The chilling concept trailer for R. Shanea Williams' A Precise Understanding of Darkness tops today's Horror Highlights, which also includes Zach Lorkiewicz's new short film The Knock and details on Epic Pictures Group's acquisition of Tyler Cornack's Butt Boy for US distribution.
Concept Trailer for A Precise Understanding of Darkness: "Horror fans will experience a unique tale of terror during the feature-length film A Precise Understanding of Darkness, and the filmmakers are giving an early look at this intense journey into myth and madness with the recently released concept trailer. The production is currently seeking investors for the project.
“This film is an ode to the psychological horror films over the years that have inspired me,” writer-director R. Shanea Williams says. “I believe there’s nothing scarier than the human mind, and this film will bring that belief to vivid life. And, because we are centering the story around black people and people of color, it will bring a distinctive approach to the horror genre.”
In the vein of films like Rosemary’s Baby and The Invitation, A Precise Understanding of Darkness tells the story of Marlowe, an Afro-punk artist suffering from debilitating chronic pain that not only threatens to sideline her career but also derail her marriage. Desperate for help, she turns to her neighbor, a self-proclaimed spiritual healer whose unusual methods relieve the pain but also unleash something sinister–leaving Marlowe in a fractured mental state.
Williams is establishing herself as an exciting, creative new voice in film. She was co-writer on the short Suicide by Sunlight, which won the Grand Prize production grant at the 2017 Tribeca Through Her Lens program. The short films she wrote and directed, Contamination and Paralysis, have received official selections from film festivals across the country and acclaim throughout the industry, including Williams’ Rising Star Award for Contamination at the Richmond International Film Festival. She claimed honors for Best Screenplay at the Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival and Best Director of Horror-Thriller at the Flagler Beach Film Festival, both for Paralysis. She will be making her feature-film debut with A Precise Understanding of Darkness, which plans to shoot in New York City.
“A Precise Understanding of Darkness is a unique, unsettling story about our desperate need to end personal suffering, and at what cost,” Williams says. “The film will explore what we risk when we take chances with our lives in ways we don’t quite understand. I am interested in new ways to engage and terrify audiences and I am excited to create this world both for horror fans and those seeking out strong, intelligent stories.”
Anthony J. Davis is one of the producers of A Precise Understanding of Darkness. He has partnered with Williams on several projects, including Paralysis and Contamination. Davis is in his first season as an assistant accountant on the HBO series Lovecraft Country, and he has worked on several major film productions, with budgets ranging from $70 million-$400 million, as an assistant accountant, including Ant-Man, Captain America: Civil War and Lincoln.
Also joining the film as producer is Ashlee Blackwell, the creator of Graveyard Shift Sisters, a digital resource archiving the presence and contributions of Black women in the horror and sci-fi genres. She has written for Fangoria, Rue Morgue and Shadow and Act. Blackwell is also the co-writer/producer of the Shudder original documentary, Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror."
---------
Watch the Short Film The Knock: "A young woman wakes up in the middle of the night from a knock on her bedroom door.
Starring - Lauren Elyse Buckley (@laurenelysebuckley)
Old Woman - Deborah O'Brien
Creature - Anna Christensen (@anna.christensen)
Written, Directed, & Edited by Zach Lorkiewicz (@z.pophorror)
Cinematography and Color by Terence Yoon (@tbabsss)
Lighting by Nathan Baldonado (@natebaldeagle)
Score by Catherine Yang (@shyynessmusic)
Sound Design / Mix by Michael Coe & Zach Lorkiewicz (@mcoe123)
VFX by Zach Lorkiewicz (@z.pophorror)
Produced by Count the Clock (@counttheclock)
Special thanks to Dylan DeLuca (@dylan.deluca) and Colton Maddox (@coltonmaddox)"
---------
Epic Pictures Group Acquires Butt Boy for US Distribution: "EFM: Epic Pictures Group has acquired US distribution rights for the Fantastic Fest breakout comedy-thriller BUTT BOY from director and co-writer Tyler Cornack, which debuted last Fall at Austin’s celebrated genre festival to critical and audience acclaim. The film is set to release April 3rd with support from Alamo Drafthouses nationwide. “BUTT BOY embodies the rogue spirit of independent filmmaking and does not fit a conventional mold,” says Epic Pictures Group CEO Patrick Ewald. “It is fresh, inventive, and fearless storytelling and is the kind of visionary film Epic can get behind.”
The preternatural comedy follows newly sober detective Russell Fox (Tyler Rice) who meets his sponsor, Chip Gutchel (Cornack, stepping out from behind the camera), and whose investigation of a missing child leads him to suspect that the other man may be connected. He begins to realize that Chip's addiction may not be to alcohol, but to something much more sinister and shocking, and that Chip may have a power that makes animals, objects, and humans disappear… in his butt.
Cornack and Rice currently collaborate on the popular Tiny Cinema online channel, which Cornack co-created with BUTT BOY producers Bill Morean and Ryan Koch, who also co-wrote the film’s script. It was their work together on Tiny Cinema that inspired the concept for the absurdist mystery feature, with Cornack adding in response to the acquisition, “When it is all said and done, we could not be more excited to share this film with the world. It’s a weird, twisted, and funny ride, that never apologizes for anything."
BUTT BOY is a genre-defying thriller that tackles hard-hitting themes like addiction and toxic masculinity while presenting them in an out-of-this-world reality set to shock and entertain -- and boldly succeeds at both.
Cornack and Koch share writing credits while Koch produced and Morean co-produced. The film stars Rice, Cornack and Shelby Dash as Anne Gutchell. Tiny Cinema and its filmmakers are repped by Gersh and Plain Text.
Epic Picture Group has planned an April theatrical, digital, and home video release for BUTT BOY in the US.
About Epic Pictures Group:
Epic Pictures Group has been producing feature films since 2008 with focus on filmmakers' vision driven projects, shaping them from script to launch. Because of its focus on people first, Epic Pictures productions vary widely in budget, genre and locations. Epic Pictures has been supporting filmmakers around the world, helping to shape and bring them to the global market. Many cult hits including the TURBO KID, TALES OF HALLOWEEN, THE MAN WHO KILLED HITLER AND THEN THE BIGFOOT. Currently Epic Pictures has an extensive slate of films that it is financing and producing including the feminist thriller LUCKY, sci-fi titles SEA FEVER and THE WINTER LAKE and the thriller THE BALLAD OF AUDREY EARNSHAW."
Raised on a steady diet of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Derek has been fascinated with fear since he first saw ForeverWare being used on an episode of Eerie, Indiana.
When he’s not writing about horror as the Senior News Reporter for Daily Dead, Derek can be found daydreaming about the Santa Carla Boardwalk from The Lost Boys or reading Stephen King and Brian Keene novels.
Daily Dead's Official Podcast! Daily Dead's Official Podcast!
