By Erin Walker, Guest Writer 

“The Murders of Whitney Manor,” a comedy horror film and Jacob Bradford Woodruff’s directorial debut, stars Xavier alum Xander Smith ‘25 as the main antagonist, Guiver McGee. 

The movie follows the character Donald Whitney, who murdered his business partner Guiver McGee 10 years prior and is now visited by McGee’s ghost. The film was inspired by Woodruff’s love for cheaply made slasher and B-Horror films, with the intent to make audiences feel disoriented, uncomfortable and chilled. 

The boundaries of a declared major do not limit Xavier students when it comes to pursuing interests outside the confines of campus.

Although Smith did not participate in any theater projects at Xavier due to the heavy workload for his biomedical sciences major, he has a theater background. Smith was selected for the role by his good friend Woodruff, whom he did theater with in high school.

“When (Woodruff) did his writing, I’m fairly certain he had me in mind for that role, (asking) me specifically to play (it),” Smith said. 

The filming took place over the summer of 2023, allowing Smith to dedicate himself to the project without the concern of schoolwork. The actors rented a Victorian-style Airbnb in Northeast Ohio for about a week to film the movie. 

“During the week, we would wake up, get things ready, do makeup, wardrobe and stuff like that, and then figure out what we were going to shoot for the day,” Smith said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t have a huge crew for the movie, so we didn’t have a cinematographer or a dedicated makeup artist or everything. So really, everyone was contributing to basically every role in the creative process for the movie.”

Filming typically took place from dawn until dusk, allowing the cast to maximize every bit of daylight possible. This strategy made production a challenging but fun process to take part in. 

“(This experience) just continues to improve my public speaking, dialogue and acting skills that I’ve been working on since high school, and I’m glad I have the opportunity to work on that during my time at Xavier,” Smith said. “Even though I was too busy to do it directly at Xavier, I had this opportunity outside of school to do that.” 

Smith is currently continuing his education journey by pursuing medical school, but if another acting opportunity arose, Smith would take it. 

“Balancing the rigors of a science degree with the demands of independent filmmaking is no small feat, and Xander’s success in both areas highlights the talent, discipline and versatility of Xavier students,” Woodruff said. “His work in the film is a testament to the creative and ambitious spirit fostered at Xavier University, even for their less artsy majors.”