Two W.Va. Based Films Hit Netflix Most Watched List 

Two very different thrillers – both filmed on-location in West Virginia by the same Mountain State-based production firm – have climbed into the same national top 10 list at the same time. 

Gaslit By My Husband: The Morgan Metzer Story, starring Jana Kramer and Austin Nichols, is based on a true story of what appears to be a loving marriage that unravels as the husband’s character turns controlling and dangerous. It’s listed as the #1 Most Watched Movie On Netflix this week.  

“It was great for us because of all the projects we’ve done, this is the one that we were actually able to craft to where we knew we were going to get the most bang for the buck and that’s the way it unfolded,” said Robert Tinnell, who – with his brother Jeffrey – leads the Allegheny Image Factory production firm that produced the film. 

The Bad Guardian is inspired by true stories and depicts the abuse of court-appointed guardianships in which senior citizens can be exploited. It climbed to #4 on the same list this week. 

Tinnell didn’t realize they had made Netflix Top 10 Movies this week until the phone started ringing. 

“We heard from Jana Kramer, who’s the star of Gaslit, and she’s like ‘Boys, we’re number one!’ And then I heard from Melissa Joan Hart, and she’s like, ‘Hey, do you know that we’re like, number four?’” 

Tinnell said there were lots of perks to filming on location in West Virginia. But it was challenging during the late winter months of 2024 when the unpredictable weather brought snow one day and not the next.   

“And so to hedge our bets, we went out and got some footage of roads, like through Cooper’s Rock State Forest, in the snow and on interstates and things like that. And then later, once we had chosen a car and everything, I actually took the car, shot it kind of on a gigantic green screen, and then we would just pop it in and sort of animate it,” said Tinnell with a laugh. 

The recent signs of success are exciting, but mostly, he said, he is grateful for the chance to authentically depict the state he loves.