
Congratulations to local artist and filmmaker Antony Capers (photo, below) for the splashy Oct. 18 premiere at the historic Tampa Theatre (in downtown Tampa) of his YouTube horror serial âGrand Hampton The Movie Series.âÂ
What started as a pandemic project with his family and neighbors in their New Tampa neighborhood has grown into a multi-year endeavor with a loyal cult following. The series takes place in Capersâ upscale Grand Hampton neighborhood that â the viewer soon discovers â was built by âThe CONNECTEDâ solely for the purpose of housing citizens within the governmentâs witness protection program.Â

The community has been experiencing some very odd occurrences, and â even more alarming â extraterrestrial beings have been seen roaming the quiet neighborhoodâs streets.
Beginning with Season 3, the series began branching out to discover the dark stories of so many of Grand Hamptonâs residents. And, as someone who attended the premiere of the âANTHOLOGYâ of new chapters that bring three of these stories to life, I have to say that I came away impressed with Capers and his talented, all-volunteer castâs efforts.
Jannah, Charmaine, her boyfriend Brendan and I were on hand to find out what happens in the worldâs craziest house in âABBY.â Then, we witnessed the bond being broken between two brothers as they became part of an experiment in âPLACEBO.â And finally, we get to play a game of âSPIN THE BARREL,â where the winner actually loses.Â

After the screening, Capers, the âGrand Hamptonâ creator, and members of his cast stuck around and discussed the project and answered audience questions. Capers said that Grand Hampton is a community where, âanything can happen and I believe âANTHOLOGYâ proves that.â
âANTHOLOGYâ is part of the historic â and reportedly haunted â Tampa Theatreâs annual âA Nightmare on Franklin Streetâ film series, which concludes tonight (Oct. 31) with a showing of the original âHalloween.â
âGrand Hampton The Movie Series,â which participated in the Orlando International Film Festival (OIFF) in July, has been at the Tampa Theatre before, as Capers and his crew of talented actors not only got to present his âSuper Vitaâ movie-length episode but also film a portion of it there.
Among those who have provided cameos in the series to date include New Tampaâs District 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera and former Tampa Bay Bucs offensive lineman and local radio/ podcast host Ian Beckles, who was chilling and cool in âSPIN THE BARREL.â
The premiere of âANTHOLOGYâ also included lengthy âcommercialsâ from Capersâ sponsors, including EmployEZ, UES-United Employment Solutions, Done Deal Promotions and âAliens of the Metaverse,â as well as a dance number with Capers and about a dozen Grand Hampton kids, ages 6-12.
All âGrand Hampton The Movie Seriesâ episodes are available on YouTube.Â
