Toad Road appeared at last year's Fantasia International Film Festival and it has been announced that the movie will be getting a limited theatrical run later this year, along with a DVD and VOD release. For those that are interested in learning more, we also have the Toad Road trailer:
"The horror-thriller Toad Road earned praise from audiences and critics alike last fall at the influential Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal, where it won awards for “Best Director” (Jason Banker) and “Best Actor” (James Davidson).
Building on that momentum, Artsploitation Films has announced it will bring Toad Road to theaters this October. Following the film’s theatrical run, the company will release it on DVD and VOD as well as in the digital marketplace.
“There is a nihilism and decay present within the characters of Toad Road that makes the film mesmerizing. The horror comes not from just a mystical location and inevitable conclusion, but a very real, very dark place in each of their hearts. It's a unique film that must be seen,” says Brian Sokel, vice president of Artsploitation Films. The TOAD ROAD acquisition deal was negotiated by Traction Media on behalf of the filmmakers. Jennifer Arndt-Johns negotiated on behalf of Artsploitation Films.
Director, writer and cinematographer Jason Banker (“My Name is Faith”) directed and produced Toad Road, his first narrative feature. The cast includes James Davidson, Whitleigh Higuera and Sara Anne Jones. Tragically, Jones – whose character abuses drugs in the film – died of an accidental overdose on September 4, 2012 shortly after the film’s world premiere.
Toad Road was produced by Jason Banker's Blackout Films in collaboration with Liz Levine & Adrian Salpeter of Random Bench and was executive produced by SpectreVision a horror film company started by Daniel Noah, Josh C. Waller and acclaimed actor Elijah Wood.
Wood first saw Toad Road while helping select movies for the Nightmare City horror film festival at The Cinefamily in Los Angeles. He says: 'We created our company to explore and expand the definition of the horror genre. Toad Road's blend of documentary and nightmarish hallucination speaks to this perfectly. It provides a unique and disturbing portal into self destructive behavior that barrels horrifically out of control. We're proud to present this extremely powerful and resonant film.'
For the film, Banker used a mix of documentary and narrative form to create this disturbing supernatural portrait of contemporary youth culture and drug use. The story takes place in rural Pennsylvania near the town of York, an infamous area that – according to urban legend – has a trail in the woods containing the seven gates that lead to Hell.
Speaking with Twitchfilm.com, Banker discussed how much of TOAD ROAD was improvised. 'I had a backbone of an idea…but other than that, there wasn’t too much that I had planned. I knew that I wanted to shoot with these kids and get into their life, and let who they were and what they did inform the characters in the film.'"
After more than a decade as a consultant in the tech and entertainment industries, Jonathan James launched Daily Dead in 2010 to share his passion for horror entertainment. He takes immense pride in Daily Dead's talented team of writers, who work tirelessly to explore and celebrate horror as a respected art form capable of telling complex, character-driven stories with deep emotional and cultural impact.
Over the course of his career, Jonathan has written more than 10,000 articles and hosted panels at major conventions, including New York Comic Con and San Diego Comic-Con. He has also been consulted as an expert on horror and pop culture, offering his insights on horror history and the latest trends through media outlets, radio stations, film festivals, and fan conventions.
After more than a decade as a consultant in the tech and entertainment industries, Jonathan James launched Daily Dead in 2010 to share his passion for horror entertainment. He takes immense pride in Daily Dead's talented team of writers, who work tirelessly to explore and celebrate horror as a respected art form capable of telling complex, character-driven stories with deep emotional and cultural impact.
Over the course of his career, Jonathan has written more than 10,000 articles and hosted panels at major conventions, including New York Comic Con and San Diego Comic-Con. He has also been consulted as an expert on horror and pop culture, offering his insights on horror history and the latest trends through media outlets, radio stations, film festivals, and fan conventions.
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