Thriller ‘Radiant One’ filmed in Las Vegas Valley’s not-so-famous areas

Las Vegas is the background in another film, but not the type residents might have come to expect.

Los Angeles filmmaker Kristopher Dolphin strayed from the iconic backdrops of Las Vegas-based movies such as “The Hangover,” “Jason Bourne” and “Casino,” choosing instead to film his thriller “The Radiant One” in the southwest valley, Henderson and the Nellis sand dunes.

Dolphin directed and produced the film; shooting began in September 2015.

Dolphin, 33, travels back and forth from Los Angeles to a Henderson condo. He says he preferred to film in Las Vegas partly because there’s more space here.

“Los Angeles is cramped and it almost can feel kind of suffocating when you’re trying to do something challenging,” he said, adding, “There was more freedom and there’s great talent here.”

Dolphin has produced nearly 20 films; he said the development of “The Radiant One,” his first full-length feature, happened by chance. He was visiting friends in Las Vegas when one of his contacts sent him a script. Dolphin saw the potential, so he acquired the rights and rewrote it. The writer, Nick Murphy, is credited in the film.

“Some of the elements were there. Some of the elements weren’t,” he said. “I just saw a story that I wanted to tell through that.”

“The Radiant One” is inspired by “The Shining,” “The Sixth Sense” and “Psycho,” Dolphin said. The film follows a man who turns himself in to police because he fears he has harmed himself and others whom he loves. The 90-minute film focuses on main character Ridley (performed by Dan Shaked), who is confused and incoherent.

The movie’s first showing was in December at the Sci Fi Center, 5077 Arville St., and showings continued in January.

Dolphin said a young boy approached him after a showing and said it was his new favorite film.

“That made my night … I was like, ‘I’m just trying to get this together,’ and he loved it,” Dolphin said.

The film also will be shown at Eclipse Theaters, 814 S. 3rd St. Check eclipsetheaters.com for showtimes.

He recruited talent from Las Vegas to assist with the film, including a few actors, the director of photography and the colorist. The youngest actor was 11-year-old Ashlee Grubbs, who said she has been in a few independent feature films and two short films.

“I’m always interested when it comes to acting,” she said. “It’s exactly the type of story that I like.”

Ashlee — who plays Kelly, a character who experiences drama and horror throughout — wasn’t afraid during filming.

“Whenever I play a role, I feel like I become that role,” said the sixth-grader at Pinecrest Academy-St. Rose. “Every role kind of feels like a friend. That’s why I cried at the end, because I felt like I lost a friend.”

Ashlee added that she has been acting since she was 5 or 6 and was inspired to pursue it after seeing the pirate show at TI.

Dolphin said he hopes people will interpret the film in their own ways and that for him, it’s a story of discovering truth.

“I try to always do right by people and have a moral compass, and to me it means that the truth will prevail,” he said. “And the radiant clarity of truth is one of the most important factors of human life.”

To reach View intern reporter Kailyn Brown, call 702-387-5233 or email kbrown@viewnews.com. Follow her on Twitter @KailynHype.