“Widow’s Point” is a feature-length supernatural thriller starring Craig Sheffer (“Nightbreed,” “A River Runs Through It,” “One Tree Hill”) as author Thomas Livingston, who spends a weekend in a haunted lighthouse to promote his next book. His life becomes threatened by sinister “Lovecraftian” forces in this exciting story, which is based on the novella of the same name by Richard and Billy Chizmar. The film co-stars several Buffalo-area actors including KateLynn E. Newberry, Dominic Luongo, Kaelin Lamberson and John Renna, as well as California-based actress Willow Xylia Anwar.

“Widow’s Point” is written and directed by Lamberson, whose horror films “Slime City,” “Killer Rack,” and “Johnny Gruesome” have become cult favorites. Lamberson, who graduated from Fredonia High School in 1982, began shooting “Widow’s Point” last August, which involved outdoor scenes at the Dunkirk Lighthouse and indoor scenes at multiple Buffalo-area locations. “We planned for a 16-day shoot, but things went so smoothly that we cut a day,” he said. “The weather was perfect at the lighthouse last year, and no re-shoots were involved.”

For Lamberson, shooting at the lighthouse was one of the most memorable parts of production. “It turned out to be my favorite location that I’ve ever shot at,” he told the OBSERVER. “We got to lock the gates and have the run of the ground. My daughter, Kaelin, loved it. Most of the locations that I’ve shot at have not had air conditioning, but we had this constant breeze off the lake, which was ideal.”

Following the shooting, which concluded at the end of last summer, Lamberson and his crew spent a month “recuperating,” before beginning the post-production process. “I went through all the footage and selected my favorite takes,” he explained, “which sounds a lot easier than it is, especially when I like a few minutes of this take or a few from another. Then I turned all of those over to my editor, who spent a couple of months editing and refining it.” Lamberson said the film was approximately 15 minutes longer than he expected but that it has been edited to a run-time of about 90 minutes, which is preferred.

Director Gregory Lamberson is looking forward to the movie’s local premiere at the 1891 Fredonia Opera House on Friday, Sept. 13 at 7 p.m.

The score was co-composed by Armand John Petri, a music instructor at SUNY Fredonia, and Joe Rozler, a studio musician and producer from Buffalo. “Because they’ve worked with her in the past, they got Mary Ramsey of 10,000 Maniacs to do vocals and music,” said Lamberson. “She was one year ahead of me at Fredonia High School.” Petri has composed the scores for Lamberson’s earlier movies, “Killer Rack” and “Johnny Gruesome.”

“There is a long period of inactivity where we submit the film to different film festivals and decide where to do the premiere,” After its premiere at the Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival, “Widow’s Point” will be submitted to horror and international film festivals later this fall.

Lamberson is unsure of how many cast members will be able to attend the premiere, as many are currently involved in other films. “Craig Sheffer surprised me,” said Lamberson. “He is coming in for the premiere at Eastern Hills Cinema. He and I will do a Q&A after the film, which I’m really excited about.” Tickets for the the world premiere are available online at easternhills.dipsontheatres.com.

On Friday, Sept. 13 at 7:30 p.m., “Widow’s Point” will be on the big screen at the 1891 Fredonia Opera House. “As a kid, I saw a lot of movies there,” Lamberson recalled. “Of course, there’s very little resemblance between what it looked like then and how it is today. Armand has show some of my films to his college classes, but none of my films have had a real public screening in Fredonia until now.” Tickets for the Opera House screening of “Widow’s Point” will be available at the door only.

Lamberson noted that — while his name is on the movie — projects such as “Widow’s Point” are hardly a solo endeavor. In addition to his pre-production crew, film crew and post-production crew, Lamberson has relied heavily on producer Tamar Gonzalez Lamberson, who also happens to be his wife. “My wife is there the whole time during pre-production, on set, handling the paperwork, dealing with me — especially when I’m in a bad mood — and raising our daughter,” he said. “I couldn’t do this without her.”

To learn more about “Widow’s Point,” including photos, the movie trailer and more, follow “Widow’s Point The Movie” on Facebook.