Local videographer Jason Martin said he didn’t know what to expect for the Sept. 23 premiere of his film “The Legend of Ghost Road” on an outside screen in downtown Statesboro. 

“We had promoted the event for a couple of months,” he said. “I knew we had reached a lot of people and we had more than 1,000 people show interest in the Facebook event. But it still surprised me at the turnout. We probably had about 200 people at the premiere and got 1,000 views online in that first weekend.”

Once he saw the interest in person and online, Martin thought about bringing his personal project to the actual big screen of a real movie theater. And, through an arrangement with the AMC Classic 12 Theatre behind the Statesboro Mall, The Legend of Ghost Road will have five showings on Saturday at the AMC theatre.

“I was looking for more venues to show the film throughout October,” he said.  “So I was fortunate to be able to work it out with our AMC theatre to do that. There’s nothing like the experience of seeing a film on the big screen and a big bucket of popcorn. I’m excited.”

With limited seating, show times for the Legend of Ghost Road will be at noon, 2 p.m., 4 p.m., 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets for all showings are $5, except for the 8 p.m. show, which is $10.

Tickets are available to purchase only at thelegendofghostroad.com website or by calling Martin at (912) 601-4883. No tickets will be available at the AMC box office.

Martin’s 53-minute film is based on the local legend of “Ghost Road” in Brooklet that on any given night you may see a mysterious orange light along with ghostly apparitions.

On Martin’s first of several unexplained sightings, he saw the lights, and on subsequent outings took photos and videos. Later, as his videography career expanded, he renewed an interest in the legend and started doing more research, he said.

The film includes his own videography as well as accounts and footage from others who have explored the road and captured images of what he believes are supernatural occurrences.

“I knew I had good stories about Ghost Road,” Martin said. “But my biggest worry was turning that into an entertaining film that would hold an audience’s attention. I definitely feel like we did that. At the end of the premiere the audience clapped and cheered.

“I think the audience finds it interesting as well as spooky knowing that these are real stories. These strange things happened right there in Brooklet. And now folks can watch the move inside our local theatre on the big screen.”