The dates and newest addition for After Dark Horrorfest III were announced today by After Dark Films' CEO Courtney Solomon. The After Dark Horrorfest will take place January 2-9, 2009 marking its third year. The new title joining the 8 Films to Die For lineup is From Within, directed by Phedon Papamichael (Director of Photography on "3:10 to Yuma" and the upcoming "W") and written by Brad Keene. The films stars Elizabeth Rice, Thomas Dekker, Kelly Blatz, Laura Allen, Adam Goldberg, along with Rumer Willis. Adrian Butchart and Chris Gibbin produced. Josh Beane co-produced and John Moshay and Bumble Ward served as executive producers. Dana Lambert, VP of Acquisitions at After Dark brokered the deal with Cinetic Media who represented the filmmakers in the negotiations. From Within premiered at the 2008 Tribeca film festival.
In From Within, a rash of suicides hit the small community of Grovetown, causing fear and panic among local residents. As those around 18-year-old Lindsay continue to die gruesome deaths, she begins to distrust everyone and suspects she will become the next victim.
"We've been fans of the After Dark Horrorfest 8 Films to Die For series since it blasted onto the scene two years ago. We feel that we are in great company this year since the films look to be the best yet. We are delighted to have From Within take part in the latest installment," stated Butchart.
This year, After Dark Films produced three of the eight films to be showcased in Horrorfest III's 8 Films to Die For series that include: Slaughter, Perkins 14 and Butterfly Effect: Revelation (see additional information on these titles below). These films join Gaumont Films' The Broken, as part of Horrorfest. Three more soon-to-be-announced films will round out the lineup.
"After Dark Horrorfest III is poised to deliver more high quality horror films that our fan base has grown to expect from the 8 Films To Die For Series," stated After Dark Partner/CEO Courtney Solomon. "We take a lot of pride in delivering films that span the entire horror genre. In addition, we are very pleased to be adding From Within to this year's Horrorfest. The film has an excellent premise that delves into areas previously unseen in past Horrorfest films, and is a worthy companion to our previously announced slate."
After Dark Horrorfest III runs over the course of one week in theatres across the United States from January 2nd - 9th, making it the largest film festival in the world. In it's initial 2006 run, this unique festival was the first of its kind, celebrating the horror genre by showcasing films that run the spectrum of horror from thrillers to gore to the supernatural, and became the first film festival in history to break into the top 10 at the national box office, grossing over 2.5 million dollars, on only a quarter of the screens of any other film in the top ten that weekend.
In conjunction with YouTube, After Dark Films will also renew its search for the next great queen of scream - Miss Horrorfest III, the official spokesperson of Horrorfest. Contestants can submit 90-second videos on YouTube and participate in live auditions to be held in October 7 in New York and October 9 in Los Angeles, in the hopes of winning the coveted title of Miss Horrorfest III. In one of the most popular contests in YouTube history, users have the ability to influence the selection by voting live online all the way through to the crowning of the next Miss Horrorfest. Audiences can log on to YouTube.com/Horrorfest to cast their vote.
For more information on After Dark Horrorfest III, including how to purchase tickets and all access passes to this hair-raising national event, please visit the official website at HorrorfestOnline.com.
The After Dark Horrorfest III Lineup to date:
The Broken
DIRECTOR: Sean Ellis
PRODUCER: Lene Bausager
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Franck Chorot
WRITTEN BY: Sean Ellis
CAST: Lena Headey, Richard Jenkins, Asier Newman and Melvil Poupaud
SYNOPSIS: The psychological thriller premiered in January at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. In The Broken, a successful radiologist (Lena Headey) has her life spiral out of control when she sees the spitting image of herself driving down a London street. While attempting to uncover who the imposter could be, she stumbles into a terrifying mystery that her family and closest friends are somehow involved in, leaving her with no one she can trust.
Butterfly Effect: Revelation
DIRECTOR: Seth Grossman
PRODUCERS: J.C. Spinks and A.J. Dix
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Courtney Solomon, Laura Ivey, Stephanie Caleb
WRITTEN BY: Holly Brix
CAST: Chris Carmack, Rachel Miner and Mistress Malice
SYNOPSIS: In the third installment of the popular franchise, Butterfly Effect: Revelation revolves around a young man who discovers he has inherited the powers of "The Butterfly Effect" and attempts to solve the mystery of his high school girlfriend's death using his newfound ability, only to unwittingly unleash a vicious serial killer.
DIRECTED BY: Stewart Hopewell
PRODUCED BY: Chris Milburn, Matthew Kuipers, Aimée Barth and Eryl Cochran Woodlief
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Courtney Solomon, Laura Ivey, Stephanie Caleb
CO-PRODUCER: Beau Genot
WRITTEN BY: Stewart Hopewell and Tim Long
CAST:
SYNOPSIS: In Slaughter, a young woman thinks she is leaving her abusive life behind when she moves to Atlanta and ends up living at her friend's family farm. But she quickly learns that abuse comes in even crueler forms.
Perkins 14
DIRECTED BY: Craig Singer
PRODUCED BY: Chris Milburn, Matthew Kuipers and Jeremy Donaldson
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Courtney Solomon, Laura Ivey, Stephanie Caleb, Brett Icahn, Kenneth Woo
CO-PRODUCER: Beau Genot
WRITTEN BY: Lane Shadgett; Story By: Jeremy Donaldson
CAST: Richard Brake, Patrick O'Kane, Shayla Beesley, Mihaela Mihut, Michale Graves, Katherine Pawlak, Trey Farley, Josh Davidson
SYNOPSIS: Perkins 14 is the winner of the After Dark Films and Massify.com venture dubbed "Ghosts in the Machine." It's the first feature film developed entirely via the internet and gave the Massify.com community the tools to create, submit and choose the idea for a unique motion picture. The winning pitch and audience selection was Perkins' 14. The film revolves around the arrest of a suspected murderer and the bloodshed that follows.