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‘The Call Up’ Violates Virtual Reality Game
Altitude Film Sales has secured distribution deals in a number of key territories for Charles Barker’s debut feature The Call Up, reports ScreenDaily.
Vertical Entertainment has picked up US rights with Mongrel Media taking Canada. Deals were also finalised with Altitude Film Distribution for the UK, Nikkatsu for Japan, Defiant for Australia/New Zealand, Betta Pictures for Spain and Gate 23 for Airlines.
“The Call Up follows a group of online gamers who are invited to trial a state-of-the-art virtual reality game, but what starts out like a dream encounter with cutting edge video technology – a perfect representation of soldiers in a warzone – takes a turn for the sinister when the stakes are raised to fatal.”
Max Deacon (Into The Storm) plays the lead role alongside Morfydd Clark (Pride And Prejudice and Zombies), Ali Cook (Kilo Two Bravo), Parker Sawyers (Southside With You), Tom Benedict Knight (Dracula Untold), Adriana Randall (Experimenter), Boris Ler (In The Land Of Blood And Honey), and newcomer Douggie McMeekin.
Directed by Charles Barker from his own Brit List-topping screenplay, the film is produced by Matthew James Wilkinson (Stigma Films), John Giwa-Amu (Red&Black Films, The Machine) with Alan Martin (The Machine) exec producing.
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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