StabMovies.com

StabMovies.com’s Stab Movies

Stab 7: Knife of the Hunter

2013

Stab 7: Knife of the Hunter (2013) poster
Status
Released unfinished
Released
November 30, 2013
Runtime
52 minutes
Filmed in
Manchester and Bedford, New Hampshire
Studio
StabMovies.com
Distributor
Free to watch on the StabMovies YouTube channel and StabMovies.com

This is gonna hurt!

Directed by
Joshua Patrick Dudley
Written by
Joshua Patrick Dudley
Produced by
Joshua Patrick Dudley, Rachel Alexandria Arnold
IMDbSCRIPT

The Film

Two years have passed since the last GhostFace attack and survivor Shannon Nightingale is back on her feet in a new town. Shannon has turned her trauma into motivation and has become a successful, well-known therapist and has since retired from acting, giving up her role in the Stab series. When reports of a new GhostFace murder in New Hampshire reach Shannon, she decides to return home, with her assistant Valerie by her side, to stop the new killer.

Executive Producer of the Stab films, Rachel Arnold, has her work cut out for her... planning the latest string of murders! But she doesn't have to do it alone! Luckily for her, her former boss, Stab movie Writer and Director Joshua Dudley, has returned from the grave as a ghost and is aiding her in the process of training a new GhostFace killer! Their latest targets? A group of fresh faces, including a new Sarah Campbell, who can reboot the Stab series after Rachel and reporter Kylie Scott's epic box office fails with Stab 5 and Stab 6.

The teens of Manchester are too involved with planning their annual Halloween Party to notice that their friends are being picked off one by one. Luckily they have Lieutenant Dylan Roberts back on the case, after narrowly escaping death the last time GhostFace was in town. Dylan has a close eye on the teens and is determined to do her Aunt Regina proud by solving the latest round of murders and stopping the killer.

Can Dylan solve the case? Can Shannon save the teens? Will Joshua and Rachel complete the ultimate Stab film? All that's for sure is... this is gonna hurt!

Release & Reception

  • Status: Released unfinished. Production shut down after a little over half the movie was filmed.

The unfinished film went up on the StabMovies YouTube channel on November 30, 2013, with the whole story summary and a warning that comments with spoilers would be removed. The behind the scenes videos from January 2014 refer to the version that had been posted.

By September 2026 the full video had about 285,000 views. The behind the scenes video of the opening death had about 151,000, more than any other Knife of the Hunter bonus video. The Scream 4 version clip had about 85,000.

Between January and March 2014, StabMovies.com posted every take from the Campbell opening, the opening death, the high school scene, the police station scene, Regina's cameo, Mackenzie's death scene and the attack on Shannon and Sarah.

Deleted Scenes & Trivia

  • Everything after the point where filming stopped was never shot. Those scenes survive only in the screenplay book.
  • Regina's cameo, with Mandi Russell and Patricia Shanley, was partly filmed and left out of the posted version. The raw takes went up on January 26, 2014.
  • Mackenzie's death scene was never completed. Ghost Face's lines were meant to be dubbed in post production. All the takes were posted on March 9, 2014.
  • Previously Unreleased Stab 7 Promo, an unfinished promo planned before the shutdown, posted March 2, 2014.
  • Rachel and Joshua's Stab 7 Bloopers, posted March 2, 2014.

Why It Was Shut Down

Production stopped when lead actress Stephanie Maheu left unexpectedly. Rather than sit on the material, StabMovies.com put every scene that had been filmed out on the site.

The History of Stab page puts it more broadly: the film was shut down after multiple production difficulties.

Trivia

Leila Bafageeh, who played Leila Burke in the short film Stabbed, takes over Sarah Campbell here, the part Audrey Marquee originated in Stab 4: Fresh Blood. Leila's real sister Maryam plays Sarah's sister Carrie.

The screenplay came out as a 220 page paperback on October 14, 2019.

Who Did It

Rachel Arnold is orchestrating the murders again, and the ghost of Joshua Dudley is training a new killer to carry them out. The new killer’s name is not given anywhere in what was released.

