THREE RIVERS, Mich. — It’s not every day, or year, that Hollywood comes to West Michigan, but in recent weeks, a professional film set has taken over Camp Tavor in Three Rivers for the production of “Crazy Bones,” a slasher horror movie.
It’s brought a lot of buzz throughout the small town, according to community members.
“I think it’s exciting. It features the local area,” Tom Lowry, a small business owner, said. “People will remember Three Rivers, maybe as they drive by, but for the local population, it’s kind of neat that we were chosen.”
The location chosen wasn’t by chance. Director Marc J. Morgan, who spent summers at Camp Tavor as a teenager, said the decision to film here has been a dream since long before he went to film school.
“I was a camper here when I was 14 years old, I was a junior counselor, and a counselor here,” said Morgan. “It was the greatest time, you know, as a child.”
Morgan said he pitched the location many times to people in the film industry, for multiple different genres, but was turned down every time.
“In the last few years, I talked about even bigger-budget movies than this, and every single investor, every single person would say, ‘why would we do anything in Michigan if the money isn’t coming back right away?'” Morgan said.
Michigan once offered a film tax incentive program, which attracted some major productions like Transformers, but those incentives were cut more than a decade ago under former Governor Rick Snyder in 2012.
Despite the pushback from the film industry, to look into alternative camp locations in states that do offer film incentives, Morgan said his passion for Camp Tavor as the location was unwavering.
“I was like the boy who cried wolf,” he said. “But, there’s something special.”
Morgan said with the support of an award-winning film producer, Chris Gaida, and the encouragement that a horror film could be successful – the concept for “Crazy Bones” was born. Then, the pair said they hired Hollywood writer Thommy Hutson to finetune the storytelling.
The plot of “Crazy Bones” is about a local legend of Charles “Crazy Bones” Barnett, a man whose family land was stolen in the 1980s to make room for a camp. In the movie, a group of college kids head to the fictional Camp Lakeshore for a weekend getaway, only to find that legends about Barnett’s vengeance are true, and his spirit is very much alive, haunting the grounds and killing anyone who dares to trespass.
The “Crazy Bones” crew said they are hoping to bring back the style and quality of horror films from the 80s and 90s.
“‘Crazy Bones’ as a film, you know, is sort of Friday the 13th, and like, there’s a lot of little homages that ‘Crazy Bones’ is definitely playing to,” said Danielle Riveroy, lead actress for the movie.
As the cast and crew set up for a few final night shoots and blood-soaked special effects before packing up and heading back to Los Angeles, many said they understand and appreciate Morgan’s fight to bring the production to Camp Tavor, despite skeptics.
“It’s (a) beautiful, beautiful city, beautiful state. It’s a pleasure working here, especially when you’re doing grueling all-night hours and get to rest in such a beautiful location during downtime,” said producer Chris Gaida.
“Being an actor, it’s pretty insane, because I’ve never acted on a film where I’m living on set,” said Ben Taylor, lead actor for the movie.
Both Taylor and Riveroy praised the town of Three Rivers, giving a special shout out to the local coffee shop that fueled their late nights, and said that the local baristas helped them better understand the local area for character development.
The hair and makeup artist, a West Michigan native, said being asked to help on a professional production is a boost to business, and the experience is invaluable. “It’s the amount of effort and time all the crew members put into it,” she said.
Morgan noted that while he advocated for Camp Tavor as the location for filming, regardless of Michigan not currently offering any film tax incentives, he said his hope is that the state will consider reinstating them, so that more films can come to the area.
Michael LaFaive, senior director of fiscal policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, argues against government film subsidies, claiming they cost more than they generate, and told News Channel 3 that he believes, like in the case of “Crazy Bones,” Michigan will still draw some films without offering incentives and believes that is better because it will be at no cost to taxpayers.
“No independent study shows that this is a net plus for an economy,” LaFaive states. “A great litmus test for how exciting something is, is if someone wants to voluntarily pay for it themselves. The state should just get out of the way and focus on enforcing contract law and lowering taxes.”
LaFaive said that incentives cost more money than they generate and money should be used elsewhere, such as fixing roads and other state infrastructure. “What the proponents want to do is have politicians take money from millions of Michigan citizens, millions of taxpayers, and give it to the favored few who’ve managed to lobby persuasively that their industry and their industry alone deserves particular subsidies.”
Meanwhile, “Crazy Bones” continues to roll through its production stages, with filming wrapping up at the end of this weekend.
The film’s post-production editing phase is set to begin a few days later back in Hollywood, according to the director, with “Crazy Bones” expected to be released in 2026.
News Channel 3 will share updates regarding release date and screening details.