Exclusives
‘Cannibal Holocaust’ Companion Piece D-E-A-D
Some bummer news this evening as we’ve learned that Cannibals is officially a dead project. Cannibals was the planned Cannibal Holocaust companion piece that was to be directed by Holocaust helmer Ruggero Deodato from a screenplay by Christine Conradt. No word on why the project died, but hopefully one day it finds a way to be made. The new film was to take Deodato’s rugged documentary style of shooting into the dark city outside of the jungle.
Exclusives
‘Family Dinner’ Director Peter Hengl Returns With Gothic Short ‘The Fated Hour’ [Exclusive]
Family Dinner filmmaker Peter Hengl is back with “The Fated Hour“, a nightmarish Gothic short film executive produced by Kier-La Janisse (Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror), and we have the exclusive first look.
“The Fated Hour” will begin its festival run this summer, with Severin Films handling the film’s North American release.
The synopsis: “Austria, 1810. Three days before her wedding, Florentine visits the grave of her younger sister Seraphine — brilliant, otherworldly, and gone too soon. As the ceremony approaches, Florentine finds herself unable to share in her bridegroom Bruno’s joy. Over dinner, she recounts to him the strange and melancholy story of Seraphine’s life and death — and of the dark legacy she left behind. Soon it becomes clear that Florentine is not merely mourning her sister…“
Alina Schaller (Breaking the Ice), Fanny Altenburger (Counterpart), Cornelius Obonya, and Daniel Holzberg (The Zone of Interest) star.
The short is a 19th-century period piece set in Austria based on Friedrich Laun’s short story “The Relationship with the Spirit World,” famously cited as a key influence on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
Shot on location in Austria, the film is produced by Hengl and Lola Basara of Vienna-based Capra Film with support from Stadt Wien Kultur (MA7) and the Lower Austrian Film Commission.
“The Fated Hour” was commissioned by Kier-La Janisse with Severin’s founders, David Gregory and Carl Daft, as Executive Producers.
“I’m very excited to have Peter Hengl’s Austrian ghost story joining our growing family of original gothic shorts,” said Janisse. “Especially with all the incredible heritage locations and rich period detail.“
Hengl added: “The oldest gothic dread is always the most modern: that fate cannot be outrun. I was fortunate to explore this timeless story alongside performers who understood completely that the past and the present are never truly separate—that some things bleed through. For the production, we used analog distortions like various lenses and mirrors not just to evoke a retro vibe, but also to represent the spirit world in the film.“
Check out the first images below, and be sure to watch Family Dinner on Screambox while we wait for “The Fated Hour”.
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