Indie
AFM ’09: Get High, ‘Comedown’ Hard
One of my favorite parts of the American Film Market is discovering all of the hidden gems hiding within the event. One of the cooler looking films going into production is Menhaj Huda’s Comedown, from AV- Pictures. The urban horror film stars Martin Compston and Geoff Bell and promises quite a comedown after your high. You can check out the sales art and synopsis below.
“Mercy Point, a high-rise tower block conceived and built in the sixties, condemned in the nineties. Abandoned by all, it is now home to a brooding malevolence, and what resides within its empty floors is truly terrifying.
LLOYD, a young man in his early 20’s, is facing the reality of fatherhood, determined to rise above the pervading knife culture and bleak environment he calls home. He’s back after time away in jail, reunited with the crew he left behind: GARY – pyromaniac joker of the pack, JASON – Lloyd’s Alpha male rival, COL – Jason’s slow-witted lackey with a crush on; KELLY – boisterous and text obsessed, joined at the hip to; YASMINE – Lloyd’s pregnant girlfriend.
Jason receives a call from pirate radio station Skank, broadcasts have been severely disrupted by the loss of one of its relay aerial transmitters. There’s a cash incentive and free drugs in return for erecting a new transmitter and the perfect high-rise location looms overhead – Mercy Point.
Loaded with aerial transmitter, narcotics and alcohol, and using their mobile phones as torches, the crew venture into Mercy Point. Once inside and up on the 20th floor, they begin to fight, fall out and fracture. Setting up the aerial, tuned to ‘Skank Radio’, Jason, Gary , Col and Kelly try to salvage the evening. Booze is downed, grass is smoked and pills are popped. Lloyd declines the drugs, but that doesn’t stop Jason spiking his drink.
Events take a terrifying twist when Yasmine is snatched from the roof. Realising their friend has disappeared, yet at odds with each other, the frightened youths search the dark, eerily hollow interior of the tower. Doors bolted, stairways obstructed, lift now inoperable, they find themselves trapped in a hazardous, concrete labyrinth and when the pills kick in – the real terror begins. As the crew begin tripping out in the darkness, someone is exacting their own psychotic revenge, intent on ensuring the kids never come down alive.
A deranged tenant, living a solitary existence, is on a mission to eradicate what he sees as vermin invading his home. And just like rats the kids can run, they can hide, but no one knows this tower like this tenant.
In order to survive the terror, this tough gang of youngsters must put their differences aside if they are to overcome their relentless adversary, or find themselves condemned to a high-rise hell.
Comedown is a terrifying teen horror, real kids’ relationships in the midst of truly tripped-out horror and tension. The raw teenage angst of KiDULTHOOD grows up to meet the all-too-real terror of Wolf Creek .“
Her House of Horrors, the horror division of Independent Production House WOMXNOGRAPHY, has launched its Bite Size Short Grant Program, ahead of its film festival Dollhouse of Horror, which will take place in March 2025 in Los Angeles, CA.
The Bite Size Short Grant Program awards $2,000 film grants to female-identifying and queer horror filmmakers. Shorts must be able to be made for $2,000, with a minimum runtime of 8 minutes. Submissions are now open on Filmfreeway, and are being judged by a panel of horror lovers and content creators.
The 2024 Bite Size Short Grant Program judge lineup is as follows:
“James H. Carter II- A documentary director, film producer, podcaster, marketing specialist, and writer. James is the founder and co-owner of Creepy Kingdom. Creepy Kingdom was founded in 2011 and is a multimedia website, and production studio specializing in creepy content. Their primary focus lies at the intersection of childlike fantasy and the macabre, covering horror films, theme parks, haunts, and much more. Beyond their extensive media coverage, Creepy Kingdom hosts events, offers original merchandise, and engages in film production under the Creepy Kingdom Studios brand producing original films like “Foolish Mortals”, exploring Disney’s “Haunted Mansion” fan culture, and “Georgie”, featuring Tony Dakota from the original “It” miniseries.
“In addition to founding Creepy Kingdom, James has won awards for his documentary work, including the award-winning “Foolish Mortals,” which has earned him recognition. He has been featured on Freeform’s 31 Nights of Halloween special.
“Ashleeta Beauchamp is the editor-in-chief of Peek-A-Boo! Magazine, a cheeky horror magazine created to uplift marginalized writers, artists, models and other creators within the horror community. She also runs The Halloween Coalition, a community group to provide support and marketing for horror and Halloween events around the Southern California area.
“Titeanya Rodríguez is a multi-hyphenate creative, and the founder and owner of HER HOUSE OF HORRORS, home of DOLLHOUSE OF HORROR and the horror division of WOMXNOGRAPHY. As a fellow storyteller and a self-proclaimed artivist, Titeanya’s mission is to create opportunities for women of color and queer women, across film, tv, sports, music, and beyond. She is also the creator of the BITE SIZE SHORT grant program.”
Winners will have a one-night theatrical screening at Regal Cinemas. Submissions Close April 8 at Midnight. Winners will be announced on May 27, 2024. Shorts must be shot and through post-production by June 30, 2024. The screening will take place on July 8, 2024, in Los Angeles, CA.
WOMXNOGRAPHY, HER HOUSE OF HORRORS, and Rodriguez are represented by Azhar PR, Granderson Des Rochers, and Kinsella Holley Iser Kump Steinsapir.
To submit your short to the Bite Size Short Grant Program, go to the FilmFreeway link here.
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