounds, and finishing the interiors in studio,” Knox said. “Our show can be rather ‘bloody’ so a controlled environment in a studio is more suited, and we didn’t want to damage the mansion.”
Filming is taking place at Auchmar Mansion from Nov. 6-19, with pack up happening on Nov. 20.
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