Movies
Update: After Dark Horrorfest 4 Lines Up ‘The Graves’
The trailer is now available below! The first addition to After Dark Horrorfest 4 was announced today by After Dark Films’ CEO Courtney Solomon. It’s now official that the After Dark Horrorfest will take place January 29, 2010. The new title joining the 8 Films to Die For lineup is The Graves, written and directed by Brian Pulido. You can read more about the announcement below.
Pulido, a well known comic book writer and creator of such titles as Lady Death and Evil Ernie, makes his feature directorial debut on the film. The films stars Clare Grant, Jillian Murray, Bill Moseley, Lamb of God singer D. Randall Blythe and Tony Todd. Brian Ronalds and Dean Ronalds of Ronalds Brothers Productions and Francisca Pulido of Mischief Maker Studios produced. Adam Goldfine is the Director of Photography. Dana Lambert, VP of Acquisitions at After Dark Films brokered the deal with Ted Chalmers of Moving Pictures Film & TV who represented the filmmakers in the negotiations.
In The Graves, two inseparable sisters, Megan and Abby Graves, are taking one last wild road trip before Megan has to start a new job. The journey includes a trip through remote Arizona in search of a kitchy roadside attraction. Instead, Megan and Abby happen on Skull City Mine, a weather-beaten, abandoned mine town converted into a self-guided tour. What seems like a fun day in the sun turns into a mind-bending fight for survival against menaces both human and supernatural.
“Brian’s background and knowledge of the horror world has served him incredibly well. He has directed a film that audiences are going to find both scary and immensely entertaining. The Graves is simply great edgy fun and we’re excited to have it as part of our line up.” stated After Dark Partner/CEO Courtney Solomon.
“Mischief Maker Studios and Ronalds Brothers Productions are pleased that their first foray together has produced a theatrical feature film,” says Mischief Maker Studios COO Francisca Pulido. “Brian Pulido continues to deliver the goods to horror fans. The Graves is a fun, date night horror flick.”
After Dark Horrorfest 4 runs for one week in theatres across the United States from January 29nd – February 5th, making it the largest nationwide film festival.
Movies
‘Abigail’ on Track for a Better Opening Weekend Than Universal’s Previous Two Vampire Attempts
In the wake of Leigh Whannell’s Invisible Man back in 2020, Universal has been struggling to achieve further box office success with their Universal Monsters brand. Even in the early days of the pandemic, Invisible Man scared up $144 million at the worldwide box office, while last year’s Universal Monsters: Dracula movies The Last Voyage of the Demeter and Renfield didn’t even approach that number when you COMBINE their individual box office hauls.
The horror-comedy Renfield came along first in April 2023, ending its run with just $26 million. The period piece Last Voyage of the Demeter ended its own run with a mere $21 million.
But Universal is trying again with their ballerina vampire movie Abigail this weekend, the latest bloodbath directed by the filmmakers known as Radio Silence (Ready or Not, Scream).
Unlike Demeter and Renfield, the early reviews for Abigail are incredibly strong, with our own Meagan Navarro calling the film “savagely inventive in terms of its vampiric gore,” ultimately “offering a thrill ride with sharp, pointy teeth.” Read her full review here.
That early buzz – coupled with some excellent trailers – should drive Abigail to moderate box office success, the film already scaring up $1 million in Thursday previews last night. Variety notes that Abigail is currently on track to enjoy a $12 million – $15 million opening weekend, which would smash Renfield ($8 million) and Demeter’s ($6 million) opening weekends.
Working to Abigail‘s advantage is the film’s reported $28 million production budget, making it a more affordable box office bet for Universal than the two aforementioned movies.
Stay tuned for more box office reporting in the coming days.
In Abigail, “After a group of would-be criminals kidnap the 12-year-old ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure, all they have to do to collect a $50 million ransom is watch the girl overnight. In an isolated mansion, the captors start to dwindle, one by one, and they discover, to their mounting horror, that they’re locked inside with no normal little girl.”
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