Hickeys

Hickeys, written and directed by Ella Rhodes is a horror film set against the backdrop of 1983 Los Angeles' hardcore punk scene. The story follows Vivian, a young lesbian runaway who finds a home with a reckless punk band, the Hickeys, only to discover on the night of their first gig, that her new chosen family are bloodthirsty vampires. As betrayal and survival collide, Vivian must fight her way out of a world she once thought was her sanctuary.

Bringing Hickeys to life required an immersive, hands-on approach to production design, transforming both studio spaces and real locations into the raw, chaotic world of 1980s punk. Every set was carefully constructed and dressed to enhance the film’s themes of rebellion, entrapment, and horror.
A major undertaking was the complete construction of the film’s green room in a UCLA film studio. Built from the ground up, we created brick walls, sourced and arranged all furniture and set dressings, and hung heavy black curtains to give the space a gritty, enclosed feel. This room serves as the film’s central turning point—where Vivian’s perception of her new life shatters—so it needed to feel claustrophobic, grimy, and unmistakably punk.
For the punk venue, we transformed a downtown Los Angeles location into a fully realized 1983 hardcore show. This involved dressing the space with over 600 hand-picked punk flyers, layering in period-accurate furniture, cigarette butts, and trash, and installing custom sconces and a faux wall with a functional door to integrate the green room seamlessly. These details not only anchored the film in its time period but also heightened the authenticity of its underground setting.
Beyond set dressing, we designed and built practical elements to enhance the film’s horror and fight sequences. This included breakaway bottles for stunt work and blood rugs to manage the intense violence while maintaining continuity and ease of cleanup. These elements ensured that the film’s brutal climax felt visceral, without compromising safety or efficiency on set.