‘Dead of Summer’ Cast Recalls Their Creepy Time Shooting the Series

Damian Holbrook June 28, 2016

Dead of Summer – Eli Goree, Mark Indelicato, Amber Coney, Elizabeth Lail — Katie Yu/Freeform

DEAD OF SUMMER - "Patience" - Set in the late 1980s, school is out for the summer and a sun-drenched season of firsts beckons the counselors at Camp Stillwater, a seemingly idyllic Midwestern summer camp, including first loves, first kisses—and first kills. Stillwater’s dark, ancient mythology awakens, and what was supposed to be a summer of fun soon turns into one of unforgettable scares and evil at every turn. (Freeform/Katie Yu) ELI GOREE, MARK INDELICATO, AMBER CONEY, ELIZABETH LAIL

Still waters run deep, but the mysteries of Camp Stillwater run even deeper in Freeform’s new horror series Dead of Summer. Set in 1989, five years after the camp closed under rather ominous circumstances, the drama centers on a group of counselors who reunite to get the woodsy haven ready for its reopening. And while the camp’s notorious history may make for a killer Summer, the cast had a much more chilling experience shooting deep in the woods of Vancouver this winter.

Zachary Gordon, Mark Indelicato, Amber Coney and Elizabeth Mitchell

Bonding was easy because shared body heat was required to look summer-camp casual in subzero temps. “It was quite cold during our filming of the pilot, and we were often in nothing but our bathing suits,” says Mark Indelicato (Ugly Betty), second from left in the photo above, snuggling with castmates Zachary Gordon, Amber Coney and Elizabeth Mitchell (Lost). “Luckily, our costume crew was always lingering right off camera to give us our coats when the director yelled cut!” Mitchell says.

Elizabeth Lail and Ronen Rubenstein

Look out behind you! Elizabeth Lail’s “new girl,” Amy, and Ronen Rubinstein’s prepster hottie, Alex, get a fright in the campfire scene above, where even a pile of burning wood wasn’t enough to scare off the cold. “Right before they call action I have to take a moment to stop my body from shivering,” Lail confesses. “I’ve also taken to doing squats in between takes in an effort to warm my legs.”

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Elizabeth Lail and Morgan Taylor Campbell

It wasn’t all coats and cold weather. “Sometimes it feels like an actual summer camp on set,” Lail acknowledges, letting loose in a flashback scene (above) with Morgan Taylor Campbell, who plays her pal Margo. Indelicato echoes: “The sense of kinship among us definitely mimicked the relationships one develops at summer camp. From inside jokes to nicknames, we truly have become close friends.”

Dead of Summer, Series Premiere, Tuesday, June 28, 9/8c, Freeform.