Though officially founded in early 1995 with the production of their first short film, THE HAND, Darkcell's history goes back more than twenty years to the childhood dreams of co-founders, Mike Silva and Chris Kelly. The two friends grew up together in the blue collar city of Taunton, Massachusetts where they shared a common love of comic books, horror stories, and watching movies. They dreamed fo
r years of making a film of their own, and their patience was finally rewarded in the summer of 1986 when they borrowed a neighbor's camcorder and filmed a 2-minute slasher film entitled, THE PHANTOM KILLER. Though it would be years before they would make another film, they never stopped dreaming, spending most of their free time writing screenplays and choreographing movie scenes. In 1993, Mike received a Sony camcorder for his graduation present and the two shot a handful of short films, mostly of the comedy and horror variety. As they grew in their craft, silly 10 minute films gave way to more serious half-hour productions. THE HAND was followed later in 1995 by THE STORYTELLER, an anthology of creepy tales in the vein of THE TWIGHLIGHT ZONE. The next 5 years saw the production of a number of shorts, mostly thrillers including: TOMMY'S LISTENING (1995), KEEPING IT IN THE FAMILY (1996), SOUL OF A WITCH (1998), TOMMY'S LISTENING (REMAKE, 2000), ONE PILL (2000), ROOMMATE WANTED (2000). In Fall 2000, Darkcell’s weekly late television show, DARKCELL PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS, premiered on NBTV 97 in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The show ran successfully for two seasons before Mike and Chris began writing the screenplay for their first feature film, THE INTELLIGENCE PROJECT in late 2000. This Sci-Fi/Thriller featured the duo's most sophisticated storytelling and camerawork to date. It was a venture that took four long years to complete, but has paid off well. With Mike moving to Florida in 2006 and Chris spending two years in Michigan, Darkcell’s weekly production meetings have ceased, but the pair have managed to work several projects into their several annual visits. In 2009, the Hitchcockian thriller, A THIN WHITE WALL was shot in three days in Ann Arbor, Michigan followed in late 2010 by Darkcell’s most dark and suspenseful work to date, GUARDIAN ANGEL. Mike and Chris are currently working on several projects including a number of shorts and a second feature, tentatively entitled, ROSE. Darkcell Productions is currently based in both Providence, Rhode Island and St.
