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Exclusive ‘Downrange’ Imagery Leaves Blood Splattered Across the Pavement
Ryuhei Kitamura is heading to TIFF’s Midnight Madness with Downrange, a “terrifying” new thriller starring newcomer Kelly Connaire, Stephanie Pearson (Insidious: Chapter 2), Rod Hernandez-Farella, Anthony Kirlew, Alexa Yeames (The CW’s The Originals), and Jason Tobias (ABC Television’s Notorious).
Kitamura, who directed the action-packed Japanese zombie film Versus, as well as Alive, Godzilla: Final Wars, Lionsgate’s Clive Barker adaptation of The Midnight Meat Train, and WWE’s slasher No One Lives, now he’s taking aim at festival success with this vicious look genre film that’s a throwback to 70’s thrillers.
Bloody Disgusting has a trio of exclusive new images from Downrange that, much like the below trailer, leaves brains and blood splattered across the hot pavement.
In the film, “Six college students are carpooling cross-country when one of their tires blows out on a desolate stretch of country road. Getting out to fix the flat, they quickly discover that this was no accident. The tire was shot out. With their vehicle incapacitated, the group is pinned down and mercilessly attacked by an unseen assailant as they desperately attempt to find a way to escape.”
Produced by Kitamura and Eleven Arts’ Ko Mori (Lords of Chaos, Man From Reno, Uzumasa Limelight), the film is executive produced by Taro Maki (In This Corner of the World). Screenplay is by Joey O’Bryan (Motorway, Fulltime Killer), with a story by O’Bryan and Kitamura.
“While I’ve created single location films in the past, Downrange marks a new style of storytelling for me, wherein sustained, breathless terror in a singular location is what drives the entire plot, “Kitamura explained. “We’ve crafted a film in which is fueled by relentless dread, and are very excited to share it with horror and suspense fans around the world.”
Kitamura is said to have unleashed an uncompromising vision with Downrange, creating a minimalist thriller with maximum tension. His filmmaking is as stylish as ever but leaner and meaner than ever before.
We have an exclusive first look at A Man in the Woods With an Axe, a blood-soaked, genre-twisting homage to 1980s slasher films.
Spanning four decades, A Man in the Woods With an Axe begins in the summer of 1987 before pushing into the modern era, weaving together timelines and perspectives in a way that builds both dread and intrigue.
Drawing inspiration from genre standouts like Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, Hatchet, and The Cabin in the Woods, the film blends visceral horror with moments of dark humor, creating a uniquely balanced experience that honors tradition while carving its own identity.
Writer-director Dillon Brown (Primal Darkness) aims to deliver everything fans crave from a slasher while boldly subverting expectations with a mid-film twist that redefines the story.
“This is an unapologetic love letter to the films that made me fall in love with horror,” Brown tells Bloody Disgusting. “But I didn’t just want to recreate that feeling; I wanted to challenge it. About halfway through, the film takes a turn that completely changes how you view not only this story, but the genre itself.”
Brown describes the vintage-inspired production as “far and away the bloodiest film I’ve ever made,” with practical effects helmed by Cody Ruch (The Mill, Pig Hill), an instructor at Tom Savini’s Special Make-Up Effects Program.
From Horror Dadz Productions, A Man in the Woods With an Axe is currently in production and targeting an early 2027 release.
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