In 2007, starry-eyed Western New Yorker Kris Hulbert moved to Los Angeles with visions of hitting it big as a filmmaker. This summer, he’s bringing his dream back to Buffalo in hopes of striking a deal with local companies who want to be in pictures, too.

Hulbert, along with five friends who make up Gratwick Films, needs $80,000 to make their feature-length horror film “The Perfect House.” He’s hoping to fund it almost entirely through the sale of brand integration advertising, pitching the paid spots to Buffalo companies and promising on-screen publicity for local products in exchange for cash.

“Our plan of attack is to start with parts of our story that are ripe for product placement,” said Hulbert. “Obviously it would have to work for the company and for the story so it doesn’t come off as a commercial.”

While product placement has been a staple of moviemaking income since the days of silent films, the typical film budget rarely relies on more than 25 percent of its funding coming from in-movie ads.

“Usually product placement is used to augment a film’s budget. I’ve never heard of it making up the entire thing,” said Tim Clark, Buffalo Niagara Film commissioner. “It’s an uncon-

ventional way of doing a movie.”

For advertisers, product placement can work, but only under the best circumstances, according to Charles Lindsey, assistant professor of marketing at the University at Buffalo’s School of Management.

“It needs to be credible [and] appropriate for the given story line, situation and characters,” he said.

Lindsay gave examples of well received product placements: Reese’s Pieces in “E. T.,” Dr Pepper in “Forrest Gump,” and White Castle burgers in “Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle.”

Logical placements in Hulbert’s movie include a car dealership (the director uses a license plate frame as an establishing shot), a brand of beer (the villain clutches a brew during pivotal moments) and a restaurant (the bad guy’s apartment is littered with take-out containers).

But for other advertisers, Gratwick Films is not above weaving new products into the story line.

Tiffany Pompeo decided to sign on as much for the exposure the film might provide for her gift basket business as she did to support a fellow Buffalonian.

“[The idea is] to get that recognition for Buffalo and to do something positive. He doesn’t even live here anymore and he’s still trying to do something to promote [Buffalo],” said Pompeo. “I said I would definitely help.”

Pompeo runs That’s Amore Gift Baskets out of her home in Lake View. Her gift baskets will appear inside the couple’s “perfect house” as they’re welcomed into their new home. That’s Amore will also be acknowledged in the film’s closing credits.

The company already does a steady business, Pompeo said, but if an appearance in the film puts her product on the radar of someone who is not familiar with it, all the better.

“There’s always room to kick it up a notch,” she said. “If it happens, that would be great. That’s what we’re hoping for.”

The Como restaurant in Niagara Falls slashed its prices for the Gratwick Films shoot in return for publicity (the restaurant will be thanked in the film’s end credits).

Four other people — mostly friends and acquaintances of people involved in the film — have each bought one of the 16 shares being sold in the movie at a rate of $5,000 apiece. Though many, many independent films never see a return on investment, Hulbert likes to point to the once-in-a-lifetime payday enjoyed by investors in such small independent films as “The Blair Witch Project” and “Paranormal Activity.” “The Blair Witch Project,” shot for $22,000, raked in $248 million worldwide, while “Paranormal Activity,” with a budget of $15,000 made $183 million worldwide.

Of course, the real payoff of product placement comes only if people actually see the movie. And “The Perfect House” may never see widespread distribution of any kind.

But when it comes to a town unacquainted with the perceived glitz and glamour of Hollywood, there’s another kind of pull at work for potential investors.

“I’m the first to admit that being on a movie set is exciting. It’s electric. And that allure is what attracts people,” said Clark. “That was exemplified when hundreds of people stood on a frozen corner during the filming of ‘Henry’s Crime,’ hoping to catch a glimpse of a person down the street they thought might be Keanu Reeves.”

“The Perfect House” brushes up against some B-list fame itself. Scream Queen Felissa Rose, made famous in 1983’s cult favorite slasher “Sleepaway Camp,” has signed onto the film. And the person scoring it, Frederik Wiedmann, worked as a sound mixer on “Legion,” a Hollywood apocalyptic thriller released in January.

Hulbert says he has “verbal commitment” for four days of shooting with another male cult actor favorite, made famous in a series of indie films that eventually launched several A-list stars and catapulted their writer and director to stardom. Because he has not been signed yet, Hulbert did not want the actor’s name printed.

But Gratwick Films — named after the neighborhood in North Tonawanda where the tight-knit group of friends grew up — is very much unproven. Its previous work includes a couple of slapped-together You- Tube videos and a crude film called “First Timers” shot over a weekend for $500 with a rented camera. “First Timers” screened at the Riviera Theatre in North Tonawanda and a few film festivals.

The trailer for “The Perfect House” was funded by donations from friends and family solicited on Facebook. Wiedmann “extremely discounted” the price of his services for the indie film, Rose agreed to film the trailer gratis, and the entire film crew — mostly made up of friends and acquaintances — is donating their skills.

Still, even if the movie proves the exception to the rule — is actually seen and makes money — how do advertisers feel about their brand being associated with a slasher pic?

“It’s a horror film, so I hope they’re not throwing the baskets at each other or anything,” said Pompeo. “But we’ll work it out.”

Pompeo isn’t sweating it, but she raises a good point. Who wants their beer swilled by a serial killer or their takeout boxes strewn about a murderer’s bachelor pad?

“In horror movies the bad guys draw the most attention, are played by the biggest talent attached,” said Hulbert. “So if you are looking for a creative, unique way to put your product front and center, the bad guy is the way to go.”