By MICHAEL GINGOLD
A group of up-and-coming directors have the titular mission in the new horror anthology.
Falling Flame Pictures’ debut feature SCARE US has found distribution with Virgil Films & Entertainment, and the movie will be released to virtual cinemas May 21, followed by DVD on June 29. The omnibus chiller features segments directed by Ryan Henry Johnston, Charlotte Lilt, Tom J. McCoy, Carl Jensen IV, Jordan Pillar and Ryan Kjolberg, and the writers are Will Hirsch, Johnston, McCoy, Jensen, Pillar and Kjolberg. Lilt is also one of the lead actors along with Tom Sandoval, Michael Alvarez, Ethan Drew and Michelle Palermo; the synopsis: “A chilling horror anthology comprising five short stories, penned by an unlikely group of aspiring writers, in Sugarton–a small town plagued by the apparent return of an infamous serial killer, dubbed ‘Cutthroat.’ They’ve come to share their scary stories (with each other and the bookstore owner, Peter, who leads the group), but soon discover they’ve become the stars of a sick killer’s own twisted tale.”
Falling Flame Pictures CEO Jason Wiechert, who produced SCARE US with Johnston and Robyn Sturgis, tells RUE MORGUE about the genesis of the project: “Back in 2016, Ryan and I talked at length about our mutual interest in creating and producing an anthology with several stories tied together by a central main story, co-directed, in part, by unknown, talented filmmakers. We both felt that anthology movies were going to be popular again. Fast forward to the summer of 2019, and I finally secured the backing to produce our dream project.
“We knew Arizona was an untapped resource with huge potential, filled with a variety of talented filmmakers and actors, but lacking the platform for our peers to showcase their short-form film content on a bigger scale,” he continues. “We loved the prospect of getting local independent filmmakers together for one common goal. Teams would work independently on their own short films, but for the sole purpose of combining them on a much larger scale to create an Arizona-based full feature film.
“With a horror anthology, you can have multiple concepts and visions in a single film, held together by a frame story that affords directors the opportunity to express their independent artistic visions, styles and tones. In so doing, you don’t just get one style of horror, but instead a smorgasbord that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. I hope audiences appreciate what I feel are three of the coolest, most unique aspects of the movie: each of the five main characters telling their short story also plays the main character in the story they tell. Fans of Tom Sandoval from VANDERPUMP RULES get a chance to see him do something very different, and each story has its own style, tone and subgenre. Our goal was to create an anthology every type of horror fan can enjoy, and I hope they all do.”
Keep your eyes on SCARE US’ official website for details on the virtual cinema release.
