By MICHAEL GINGOLD
The film will see wider exposure following its Panic Fest screening next week.
Welcome Villain Films has announced that it has picked up the Australian horror feature BEATEN TO DEATH and will release it this summer. Directed by Sam Curtain and scripted by Curtain and Benjamin Jung-Clarke, it stars Thomas Roach, David Tracy, Justan Wagner and Nicole Tudor, and has been compared to past Aussie films as WOLF CREEK and THE LOVED ONES. The synopsis: “BEATEN TO DEATH unfolds after a desperate choice leads a man named Jack [Roach] down a path that leaves him beaten and bruised as he struggles against man, nature, and his own insanity. Stranded in the middle of nowhere after barely surviving a horrific assault, Jack encounters one local after another and quickly learns that a sick game of cat and mouse is about to begin. Battling the deranged country psychos and the harsh landscape, Jack must go to extreme lengths to survive.”
“From the initial story inception, I wanted to achieve two things,” says Curtain. “I knew I wanted to create a visceral and violent experience, but I also wanted to find beauty in the frame. This is partially the reason why I decided to shoot it myself, to capture everything in the moment, in a hands-on, tactile way, connecting the direction between the actor, the lens, and myself. The violent scenes are designed to shock and disturb, and I embrace the ride of emotions the audience experiences alongside Jack.”
“BEATEN TO DEATH is an absolute beast of a film, and is the type of boundary-pushing gut punch that the genre needs right now–it floored us,” says Luke LaBeau, Welcome Villain’s head of development. “Not only is it loaded with extreme, unrelenting violence, but it is just an incredibly well-made film on virtually every level. And in speaking with Sam and Ben, it was clear we were on the same wavelength from the start, which made this partnership even more exciting.”
Adds Eric Kleifield, Welcome Villain’s head of creative, “We love Outback horror, and this film lives up to its name and then some. Our motto is to be ‘a safe space for dangerous films,’ and this, most certainly, is a very dangerous film that will stick with viewers long after the credits roll. We’re proud to have BEATEN TO DEATH as part of the Welcome Villain family.”
BEATEN TO DEATH had its world premiere at Australia’s A Night of Horror International Film Festival, and has attracted controversy for its extreme brutality. It screens at Panic Fest next Tuesday, April 18, followed by a showing at Fantastic Film Festival Australia April 28.
