Canadian home video rights to Jenn Wexler's The Ranger have been acquired by Black Fawn Distribution, and the movie will be released on Blu-ray and DVD in Canada on January 22nd. Also in today's Horror Highlights: Nightshift VOD release details, info on Miscreated version 1.0, and a Q&A with Escape Room composer John Carey.
The Ranger Canadian Blu-ray and DVD Release Details: "Black Fawn Distribution has acquired the Canadian home video rights to Jenn Wexler’s festival favorite, the punk rock slasher flick The Ranger. The deal was brokered by 79th & Broadway Entertainment’s Andrew van den Houten, on behalf of the production companies Hood River Entertainment and Glass Eye Pix. Black Fawn Distribution’s Blu-ray/DVD release of The Ranger is set for January 22, 2019, and is packed with special features including audio commentary with members of the cast and crew, 5 making of documentaries, and more.
Directed by Jenn Wexler (producer of the SXSW Grand Jury Prize-winning Most Beautiful Island) and penned by Wexler and Giaco Furino, The Ranger follows a group of teen punks, who while on the run from the cops and hiding out in the woods, come up against the local authority - an unhinged park ranger with an axe to grind.
Black Fawn Distribution will offer The Ranger as part of their Blacklist package series. The package will feature The Ranger on Bluray/DVD Combo Pack along with some awesome collectible items including exclusive “Ranger” aviator glasses and much more. Pre-orders for The Ranger are available through Black Fawn Distribution’s online store at: www.blackfawndistribution.com/store.
“I’ve been a fan of Black Fawn for a long time, so getting to team up with them for the Canadian release of The Ranger is so exciting,” states director Jenn Wexler. “I can’t wait for all the extra punk-rock goodness they have in store!”
The Ranger had its world premiere at SXSW Film Festival where it was featured as part of the Midnighters program. The film was also selected as the opening night feature at this year’s FrightFest UK and has gone on to screen at such esteemed film festivals as Fantasia International Film Festival, Sydney Film Festival, Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, Sitges Film Festival, Toronto After Dark, and many more.
The film has been lauded for its standout performances from Chloë Levine (The Transfiguration, The Defenders) as the pink-haired punk with a secret, and Jeremy Holm (House of Cards, Mr. Robot) as the maniacal park ranger, ready to get his hands bloody in defense of his woods. Granit Lahu (The Sinner), Jeremy Pope, Bubba Weiler (Puzzle), Amanda Grace Benitez (School of Rock), Jeté Laurence (Pet Sematary) and horror icon Larry Fessenden (Habit, We Are Still Here, The House of the Devil) round out the impressive cast. Featuring a ragin’ punk rock soundtrack composed by Wade MacNeil (founder of Alexisonfire and vocalist of Gallows) and Andrew Gordon Macpherson, The Ranger is a flick that’s meant to be cranked as loud as possible.
The Ranger is a co-production between Glass Eye Pix and Hood River Entertainment and was produced by Andrew van den Houten (Breaking & Exiting, The Woman), Larry Fessenden (Most Beautiful Island, The House of the Devil), Ashleigh Snead (The Block Island Sound), Heather Buckley and Jenn Wexler (Like Me, Darling).
“I am so excited to get this release out into the hands of fans,” says producer and Glass Eye Pix founder Larry Fessenden. “The extras are exhaustive, fun and lovingly crafted, and prove why physical media is still vital for true cinephiles.”
“It’s exciting to be working with a company that is going to get the film in all its physical, collectible glory, into the hands of the fans. We are thrilled to be in partnership with Black Fawn!” says producer Andrew van den Houten.
“Jenn and her team have made one hell of a flick,” states Black Fawn Distribution’s Sales Manager C.F. Benner. “The Ranger takes those awesome punk rock flicks of the 80s and really pulls them into the 21st century.”
