By MICHAEL GINGOLD
A girls’ school, black gloves and colored lighting are all present and accounted for in the preview.
Terror Films Releasing will bring SATURNALIA to North American digital platforms April 24. Directed by Daniel Lerch from a script he wrote with Julia Nilsen and Darrell Szarka Workman, it stars Sophia Anthony, Velvet, Dante Blake, Amariah Dionne, Maddie Siepe and Morgan Messina, and features music by Italian horror veteran Claudio Simonetti. The synopsis: “Set in 1979, the film centers around Miriam Basconi [Anthony], a young woman shipped off to the prestigious Alstroemerias Academy after the mysterious death of both her parents. From her first day, Miriam senses the academy is not what it seems—students disappear in the night, strange men lurk in the shadows. Amongst its marbled halls lurks the iron grip of Headmistress Hemlock [Velvet], whose cruelty is whispered about in every corridor. Determined to uncover the truth of what’s happening behind closed doors, Miriam stumbles upon something far stranger. A hidden world pulsing within the school itself, a surreal realm where the line between nightmare and reality blurs. To survive Alstroemerias, Miriam must confront not only its sinister authority, but the living, breathing mystery at its core.”
“SATURNALIA is my love letter to 1970s Italian exploitation cinema,” Lerch says. “Making this film allowed us to pay homage to the Italian gialli and supernatural horror films of my youth. It was an exciting challenge to attempt to innovate in such a creative genre, particularly as a period piece. Moviegoers were more patient back then, and filmmakers of the time were not afraid to challenge their audience. We approached our story with the same attitude and sensibility. Getting to collaborate with the legendary composer Claudio Simonetti, founding member of the seminal prog rock band Goblin, was icing on the cake. I remember my first time watching DAWN OF THE DEAD and SUSPIRIA. The music haunted my young mind. Fast forward 30+ years later and, when it was time to discuss who the composer of my first feature would be, the answer was clear in my mind. It simply must be Claudio Simonetti. As Claudio and Goblin defined the sound of the genre, we hope to leave a lasting imprint on the genre ourselves.”
