Local filmmaker looking to shoot ‘Munger Road’ sequel in St. Charles this fall

A local filmmaker is one step closer to continuing the Munger Road story. The St. Charles City Council on July 22 approved a request from local restaurant owner Nick Smith, the writer and director of 2011′s “Munger Road,” to close Main Street in October for production of the sequel “Munger Road Part 2.″

Smith petitioned the city on behalf of his production company MR25, LLC to close Route 64 the evening of Oct. 16 into the morning of Oct. 17 while he films the sequel to his inaugural film.

Because Route 64 is a state highway, along with City Council approval, Smith still will need to receive approval from the Illinois Department of Transportation before the closure is final.

This is the first of many approvals Smith will need from the City Council before the film’s production can begin, but this approval was needed immediately because of IDOT’s application requirements.

If IDOT approves the closure, Route 64 would close from Second Street (Route 31) to Fifth Avenue (Route 25) and production would take place from 4 p.m. Oct. 16 to 5 a.m. Oct. 17. A rain date of Oct. 17 with the same time frame also was included in the request should production take additional time or be prohibited by weather.

During the closure, westbound traffic on Main Street would be redirected south on Fifth Avenue (Route 25), west on Illinois Avenue and north on Second Street (Route 31) back to Route 64. Eastbound traffic would take the same route in reverse.

The production company is expected to reimburse the city for all costs associated with the closure, which is estimated at nearly $40,000. This includes $26,084 in police department costs for security and traffic control and $13,487 in public works costs for signage, barricades and road closures.

Sidewalks on Route 64 will remain accessible to pedestrians during the closure. Businesses on Route 64 are not expected to close during the filming and members of the production company are expected to visit each business that may be impacted by the production to inform them of the project before filming.

Smith announced plans for “Munger Road Part 2″ in December 2023 and plans to start filming in St. Charles this fall. He is preparing the filming schedule, beginning with the necessary road closures to allow his production crew to capture the historic Main Street of downtown St. Charles.

When Smith announced “Munger Road Part 2,″ he promised a grittier, scarier action-packed film that will tie up loose ends left by the original film. Set in St. Charles 15 years after the original, it is expected to feature new and returning characters.

Released in 2011, “Munger Road” was based on well-known local folklore surrounding the train tracks on Munger Road in the town of Wayne. It was shot on the actual road as well as in St. Charles and surrounding cities in Kane County including Bartlett, Elburn, Geneva and Sugar Grove.

The film starred Academy Award nominee Bruce Davison and had a great deal of success for an indie film. It was given a three-star review by Roger Ebert, who said the film “does an efficient, skillful job of audience manipulation using the techniques of darkness and vulnerability and the truth that a horror not seen is almost always scarier than one you can see.”