Synopsis: After a run-in with the cops at a punk show goes sideways, Chelsea and her pals flee the city in search of a place to lay low. Running to the security of Chelsea’s old, abandoned family cabin in the woods, they fall under the watchful eye of an overzealous park ranger who holds a secret from Chelsea’s past."
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Nightshift DVD and VOD Release Details: "DVD Street Date: 12/4/18
Digital Street Date: 12/18/18
DVD SRP: $14.99
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
From writer/director Stephen Hall comes this utterly terrifying film that Daily Dead calls “a surprising and creepy descent into madness.” Starring Matthew O’Brien (TV’s “Ripper Street”) and Nigel Mercier (TV’s “Fair City”), alongside newcomers Angel Hannigan and Ashleigh Dorrell, Night Shift will have you looking over your shoulder the next time you check in for the night.
OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS
Amy begins her first night shift in a hotel with a murderous past. Witnessing terrifying events and trapped within a loop, Amy must find a way to escape the flesh-obsessed murderer and save residents of the hotel.
CAST
Matthew O’Brien TV’s “Ripper Street”, Foxglove, Soulsmith
Angel Hannigan Chimes, Klink
Nigel Mercier TV’s “Fair City”, Love/Hate, Hexing
and Ashleigh Dorrell
PROGRAM INFORMATION
Type: Home Entertainment Release
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Feature Run Time: 82 Minutes."
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Miscreated Version 1.0 Trailer and Steam Release Details: "Entrada Interactive announced today that its online multiplayer hardcore survival game Miscreated has launched its 1.0 version onto Steam. The release of Version 1.0 of Miscreated signals the launch of the official full version of the game. and includes a ton of new features including; new ranged and melee weapons, player hosted servers, deadly ground attacks, new weather patterns, the new dynamic world system, deeper customization, base farming, cooking and much more.
“Our community has been instrumental in Miscreated’s development as we have refined our gameplay and added a ton of new content based directly on their feedback.” said, Terry Evans, CEO, and Owner at Entrada Interactive. “We will continue adding new content and refining the game well past the 1.0 launch as we look towards things like a battle royale, more weapons, and car customization.”
Miscreated is an online multiplayer hardcore survival game set in a post-apocalyptic open world. After The Final War, humanity was brought to its knees and the remaining survivors cling to the decimated and unforgiving world ravaged by a mutated plague which was “Miscreated” as part of the fallout. Players must survive as horrific mutants, hostile animals, other desperate survivors, and even the elements seek to destroy them.
Miscreated Key Gameplay Features:
Miscreated version 1.0 is now available on Steam at the sale price of $19.99 (a 20% discount).
For the latest updates on Miscreated follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, subscribe to us on YouTube, and visit the website at www.miscreatedgame.com, and watch us survive on Twitch.TV."
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Q&A with Escape Room Composer John Carey: "2018 saw a wave of horror projects such as Halloween, The Nun, Hereditary, Castle Rock and The Haunting of Hill House dominating both the big and small screen. 2019 is looking to be no different with highly anticipated titles such as It Chapter 2, Happy Death Day 2 U, Child’s Play, The Conjuring 3 and the Creepshow series for AMC Networks’ Shudder being released. Another psychological horror title opening the new year (It’s being released January 4th) is Sony Picture’s Escape Room. The film, directed by Adam Robitel, follows six strangers who find themselves in circumstances beyond their control and must use their wits to find the clues or die. With every great horror film comes a great score to accompany it, Escape Room being no different, with a standout score by John Carey and Brian Tyler. When asked to describe the film’s score John says, “It’s ambient yet headbanging electronic score with traditional themes, sprinkled with a layer of big, nasty mechanical noises.” We decided to speak more in-depth with John about creating the Escape Room soundscape in the exclusive interview below.
How did you get involved with Escape Room?
John Carey: Before Escape Room I had worked with Brian a lot as a music arranger on his films, starting in 2013. When Brian was asked about scoring the film, he thought the project was a perfect fit for us to work on together. I was thrilled he thought I was ready to take on greater challenges that required more responsibility.