  • Stab 7: Knife of the Hunter is also the name of the Stab 7 seen in Scream 4. StabMovies.com points out that in the Scream films the subtitle comes from Gale Weathers' book and was never shown on screen, on a poster or on an official DVD case.
  • Mrs. Campbell is played by Rachel Alexandria Arnold's mother, Cherry Calvette.
  • The first day of filming, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, was the first StabMovies.com shoot outside New Hampshire. Fans may know Scranton from The Office.
  • The police station in the movie is really the Hooksett Public Library.
  • Chris Eager was Colton Grimes when the opening death was filmed. The final cast list gives the part to Ryan Salvato.
  • Mackenzie's actress is Lindsey Klossner on the videos and Lindsay Klossner on the StabMovies.com cast list. Mrs. Campbell's actress is Cherry Calvette on the videos and Cherry Clavette on the cast list.
  • The mini teaser on November 18, 2013 said filming was only halfway done. The full film went up twelve days later.
  • The Day 1 behind the scenes video ends with a little bonus.
  • Regina's cameo, with Patricia Shanley as the ghost of Regina Hartley, is not in the posted film. The raw takes are the only place to see it.
  • Mandi Russell played Dylan Roberts in Stab 5, Stab 6 and this film. According to a 2017 news post, she later quit the replacement Stab 7 without notice.
  • The 2017 news post Stab 7 Cursed covers both this shutdown and the problems on the replacement Stab 7. It says it is fitting that the Stab movies are plagued with problems, just like the ones in the Scream movies.

Connections

  • It follows Stab 6: Ghostface Returns (2012). Shannon Nightingale survived that film, Dylan Roberts barely escaped, and Joshua Dudley died, which is why he comes back here as a ghost.
  • Sarah Campbell from Stab 4: Fresh Blood comes back in a new version meant to reboot the series.
  • Stab 7 (2017), simply titled Stab 7, replaced this version. It was also shut down, and all of its footage was released on YouTube too.
  • The History of Stab page counts three versions of Stab 7: the one in Scream 4, this one, and the 2017 film.
  • StabMovies.com posted the Stab 7 footage from Scream 4 on its own as Stab 7, the Scream 4 version, and included it in this film's bonus playlist.
  • Behind the Mask, Part 4 (2020) covers the making of this film.

Sources

Cast & Production

Cast

Stephanie Maheu

Shannon Nightingale

returning from Stab 5 and Stab 6

Rachel Alexandria Arnold

Rachel Arnold

plays herself

Joshua Patrick Dudley

Joshua Dudley

plays himself, as a ghost; also played Ghostface in the opening death and in the attack on Shannon and Sarah

Mandi Russell

Dylan Roberts

Leila Bafageeh

Sarah Campbell

Lindsey Klossner

Mackenzie Morrison

spelled Lindsay Klossner on the StabMovies.com cast list

Robert Doe

Grayson St. James

also played Ghostface in costume in the Campbell opening, on the first day of filming and in Mackenzie's attack, where he also read Ghostface's phone lines on set

Bri McKenney

Mya Alexander

Patrick Stewart

Brody Lawrence

Alisha Winslow

Alana O'Neil

Michael Benoit

Nate Stevens

Grace Paratore

Diana Woodbury

Anthony Rainville

Kellen Rice

Jaleesa Tuttobene

Hadley Jordan

Tajoura Davis

Valerie

Ryan Salvato

Colton Grimes

Chris Eager

Colton Grimes

formerly cast as Colton; seen in the opening death scene

Maryam Bafageeh

Carrie Campbell

Leila Bafageeh's real-life sister

Cherry Calvette

Mrs. Campbell

Rachel Alexandria Arnold's mother; spelled Cherry Clavette on the StabMovies.com cast list

Patricia Shanley

Regina Hartley

ghost of Regina; the cameo was never finished and is not in the posted footage

Chris Dube

Chris Dube

Stephanie Bacon

Bonnie Bernard

Jennifer Sue Mallard

Jennifer Mallard

Crew

Joshua Patrick Dudley

Writer

Joshua Patrick Dudley

Director

Joshua Patrick Dudley

Music

Joshua Patrick Dudley

Executive Producer

Rachel Alexandria Arnold

Executive Producer

Joshua Patrick Dudley

Title sequence tests

Christina Fournier

Assistant (opening death scene)

Kelly Carnes

Helper (first day of filming, Scranton)

Production

On January 7, 2013, Joshua Patrick Dudley posted a one-on-one interview with Stephanie Maheu and announced that she would come back as Shannon Nightingale in Stab 7.

Joshua made two title sequence tests in January 2013, one on the 23rd and one on the 27th. The first plays with blood and knives and skips the part where the T gets stabbed. Both promised an October 2013 premiere.

Filming started in August 2013. A teaser from the first day went up on August 13 and a behind the scenes video on August 29. It was the first time StabMovies.com ever filmed outside New Hampshire. The crew drove to Scranton, Pennsylvania, the town fans know from The Office. Joshua Patrick Dudley, Rachel Alexandria Arnold, Leila Bafageeh, Maryam Bafageeh and Robert Doe were there. Kelly Carnes helped out for the day, and Rob doubled as the costumed Ghostface.

