Filmed entirely in Michigan in 2013 by Burns Family Studios in Oakland County, “Beyond the Mask” stands out from many other independent films because it’s a Christian-based action movie, a new genre combining action-adventure with faith and family values.
Shot in Oakland, Lapeer, Genesee and Wayne counties, the Revolutionary War-era story had a budget of $4 million — half in cash, half in donations and gifts — and a production involving 400 volunteers. It’s being released this week in more than 100 theaters nationwide, with a planned fall arrival on video on demand.
“Beyond the Mask” occurs around the time of the Revolutionary War. Will Reynolds (Andrew Cheney, “Seasons of Gray”), a mercenary for the British East India Company, is double-crossed and hiding in the American colonies. He allies himself with Charlotte (Kara Killmer, TV’s “Chicago Fire”), whom he loves, and Benjamin Franklin (Detroit native Alan Madlane, “Wendigo”) to thwart Charles Kemp and the British East India Company.
When casting the key role of Kemp, cousins Aaron and Chad Burns had one actor in mind: John Rhys-Davies.
Source : “Local filmmakers make national splash with Christian action movie“, Detroit Free Press, June 4, 2015.