A stacked Lawrence cast and a landmark piece of architecture will stoke viewers’ fear of vulnerability in “One Eye Open,” a suspense-thriller getting an October theatrical release in AMCs and at Liberty Hall.
Michael D. Coffey, a 34-year resident of Lawrence, started writing “One Eye Open” around 2017.
The story, which he directed and produced, circles a recent college graduate housesitting for her grandfather.
“When she finds herself caught in a deadly cat-and-mouse game with thieves, she turns the tables on them with help from something supernatural protecting her in the mysterious mansion,” Coffey said.
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Patrick Rea, the first assistant director and editor, said he was drawn to an impressive peculiarity in the script: the lack of blood and guts.
“Movies now rely so much on gore, and this movie has none,” he said. “… And I think that that’s kind of what makes it stick out, is that it can be suspenseful and exciting without having all that in it.”
Both filmmakers studied at the University of Kansas and met in 2009 while working on the supernatural horror “Nailbiter.” Rea is one of many local cast and crew members that Coffey recruited for the project.
“Lawrence is a beautiful place and many talented people live here,” Coffey said.
He also said many parts of the film “pay homage to KU,” like the “Rock Chalk Jayhawk” lines in the script and the appearance of professors Kevin Willmott and Laura Kirk.
Coffey secured the Ludington-Thacher House, an iconic Italianate mansion at 1613 Tennessee St., as their primary set.
The home was like a museum, the filmmakers said, packed with knickknacks and adorned with Tiffany stained glass windows. It lent the movie easy production value, but the real trick was moving the cast, crew and gear through the rooms without breaking anything — a delicate game of Operation they fortunately did win.
Rea’s skills were further challenged, as the owners lived at the home throughout the entire shoot. The mansion is big enough that the project and the owners were separated by multiple rooms on some days. Other days, the crew would have to ask the residents to turn down a baseball game or accept the disappearance of a prop.
“They had a dog that kept eating our pizza prop, so we had to order more pizza,” Coffey said.
The ambiance of the home heightens the terror on screen, but is the building legitimately haunted? The verdict is still out, according to Rea.
“There were people who claim to have experienced stuff in there while we were filming,” he said. “… You know, when we’re making a movie, I’m so laser-focused that a ghost could literally be standing right next to me and I wouldn’t notice.”
Viewers can also look forward to a touching piano scene and the technical feat of an uninterrupted take that follows the main character throughout a house party.
“It took like 20 takes for us to get it just because it was so technically challenging and you know — just trying not to bump into the walls and trying not to catch the shadow of the camera,” Rea said. “… But we got it.”
Coffey said he had set his sights on Liberty Hall, one of his favorite theaters, for the theatrical release, and is also excited to land AMC billing. Rea said AMC is making a strong showing for independent films.
“Movies like ‘Obsession’ are kind of good examples of that where they were shot very, very low budget, but then they managed to get a decent theatrical release,” he said. “So, I think AMC is really going to spearhead that in the future.”
“One Eye Open” will show in AMC theaters in the Kansas City metro area starting Friday, Oct. 16. Coffey said the more people attend, the more likely the company will add extra showings. Find a theater and time here.
The film will also take over screens at Liberty Hall, 644 Massachusetts St., from Thursday, Oct. 22 to Sunday, Nov. 1. Cinema staff said that showings will be on their website soon, and folks can buy tickets there.
Coffey has three more screenplays that he’s looking to fund, including a romantic comedy, a drama-romance and an action-drama, the last of which is “modeled after firefighters that I used to help with computer work at the Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical department,” he said. See more of his movie credits here.
Folks can catch more of Rea’s work streaming on Tubi at this link, including the horror-comedy “Super Happy Fun Clown,” shot in Kansas City.
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Wulfe Wulfemeyer (they/them), reporter and news editor, has worked with The Lawrence Times since May 2025. They can be reached at [email protected].
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