Movies
Guess What? ‘Before I Wake’ Just Got Pulled From Release
Relativity has dated The Disappointments Room, starring Underworld‘s Kate Beckinsale and Gerald McRaney, for release on September 9, 2016.
“The psychological thriller follows a woman (Beckinsale) who moves into a new house with her 5-year-old son only to discover a secret room within the attic where unimaginable horrors are accidentally unlocked.”
I Am Number Four and Eagle Eye helmer D.J. Caruso rewrote and is directing from an original script by “Prison Break” star Wentworth Miller, who penned last year’s gothic thriller Stoker.
Here’s the catch…
The Disappointments Room took the slot original set for Mike Flanagan’s (Oculus, Hush) Before I Wake, a fresh child-horror film starring Kate Bosworth, Thomas Jane, Dash Mihok, Annabeth Gish and Jacob Tremblay. As of this writing there is no new date for the film, which has been caught in the middle of Relativity’s bankruptcy woes, which included a battle with Netflix. This hurts just as bad as A24 pulling The Blackcoat’s Daughter off their schedule earlier this week.
In Before I Wake, which screened at this past July’s Fantasia Film Festival, “Jessie and Mark, recovering from the death of their young son Sean, decide to take in 8-year-old Cody as a foster child. Cody seems sweet, loving and bright in every way, except that he is afraid to sleep. They soon discover why: Cody’s dreams manifest in reality as he sleeps. In Jessie’s grief, she tries to use Cody’s supernatural abilities to reconnect with her dead son. Soon she discovers that Cody’s nightmares manifest as well, as they experience both the intense wonder – and intense terror – that only a child’s imagination could conjure. To save their new family, Jessie and Mark must uncover the truth behind Cody’s nightmares.“
In the wake of Backrooms and Obsession, everyone is prowling YouTube for horror shorts to adapt and horror filmmakers to scoop up, so don’t be surprised to see a whole bunch of upcoming articles about YouTube success stories crossing over into theaters. One horror short that’s already been picked up for expansion is Dolly director Rod Blackhurst’s Alone Time.
The 12-minute short was uploaded in 2014 and has amassed nearly 2 million views at the time of this article being written, and Deadline reports that it’s getting a feature adaptation.
Witchcraft Motion Picture Company & Fever Dream will turn the viral short into a feature film.
Alone Time follows Ann Saunders, a young NY professional whose carefully constructed life begins to unravel following a devastating personal loss. “Seeking refuge from a collapsing relationship, a deteriorating family situation, and mounting emotional trauma, Ann reluctantly joins her closest friend on a remote camping trip deep in the Adirondack wilderness.”
The synopsis continues, “When her friend mysteriously disappears, Ann becomes convinced that an unseen figure is stalking her through the forest. What begins as a survival nightmare slowly transforms into something far more disturbing as fractured memories, conflicting realities, and hidden truths force Ann to confront the possibility that the greatest threat may not be lurking in the woods at all, but buried deep within her own psych.”
“Alone Time has quietly followed me for over a decade,” director Rod Blackhurst said in a statement. “What began as a short film about isolation and the weight of life now feels more relevant than ever. The original short found its audience organically online long before that was considered a legitimate path for filmmakers. Bringing it to life as a feature allows us to explore those themes on a much larger and more psychologically unsettling canvas.”
Blackhurst is directing the feature length expansion.
You can watch the original Alone Time short film below.
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