Today the LA Film Festival unveiled the Nightfall section that includes six new genre films, detailed below.
The 2016 LA Film Festival will screen a diverse slate of feature films, shorts and web series, along with programs such as the Filmmaker Retreat, Coffee Talks and Master Classes. The Festival runs June 1-9, 2016 at the ArcLight Cinemas.
The 2016 LA Film Festival, which will have its headquarters at the ArcLight Culver City, announces a diverse slate of 56 feature films, 58 short films and 13 short episodic works representing 28 countries.
Lights Out, dir. James Wan, USA, World Premiere
David F. Sandberg directed from a screenplay by Eric A. Heisserer’s (The Thing, A Nightmare On Elm Street, Final Destination 5), which was based on Sandberg’s 2013 short film.
Warm Bodies beauty Teresa Palmer, Alexander DiPersia and Gabriel Bateman topline Lights Out, which is produced by James Wan, best known for Saw, Insidious and The Conjuring.
“When Rebecca left home, she thought she left her childhood fears behind. Growing up, she was never really sure of what was and wasn’t real when the lights went out…and now her little brother, Martin, is experiencing the same unexplained and terrifying events that had once tested her sanity and threatened her safety. A frightening entity with a mysterious attachment to their mother, Sophie, has reemerged. But this time, as Rebecca gets closer to unlocking the truth, there is no denying that all their lives are in danger…once the lights go out.”
Wan, who is now in post-production on The Conjuring 2 for Warner Bros., has another franchise on his hands. Lights Out is said to be the next big thing in horror, and the studio is so confident that they’re slating it for release on July 22, 2016.
NIGHTFALL
From the bizarre to the horrifying, these are films to watch after dark.
Abattoir, dir. Darren Lynn Bousman, USA, World Premiere
“Abattoir centers on a real estate reporter who unearths an urban legend about a house being built from rooms where horrific tragedies have occurred. The investigation ultimately leads to the enigmatic Jebediah Crone and the answer to the terrifying question, ‘How do you build a haunted house?’ ”
Dayton Callie, Joe Anderson (Hercules), Jessica Lowndes (Altitude, Autopsy) and Lin Shaye (Insidious) star.
Bousman also reteamed with his Saw III and star J. LaRose, with Bryan Batt of “Mad Men” fame also taking on a role.
Bousman shot Abattoir in New Orleans from a script by Christopher Monfette.
Beyond the Gates, dir. Jackson Stewart, USA, World Premiere
Jackson Stewart, who we consider a great friend of the site, is making his feature directorial debut with Beyond the Gates, a throwback paranormal movie in the spirit of horror classics such as Phantasm, The Beyond, and Poltergeist.
Barbara Crampton (You’re Next), Graham Skipper (Almost Human), Chase Williamson (The Guest), and Brea Grant (Halloween 2) star in the film that also features Matt Mercer (Contracted), Justin Welborn (FX’s “Justified”, The Signal, V/H/S/ Viral), Henry LeBlanc (“The Tonight Show with Jay Leno”), Jesse Merlin (FDR: American Badass), David Bruckner (co-director of V/H/S, The Signal), and Pierson Ryan (“Red Team Go”) round out the cast.
“In Beyond the Gates, two estranged brothers reunite seven months after their father’s disappearance to liquidate his anemic video store. While there, they unearth an old VCR board game that acts as an inter-dimensional hub to a nightmare world where their Father’s soul is trapped and can only be saved by playing the game. The film is an adventure horror that pays loving tribute to the VHS format, video stores, and board games of the era.”
Stewart co-wrote the screenplay with Stephen Scarlata (Jodorowsky’s Dune). Destroy All Entertainment’s Amanda Mortimer will produce alongside Barbara Crampton and Lodger Films partners Georg Kallert and Rob Schroeder. Gabriela Revilla Lugo will executive produce.
Don’t Hang Up, dir. Alexis Wajsbrot, Damien Macé, UK, World Premiere
An evening of drunken prank calls becomes a nightmare for a pair of teenagers when a mysterious stranger turns their own game against them…with deadly consequences.
Mercy, dir. Chris Sparling, USA, World Premiere
Netflix nabbed Mercy late last year, which Chris Sparling — who wrote the 2010 Ryan Reynolds thriller Buried and Gus Van Sant’s The Sea of Trees — wrote and directed.
“Mad Men’s” James Wolk and “Master of Sex’s” Caitlin FitzGerald will star in the home invasion thriller, which recently completed filming.
“The story centers on four estranged brothers who return to their childhood home to be with their dying mother, and find their bond tested after old family secrets begin to surface.”
Tom Lipinski (“The Knick”), Michael Godere (“The Affair”) and Dan Ziskie (“House of Cards”) also star in the film, which is produced by XYZ Films’ Kyle Franke and Nick Spicer and Uncorked Productions’ Andrew D. Corkin along with Robyn Bennett. Netflix is planning on using its new model where it releases the film in theaters first and soon after makes it exclusively available on Netflix.
Officer Downe, dir. M. Shawn Crahan, USA, World Premiere
Based on the graphic novel, a police officer who can’t be stopped by death returns to the streets time and time again to fight crime.
Villisca, dir.Tony Valenzuela, USA, World Premiere
Villisca is a ghost story set in the actual house of the notorious and still unsolved 1912 ax murders. Three outcast teenagers break into the house in search of answers, but discover something far beyond their worst fears.