The Campbell opening was shot in Scranton. Leila Bafageeh played the new Sarah Campbell, her real sister Maryam played Carrie, and Rachel's mother Cherry Calvette played Mrs. Campbell. Joshua and Rachel played themselves, and Robert Doe wore the mask.

On September 8, 2013, Joshua posted the first production vlog. He introduced the film and talked about the cast, the returning stars, production updates and upcoming live appearances.

Two mini promos followed in October 2013, This Is Gonna Hurt on October 2 and I Wanna Play A Game on October 13. Each showed some of the cast. The release date had not been announced yet.

On November 18, 2013, the mini teaser trailer said filming was only about halfway done. The hope then was to have the film online in early 2014.

The police station scene, where Dylan questions Sarah, was shot at the Hooksett Public Library along with a few other scenes. Mackenzie's character is missing from that scene.

The high school scene was shot with Lindsey Klossner, Robert Doe, Patrick Stewart, Bri McKenney, Jaleesa Tuttobene, Grace Paratore and Anthony Rainville.

Joshua directed and wore the Ghostface costume for the opening death and for the attack on Shannon and Sarah. There were more than two hours of footage for the scene before the opening attack.

For Mackenzie's death scene, Robert Doe played Ghostface in the costume and read the phone lines on set. Those lines were meant to be dubbed later. The scene was never finished.

Regina's ghost cameo was never finished. The crew ran out of daylight, and traffic and people on the street got in the way. At one point a woman who lived on the street stopped to question them.

Production shut down after a little over half the movie was filmed. Several problems added up, including losing locations and losing the lead actress. Without her the script no longer made sense. A 2017 news post says Stephanie Maheu quit without notice or excuse. The History of Stab page says the film was shut down after multiple production difficulties.

Knife of the Hunter was shot on a Sony NEX-F3 and edited in Sony Vegas 12 and 13.

Joshua Patrick Dudley, Rachel Alexandria Arnold, Stephanie Maheu, Lindsey Klossner and Anthony Rainville were interviewed for Behind the Mask, Part 4, the making-of documentary posted on June 24, 2020.

Music

The music for the released footage is credited to Joshua Patrick Dudley.

Filming locations

  • Scranton, Pennsylvania: The Campbell opening. The first StabMovies.com shoot outside New Hampshire.
  • Hooksett Public Library, Hooksett, New Hampshire: The Manchester police station and a few other scenes
  • Manchester, New Hampshire: Main filming area and the story's setting
  • Bedford, New Hampshire: Filming

Props and costumes

The FAQ says every Stab film from Stab 6 on used the replica Buck 120s donated by Pop's Props, so this film used replicas and not a real knife.

Robert Doe wore the Ghost Face costume on the first day of filming, in the Campbell opening and in Mackenzie's attack. Joshua Patrick Dudley wore it for the opening death and the attack on Shannon and Sarah.

The first title sequence test plays with blood and knives. It leaves out the opening part where the T gets stabbed.

Killers & Deaths

The killers

Rachel Arnold

Played by
Rachel Alexandria Arnold
Motive
Planning a new string of murders to make a new Stab film after Stab 5 and Stab 6 failed at the box office.
Death
Unknown. Filming stopped before the ending.

Ghost of Joshua Dudley

Played by
Joshua Patrick Dudley
Motive
Back from the grave to help Rachel train a new Ghost Face killer.
Death
Unknown. Filming stopped before the ending.

The new Ghost Face (identity never revealed)

Played by
Joshua Patrick Dudley and Robert Doe in the costume
Motive
Trained by Rachel and Joshua's ghost. No other motive was shown.
Death
Unknown. Filming stopped before the ending.

Deaths

Alana O'Neil

Played by
Alisha Winslow
How
Killed by Ghost Face in the opening death sequence
Where
The opening death sequence. Nate Stevens and Colton Grimes are also in the scene.
By
Ghost Face

Mackenzie Morrison

Played by
Lindsey Klossner
How
Gets a disturbing phone call, then takes a few stab wounds. The scene was never completed, and Ghost Face's lines were meant to be dubbed in later.
Where
Not stated. The scene was never finished, but every take that was shot was posted.
By
Ghost Face

Merchandise

  • Screenplay book: 220-page paperback from JDuDs Productions, ISBN 978-0359978311, with new images, cast interviews and a new foreword by Joshua Patrick Dudley. The store gives October 17, 2019 as the publication date. The news post announcing it is dated October 14, 2019. Sold through Lulu, Amazon, Books-A-Million and Apple Books.
  • Screenplay eBook on Lulu, announced October 21, 2019.
  • An earlier edition of the Knife of the Hunter script was announced on January 29, 2019, before the updated re-release.

All StabMovies.com’s Stab Movies titles