Portland is obviously known for being weird, and if we are being really honest, so is Nicolas Cage. Which makes for a perfect pairing, with sightings and subsequent news of the actor’s arrival in Portland earlier this week. If you haven’t yet read the synopsis of his current project, Pig, it tells the story of a truffle hunter who is forced to face his past while recovering his stolen foraging pig. You’re not alone if that plot makes you feel, well, odd. Even director Michael Sarnoski told Vice, “I’m thrilled for us all to be bringing this strange world to life.”

While the spotlight has recently fallen on this project, there have actually been a few dark and strange, star-studded projects filming around Portland this year. Here’s a little insight into the twisted worlds we’ve been helping create here at Gearhead.

It’s hard to find information on Lorelei, a feature-length film that quietly shot in Portland earlier this year. Starring Jena Malone (The Hunger Games) and Pablo Schreiber (Orange Is the New Black), Lorelei is the story of Wayland (Schreiber) reacquainting with his high school sweetheart Dolores (Malone) after being released from prison, and the love story that ensues. Produced by Kevin Chinoy of The Florida Project, it is the first feature written and directed by AFI graduate Sabrina Doyle.

Speaking of debuts, Dave Franco directed his first film, The Rental, on the Oregon coast in April. According to Deadline, the Rental is a “character-driven horror thriller about two couples who rent a vacation home for what should be a celebratory weekend get-away.” Cue the suspense and intrigue! And probably an Airbnb. Franco’s wife and frequent collaborator Alison Brie stars alongside Dan Stevens (Beauty and the Beast, Downton Abbey) and Jeremy Allen White (Shameless).

Oprah Winfrey was also in Portland this year, at least in spirit. Harpo Films produced The Water Man, in which a boy, hoping to save his ill mother, runs away in search of a mythical Water Man with healing powers to cheat death. Another directorial debut, this is David Oyelowo’s first time behind the camera having starred in Selma. The Water Man also has an impressive cast, starring Lonnie Chavis (This Is Us), Rosario Dawson, Alfred Molina, and Maria Bello.

Possibly the darkest and most terrifying project of the year, The Birch centers on the relationship between a monster tree protecting an innocent teenager, summoning the guardian in times of crisis. Based on the 2016 short film of the same name, the 15-episode series is the first of many horror-themed projects for Facebook’s new VOD platform.

Most of us don’t think of David Cross (Arrested Development), David Koechner (The Office, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy), and Cameron Esposito (Take My Wife, Mother’s Day) as dark and sinister, but their most recent project found them deep in the Oregon woods. Along with Debra Messing, this stacked cast took on the feature-length The Dark Divide. Based on the award-winning memoir by Robert Pyle, Cross stars as the protagonist, trekking through Washington’s Gifford Pinchot National Forest where he (spoiler alert) finds bigfoot. With that cast, the real surprise will be if the film is without humor.

As these projects start to hit the airwaves, you may feel that you missed a wealth of celebrity sightings around Portland. But never fear. As darkness descends on the city, both in weather and in Cage-rage, know that you could stumble on to a live set at any time. Hashtag, CageWatch2019.