What attracted you to this project?
John Carey: Aside from loving the concept and the story, I was really happy to hear that Adam wanted the score to really go full tilt and play a big role in the film. Something with lots of energy and drama, and a unique soundscape. I also loved that he wanted recurring themes that would be developed and heard many times throughout the score. Sometimes as just small fragments, like a motif. In horror/thrillers, you may only get just a couple moments to use the same theme, so I loved that he wanted us to really go all out in that regard and make the themes really connect with the characters by the end of the film. Most of all I loved using sound design musically as a tool to create a feeling of being in a specific environment, you have to think outside the box more to create something unique out of sounds that are familiar to people.
You scored Escape Room alongside Brian Tyler. What was your collaboration process like?
John Carey: It was such a fun process and a real learning experience too. I felt like the years spent working as an arranger for Brian helped to prepare me for collaborating with him, because over that time you start learning some of his sensibilities as a film composer and about how he approaches the process of scoring a film. Being able to contribute my own composer “voice” and ideas to the score was definitely a new element that was really exciting. We’d pass ideas back and forth to each other and spend time recording sounds at his studio. Sometimes not even knowing exactly how we’d use them later on, which gives a lot of room to be creative with how you can manipulate and tinker with sounds in the computer to create something wild.
How would you describe your & Brian’s score in one sentence?
John Carey: It sounds like an ambient yet headbanging electronic score with traditional themes, sprinkled with a layer of big, nasty mechanical noises on top that gives the impression of being trapped inside a deadly machine.
After watching the Escape Room trailer, the film feels somewhat reminiscent of the Saw franchise. Did that cross your mind too? Were you a fan of the Saw films? If so, how did you want to make your score different than Charlie Clouser’s Saw scores?
John Carey: I love the Saw films. They really make people feel so tense (and oftentimes disgusted!). I think the biggest difference is that our score has a little more fun and goes through a broader range of emotions. Saw is such a bleak film for the protagonists pretty much the whole time, so that score has to really stay true to that, but I think that our score plays more to both sides of the coin, meaning that there are really bleak moments for our characters but really heroic moments too where they grow through the experience.
Columbia Pictures’ just released their ‘Escape Room Movie Million Dollar Challenge Sweepstakes’ around an immersive digital experience. Were you involved with scoring this experience too? If so, how did you score that differently from the film?
John Carey: We actually weren’t involved with that. But I’m thrilled that the movie has such an immersive marketing campaign going on right now.
Are you personally a fan of horror? If so, what have been some of your favorite horror films in 2018?
John Carey: Horror isn’t my favorite genre, but, many of my favorite films are horror films! Alien being close to the top. This year I really loved Annihilation and Hereditary. They are both so unique and leave you with such a weird feeling afterward. You really don’t have any bearing of where either of those movies is going until you reach the end, and I love that.
What do you think moviegoers are going to be most surprised about after seeing Escape Room?
John Carey: I think it would be the depth of the characters and how they change as they progress throughout the terrifying survival experience. Also, it’s really fun to think about different kinds of personalities in people and how they would react to survival scenarios like the ones in this movie. Is it better to be a selfish person, or to be a selfless team player? Escape Room plays around with that idea a lot."
Tamika hails from North Beach, Maryland, a tiny town inches from the Chesapeake Bay.She knew she wanted to be an actor after reciting a soliloquy by Sojourner Truth in front of her entire fifth grade class. Since then, she's appeared in over 20 film and television projects. In addition to acting, Tamika is the Indie Spotlight manager for Daily Dead, where she brings readers news on independent horror projects every weekend.
The first horror film Tamika watched was Child's Play. Being eight years old at the time, she remembers being so scared when Chucky came to life that she projectile vomited. It's tough for her to choose only one movie as her favorite horror film, so she picked two: Nosferatu and The Stepford Wives (1975).
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