Before founding Flash Film Works, William Mesa directed the film "The Darkening" based on the script by "Amityville Horror" screenwriter John Jones. The film, produced by John Jones and Victoria Parker, is a ghost story starring Jeff Rector. The original visual effects for the film were performed by a number of small companies, under William Mesa's supervision. 

Recently, distribution rights to the film were acquired by Mainline Releasing. The film's name was changed to "The Black Gate" and Flash Film Works was asked to restore the damaged film elements. This painstaking task involved thousands upon thousands of frames of dust removal as well as fixing other imperfections from the original video transfer of the film. Flash Film Works also went back and created several new visual effects shots for the film, updating it for today's more sophisticated audiences.