Horror Highlights: PAINKILLERS, BLACKWOOD MonsterFest Screening, HARPOON

From the creators of The Ring, Starry Eyes, and Fear, Inc. comes a story about a grieving man wracked with guilt and demons. Ahead of Painkillers' limited release in select theaters on January 31st, check out the official trailer and poster after the film's synopsis. Also: Blackwood's premiere at MonsterFest and acquisition and premiere details for Harpoon.

Painkillers Trailer and Poster Revealed: "PAINKILLERS, an all-new genre-twisting dramatic thriller starring Adam Huss (Power), Madeline Zima (Californication, Twin Peaks) and Grant Bowler (Defiance, True Blood), with a special appearance from Mischa Barton - set for release in select theaters January 31st and on VOD February 4th, 2019.

Synopsis: After a terrible car crash in which his son dies, brilliant surgeon John Clarke, tormented by guilt, becomes prey to unbearable physical pain. While his marriage starts disintegrating, John soon finds out that the only thing that can ease his pain is the taste of human blood. When he encounters Herb Morris, a man who claims he can help him get his life back, John embarks upon a nightmarish journey through which he will either have to come to terms with his pain... or become a monster.

Film Title: Painkillers
Studio/Distributor: Kew Media Group
Release Date: January 31, 2019 (limited), February 4, 2019 (VOD)
Runtime: 83 minutes
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Director: Roxy Shih
Writer: Giles Daoust
Cast: Madeline Zima, Adam Huss, Grant Bowler, and Mischa Barton

PAINKILLERS marks the second feature film from Taiwanese-American filmmaker Roxy Shih, whose debut feature 'The Tribe' won multiple awards on the festival circuit. Shih also recently completed directing ten episodes of Dark / Web (Julie Benz, Hannah Marks), an upcoming sci-fi anthology that explores the problems with living in a totally connected world.

Roxy Shih comments, "I don’t think PAINKILLERS is something that people have seen before; we use paranormal elements as mechanisms for the story, but at the heart of it we deal with very real themes of grief and coping with addiction. I look forward to seeing how audiences react to more genre-hybrid films like this, I’m really proud!"

Giles Daoust wrote the script, which received several awards and nominations in festivals and screenwriting competitions. Luke Barnett and Vincent Mascialeproduced the film under their Lone Suspect banner alongside Giles Daoust for Title Media. Mike Macari (The Ring franchise), Alain Berliner (Golden Globe Winner for My Life in Pink) and Catherine Dumonceaux (Title Media) executive produce.

Producer Luke Barnett added, “With so many conversations happening today around the lack of female directors being hired, particularly in the horror genre, we couldn’t be prouder to have hired Roxy Shih. We all feel very strongly she’s about to be one of the most in-demand young directors in town.”

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Blackwood Premiere Details at MonsterFest 2019: "SYNOPSIS: Nikki, a sound recordist, picks up a strange sound whilst filming on location in a forest. After a disturbing encounter, she wakes up alone, confused and filthy in her house. Her only chance at finding out what happened to her lies within her sound recorder.

DIRECTORS STATEMENT

With Blackwood, I wanted to make a short film that aims to subvert the genre while bringing a fresh take on the misadventure trope in horror.

I chose the sound recordist as a character to portray as their job is very solitary almost walled off from the rest of the production, a great character to follow and put in a solitary situation.

I love sound design and wanted to explore soundscape as a way to drive tension. We designed a specific sound, both ominous and peculiar that leads you through the film and to its terrifying source.

After visiting the California Redwoods I fell in love with the texture and scale of the forest, which is unlike the Australian bush, luckily there is one forest like that here in Australia and we used it as our location.

EXTRA NOTES

-The creature was designed by Torstein Nordstrand and brought to life by Daniel Fotheringham who was one of the animators for the creatures in Don't Be Afraid of the Dark and the "Smaug" in The Hobbit.

