We're back with another edition of Horror Highlights! Watch the new short film Cross My Heart, learn more about the new streaming series Red Rooms, and we have details on FRI's upcoming horror slate:
Watch Cross My Heart: "A young boy runs away from home after finding out about his mother’s pregnancy. While lost in the woods, he comes face to face with his inner demons who agree to do his bidding for him."
Learn more about the team that created this short at: ThatsFantasticFilms.com
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Exclusive First Details & Images from Red Rooms:
From the Press Release:
IT’S A VIRTUAL WRAP FOR JOSHUA BUTLER’S STREAMING HORROR SERIES RED ROOMS STARRING BROOKE LEWIS BELLAS, DAVID ALPAY, SUZE LANIER-BRAMLETT, RICKY DEAN LOGAN & NOAH BLAKE
Synopsis:
In the darkest corners of the dark net, there are terrifying places where the abducted are held captive, psychologically tortured and live-streamed. Victims are given the chance to escape if they agree to confess their worst sins to the world, preserving them online for eternity. Paid subscribers watch, listen and vote on who has committed the evilest crimes against humanity. The winner lives. The losers die. These are the infamous "Red Rooms" and this terrifying new series invites you to take part in this diabolical reality show, where nothing is what it streams to be.
In Season One of Red Rooms: Hollywood producer Leilah Black, Armenian hit man Alex Terzian, Republican Senator Sheila Larkin, former priest Stephen Bishop and international mogul Ethan Campbell find themselves held captive and streamed live on a popular dark web reality show where viewers vote on who lives and who dies. While enduring psychological torture, the imprisoned contestants reveal they share a diabolical connection in their past.
Tagline:
Nothing is what it streams to be.
Red Rooms is brought to us by Creator and Director, Joshua Butler (VLOG), Executive Producers, Brooke Lewis Bellas (iMurders) and Joshua Butler, and Producer Brooke Lewis Bellas. The gifted production team also includes, Co-executive Producers David Alpay (The Vampire Diaries), Suze Lanier-Bramlett (The Hills Have Eyes), Ricky Dean Logan (Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare), Co-producer Noah Blake (Teen Witch), Composer Luna Pan (Jiva), Graphic Designer John Papas (Psycho Therapy), and Editor Joshua Butler.
Red Rooms stars horror film and TV veterans Brooke Lewis Bellas (iMurders), David Alpay (The Vampire Diaries), Suze Lanier-Bramlett (The Hills Have Eyes), Ricky Dean Logan (Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare), and Noah Blake (Teen Witch).
“Red Rooms was conceived and completed out of “isolation inspiration”! Joshua Butler and I had been in-development on a project and had been reminiscing about our favorite industry days of yesteryear, when we met on the horror film circuit. I had already been a superfan of Joshua’s work for years, as he truly has the creative and intellectual genius mind of a madman! In 2019, we shot a proof of concept for our project, which paid homage to his hugely successful film VLOG (2008) from the producers of SAW, that went on to become a hit TV series. I loved being directed by Joshua with his passion and intensity, so we committed to further collaborating. When the COVID-19 hit Hollywood and we were all in isolation, I called for a virtual production meeting and suggested we attempt to experiment by filming each character virtually from their homes, and our incredibly talented actors David, Suze, Ricky, and Noah jumped into this virtual creative experience with us and gave more than we could have ever asked for!” - Brooke Lewis Bellas
“As a filmmaker, I have always wanted to work with the multi-talented Brooke Lewis Bellas. She is a legendary "Scream Queen", for sure, but she is so much more. Brooke is one of the finest actresses of her generation and one of the most savvy producers of our time. Red Rooms is a chance for me to finally have Brooke in front of my camera and collaborate with my sister-from-another-mister. It's also a chance to make a kick-ass, terrifying, relevant piece of cinema within the new production-era rules that COVID-19 has written for us. During isolation, Brooke had suggested pulling a piece from another concept we had been developing, which inspired me to create Red Rooms. It's a privilege to direct such a superb cast—David, Suze, Ricky and Noah—alongside Brooke. On a personal note, I am obsessed with the dark web. With a VPN and a Tor Browser, you can peek inside the 96% of the internet that is hidden from all of us. Once I stumbled across the infamous “Red Rooms”, available on onion sites that are untraceable and run by the most anonymous of anonymous. These sites present bitcoin-paying voyeurs with a real human being, trapped in a locked space, forced into interactive torture. I have had nightmares ever since, wondering how I would react under those horrific circumstances. As a director, I feel like the best horror always humanizes its characters, makes them relatable, and invites us to wonder how we would act at our most frightened. Red Rooms will present a world few have ever seen with characters that could be you or me.” - Joshua Butler
Red Rooms is in post-production and will hit both festivals and streaming markets in 2020.
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Indie Company FRI Announces Slate of Upcoming Horror Films:
From the Press Release: "Film Regions International (FRI) has announced a slate of upcoming foreign horror films intended for domestic video on demand (VOD) release in the coming months as well as updates on some of its in-house productions.
“We are excited to become part of a new supplier of foreign indie films, specifically in the horror genre, into available VOD platforms” said John R. Blythe, co-chairman, and president of FRI.
On the company’s slate include two horror films that FRI has imported from Indonesia: “Zeta: When the Dead Awaken” a zombie apocalypse film directed by a first time female filmmaker Amanda Iswan; and “7 Angels”, a supernatural thriller directed by Mohammad Yusuf. Both films will be licensed for VOD in the United States and United Kingdom.
FRI will also be handling the acclaimed British film “A Reckoning” directed by Andrew Barker, a post-apocalyptic drama starring Leslie Simpson, who is best known for his roles in Neil Marshall’s “Dog Soldiers” and “The Descent”.
Additionally, FRI is serving as producer’s representative in certain non-U.S. territories for the critically acclaimed supernatural psychological thriller “Aiyai – Wrathful Soul” directed by Ilanthirayan Alan Arumugam which will likely see a U.S. release soon.
On its in-house productions, FRI has been busy wrapping up Brandon Scullion’s upcoming slasher “The New Hands” which stars Stephen Wu, Felissa Rose and Oscar® nominee and Golden Globe® winner Sally Kirkland.
FRI has also produced a few non-horror films including the upcoming mob thriller "Booze, Broads and Blackjack" starring Vincent Pastore (HBO’s The Sopranos) and the dramedy “Routines” starring Anita Nicole Brown. Both are expected to see a release later in 2020 as well.
Film Regions International, Inc. (FRI) specializes in the development, production and distribution of independent film productions and has both a domestic and international presence. FRI has secured financing and executed distribution deals for films such as "My Amityville Horror" (IFC Films), "One Day when the Rain Falls" (Falcon Pictures) and "Border Brothers" and "Machine Gun Baby" (both for Amazon Prime Video)."
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