Filmed In Tampa, Free Preview Of 'Beast Comes At Midnight' Set June 11

TAMPA, FL — The bizarre land of sideshow freaks, carnies and travelers, better known as Gibsonton, Florida, is the setting of a new werewolf film that will hit the movie theaters this summer.

Tampa Theatre, Film Tampa Bay and Showtown American Pictures will offer a free screening of "The Beast Comes at Midnight" Saturday, June 11 at the Tampa Theatre, 711 N Franklin St., Tampa. The doors will open at 1 p.m. and seat will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

The movie is filmed entirely in Tampa Bay, including the infamous town of Gibsonton in south Hillsborough County, winter home of circus performers and carnival workers, as well as Lithia, Ybor City and Plant City.

The film stars teen Tampa actor Michael McKeever, son of screenwriter/independent film producer Ed McKeever, as a teen outcast trying to produce a successful podcast centering around his family heritage of sideshows and carnivals.

Fascinated by paranormal phenomena, serial killers and conspiracy theories, McKeever's character, Tuff, discovers his town is under attack by a flesh-eating beast that hunts during the full moon.

Nobody believes him, except a popular cheerleader, Mary, played by Madelyn Chimento, who admits to Tuff that she's a fan of his livestream show.

The teens get help from retired sideshow fortune-teller, who is hiding his past as Cold War-era monster hunter Andras in Gibtown. Andras is played by veteran actor Eric Roberts, an Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe nominee for his part in the 1985 film "Runaway Train."

Roberts is no stranger to the horror genre. His filmography includes "The Prophecy II," "Endangered Species," "The Dark Knight," "The Butcher," "The Tomb," and the cult classic, "Sharktopus."

Also on the marquis is Michael Paré, who plays the character Night.

While Paré hit the big screen playing Eddie Wilson in the 1983 film, "Eddie and the Cruisers," he's become quite familiar of late with the Florida monster scene. He portrays Captain Stryker in "The Wild Man: Skunk Ape," Florida's version of Bigfoot, shot in Tampa in October 2020.

Spoiler alert: They ultimately discover that the killer in their rural Florida town is a real-life werewolf. Playing The Beast Man is special effects artist Joe Castro.

Movie fans will also see actor and former WWE wrestler Gene Sniskey as Mr. Leavitt and "Wiseguys" star John Maciag as Harold.

Ed McKeever, who produced the movie with FishHawk Ranch resident Todd Oifer and Steve Gray, said he was inspired to write the script and produce the film during a 2019 visit to the Showmen's Museum in Gibsonton with his son.

He said he was fascinated by the circus posters and banners of the carnies and sideshow freaks including "Wolf Boy," who earned his moniker due to his hirsute condition (he was covered in hair from head to toe).

Oifer, who is executive producer on the film, said McKeever's enthusiasm was contagious.

"We set out to make a monster movie with practical fx and a riveting story that appeals to both lifelong horror fans and new followers of the genre," said Oifer in a news release.

He described the film as "in the vein of classics like 'The Lost Boys,' 'Silver Bullet' and 'Phantasm' that star young actors thrust into extraordinary and fantastical situations."

McKeever and Oifer aren't the first to be captivated by Gibsonton. It has been the inspiration for a number of films and television shows including the 1995 "Humbug" episode of "The X-Files," and the FX anthology series, "American Horror Story: Freak Show."

The Inspiration For The Film

The real-life town of Gibsonton, little more than a series of trailer parks with elephants fenced in back yards and trapezes set up in front yards, provided plenty of fodder for anyone fascinated with the weird and bizarre.

Among the town's most famous citizens were sideshow performers Al and Jeanie Tomaini. At 8 feet 4 1/2 inches tall, wearing a size 22 shoe, Al Tomaini was billed as "The Giant." His wife, Jeanie, who was born without legs and stood only 2 feet 5 inches tall, was known as "The Living Half Girl."

The couple eventually retired to Gibsonton and opened Giant's Fish Camp on the Alafia River, where Al served as Gibsonton's police chief and fire chief, recalled their grand-niece, former Patch reporter Amanda Tomaini.

Giant's Fish Camp was a strange combination of restaurant, bakery to indulge Jeanie Tomaini's favorite pastime, bait shop, campsite and also served as the town's post office.

While the Tomainis were Gibsonton's most beloved residents, Grady Stiles Jr. was perhaps the town's most infamous resident.

Stiles was known as "The Lobster Boy" due to a deformity caused by a genetic condition known as electrodactyly, which caused a malformation of his hands and feet, giving them the appearance of lobster claws.

Court records would later describe him as frequently drunk and quick to anger and violence, often taking out his frustration on his wife and children.

In a stranger-than-fiction series of events, in 1978, Stiles' 17-year-old daughter, Donna, announced that she'd fallen in love and was going to marry the young man. Stiles responded by picking up a shotgun and killing his daughter's fiancé.

The case went to trial but, due to Stiles' deformity and confinement to a wheelchair, it was determined that no prison could accommodate him, so he received 15 years' probation.

His wife, Maria Teresa, had divorced him after the shooting, but they reconciled and remarried in 1989.

It wasn't long before Stiles became abusive toward her once again, so Maria Teresa paid her 17-year-old neighbor, Chris Wyant, $1,500 to shoot and kill Stiles in November 1992.

The jury sentenced Wyant to 27 years in prison. Maria Teresa received only a 12-year prison sentence after her children testified to the abuse she suffered.

Q&A With The Producers, Director

Following Saturday night's screening of "The Beast Comes at Midnight," Jackson, McKeever and Oifer will discuss the making of the film and answer audience questions.

Horror fans will also have a chance to meet other cast members and score some giveaways.

The film is set to open in July in Tampa. The dates of the summer run will be announced at the preview.