-Alanah Parkin who plays the Damsel was cast at 11 pm the night before a 6 am shoot after the original actress pulled out at the last minute, she wore the producer's clothes as there was no time to source wardrobe.

-The film was shot on Panavision Anamorphic lenses made in the 1980s that gave the film the cinematic and texture feel.

CAST

The most important character to cast for the film was Nikki the sound recordist, after meeting Danielle I decided not to audition her. She had a calm, confidence that carried onto the screen. Nikki gave a subtle and authentic performance and after our first day of shooting, I decided to change my mind for our last shot and get her to do it looking down the lens. It was a risk, but it paid off amazingly well giving the film the powerful and intense end that it needed.

Nikki
Danielle Butlin

Damsel
Alanah Parkin

Director
Jim Koutsoukos

First A.D
Rowan Howard

CREW

Writer and Director
Andrew Montague

Australian director Andrew Montague has been working in film and tv for over a decade with a focus on TV commercials. After spending time working in London and New York for big VFX companies he decided to turn his attention back to his love of storytelling, shooting his first short Attic in Brooklyn. After moving back to Australia, Andrew shot his second film Blackwood which is now doing festival rounds. He is currently writing a feature and a TV show.

Cinematographer
David Guest

Editor
Tim Parrington

Producer
Haley Polacik

Sound Design & Music
Nick van Cuylenburg

Editor
Tim Parrington

Creature Design

Torstein Nordstrand

Creature Animation

Daniel Fotheringham

SCREENINGS

MonsterFest 2018."

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Harpoon Distribution and Premiere Details: Press Release: "NY/LA-based arthouse genre sales company Yellow Veil Pictures has acquired world sales rights on HARPOON from director Rob Grant (Mon Ami, 2012) and producers Michael Peterson (Alive, 2018), Kurtis David Harder (What Keeps You Alive, 2018) and Julian Black Antelope (Knuckleball, 2018).

Starring Munro Chambers (Turbo Kid), Emily Tyra (Code Black), and Christopher Gray (The Mist), Harpoon is a dark comedy about the rivalries, dark secrets, and sexual tension that amount when three best friends find themselves stranded on a yacht in the middle of the ocean under suspicious circumstances. Shot in Calgary, Alberta and San Pedro, Belize, and written by Grant, HARPOON is a brutal and absurd genre film that brings a new twist to the lost at sea genre.

Yellow Veil Pictures Co-Founder Joe Yanick said “Rob has an ability to mine the depth of human darkness and come up with something wickedly funny. As our first foray into the subgenre, we found one with something for everyone. You're going to laugh...but then it's going to make feel bad for laughing."

Director Rob Grant said "I've been extremely fortunate to work with such a talented and supportive team at 775 Media Corp and am now equally as fortunate to work with Yellow Veil on my next film Harpoon. Hugues, Justin, and Joe's support and enthusiasm for unique and interesting projects as well as their strong track record make me confident we are in great hands and excited for the film's future together as we gear up towards the premiere!"

HARPOON makes its world premiere at the 48th International Film Festival Rotterdam, which takes place the 23 Jan – 3 Feb 2019 in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Yellow Veil Pictures is a New York and Los Angeles based worldwide film sales company. Focusing exclusively on boundary-pushing genre cinema, seeking to highlight emergent filmmakers who exist on the cusp of commercial, arthouse cinema. The company currently handles worldwide sales on Tillman Singer’s Luz, A.T. White’s Starfish, and the upcoming debut by Josh Lobo, A Man in the Dark.

775 Media Corp was founded in June 2016, 775 is a collaboration between award-winning producers Michael Peterson and Julian Black Antelope with the corporate leadership of entrepreneur Laurie Venning and Sarah Moore. Currently expanding with multiple new features surging from pre-production through post, and the recent launch of a production services division and VFX wing, we are building an international reputation in the genre world from our production facilities in Calgary, Alberta."