Murray State University associate professor of theatre and actor Daryl Phillipy appears in two feature-length films releasing to wide audiences this month: “Star Light,” distributed through 1091 Films, and “The Silent Natural,” distributed through Freestyle Digital Media.
“Star Light” was filmed in Mayfield, Kentucky, in the fall of 2017. The horror film centers on a teenager named Dylan, who accidentally crashes his skateboard into the car of a famous pop star who’s on the run. When Dylan and his friends try to help this mysterious woman escape her pursuers, unexplained and terrifying events follow them. Phillipy plays the part of a local police officer who becomes a victim of the horror while investigating the car accident.
The film premiered on Oct. 2, 2019 in Los Angeles and was shown at the Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival in February 2020. The executive producer is Jeffrey Allard, best known for his work on “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.”
“The Silent Natural” was filmed in several locations across Kentucky in the spring of 2018 and follows William “Dummy” Hoy, one of the first deaf Major League Baseball players. Hoy not only overcame many obstacles to become one of the greatest players of his time, but also created the umpire hand signs for “strike” and “ball.” Phillipy portrays Tom Lovett, one of Hoy’s teammates.
The film premiered at Alhambra Theater in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and has since gone on to show in local theaters in Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, and Oregon, as well as screenings at the Victory Film Festival in Evansville, Indiana, the 2019 The Strength Within You International Film Festival and the National Baseball Hall of Fame Film Festival.
“It’s been fun going from working on the films, eagerly awaiting their release as films on the independent film circuit, to finally both of them getting distribution deals so that they may be seen by a wider audience,” Phillipy said. “I was excited to work in two film genres that I enjoy: sports films and horror films. Now if I can get cast in a western and World War II film, my bucket list of genres will be complete.”
Both films have been distributed on DVD and streaming services.
College of humanities and fine arts 