‘The Hike,’ local horror comedy now on Amazon

Image
  • actors Vincent Vineyard (also producer) and Kandi Thompson.
    actors Vincent Vineyard (also producer) and Kandi Thompson.
Body

Jessica Webb

editor@thesmokymountaintimes.com

 

Former pro-wrestlers turned paranormal investigators start a production company. There’s no way this isn’t going to be entertaining.

Big N Funky Productions, based in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, was founded by Luke Walker and Vincent Vineyard, who started their careers as pro wrestlers Big Luke Walker and Funkmaster V. They starred in a 2015 TV show on Fox for Great American Wrestling and later a paranormal activity show for ASYTV. With their combined experience in the industry, they decided to launch their own company.

They recently announced their first feature-length film, “The Hike,” is now streaming on Amazon Prime. It has also received great reviews on the film circuit. Vineyard said getting the film onto the giant streaming platform “was a huge win” but one he was confident was possible.

“We work really hard, and I never give up,” Vineyard said. “I always have a belief that if I just knock something over the head and grab it in a headlock, I can carry it over the finish line. And, I had that thought if we worked hard enough, we could get it somewhere like that, but you never know.”

Since it first began airing on Amazon two weeks ago, Big N Funky Productions has found new fans and even some people who didn’t like it. “We’ve gotten responses from all over the world who love it, hate it, are confused by it, who want more; it’s been pretty wild.”

“The Hike” is an R-rated horror comedy that follows two hikers, Vinnie and Robin, who head into the forest for a hike—beginning none other than at the Road to Nowhere tunnel just outside Bryson City. Irreverent from the start, it has been described by some as a “Clerks” meets “Blair Witch Project.”

Things go from bad to worse as they confront the dangers of the forest in this story that is loosely inspired by the Cherokee legend of Spearfinger.

On the aspect of comedy, Vineyard, who also stars as the male lead in the movie and puts his improv skills to use in the role, said this: “We originally were just going to do horror movies, but the way we present ourselves and tell stories is pretty comedic, so most of these will have a comic slant now because it’s hard for us to be serious.”

Among accolades for the film is the performance by co-star Kandi Thompson, who was named Best Actress for her role at the Smoky Mountain Film Festival earlier this summer.

“The Hike” is the first installment of six films in the Smoky Mountain Chronicles, which will all be filmed in the region and pull from Southern fables and legends.

“We came up with the idea to make six movies because we felt there was a marketing opportunity. There not a lot of art or stories really come out of East Tennessee, Western North Carolina and Southwestern Virginia, most are New York or Chicago,” Vineyard explained. “There’s amazing, crazy, weird myths and legends and stories that happen here, and we saw an opportunity to tell stories that nobody else has ever talked about.”

Both Vineyard and Walker are transplants to the Southern Appalachians, hailing from Baltimore and Chicago, respectively.

“A lot of our movie ideas come from our experiences from our paranormal TV show, ‘Wrestling With Ghosts,’” he said.

For example, “The Hike” was informed by a show investigating the legend of Spearfinger in Bryson City.

The second movie, “WJHC AM,” is now in post-production and is set to release in the next few months.

“Some of these stories are based on our own history outside of making paranormal TV shows. Like, this next movie, ‘WJHC AM’ is about my experience in Southern Gospel radio being a Yankee and being indoctrinated into Pentecostal-type broadcasting,” Vineyard said.

To put a spin on the already comedic premise, the story asks what if Y2K had also marked the return of Christ and “all hell breaks loose on earth.”

“What if the good people got raptured and my awful ass was left at the radio station to defend against the evils?” Vineyard said.

Things are moving quickly for the small, hard-working company who also hosts a podcast. Casting has started for the third film, “Camp Smoky” based in Bristol, Virginia.

To learn more about Big N Funky Productions and its films, visit www.funkmasterv.com.