News

We're back with another edition of Horror Highlights! In today's installment, we have news of Dark Sky acquiring Before the Fire, details on the digital edition of the Etheria Film Festival, a look at the trailer for Two Heads Creek, and details on the We Summon the Darkness soundtrack release:

Dark Sky Films Acquires Before The Fire: "Dark Sky Films today announced it has acquired all North American distribution rights to the timely new pandemic thriller Before The Fire, the debut feature from director Charlie Buhler and written by and starring Jenna Lyng Adams of The Kominsky Method.

Nicola Goelzhaeuser, Mpi/Dark Sky's VP of Sales & Acquisitions, negotiated the deal for the Madfire Picturesproduction with John W. Bosher and Chris Charles of Throughline Films and Michelle Chang of Ramo Law on behalf of the filmmakers, including producer Kristen Murtha. Dark Sky plans to release the film in theaters and...

Jimeoin, Paul Hogan, Fiona O’Loughlin and others cracking lazy jokes – 86 of them – around a campfire. It really is his dog

A bunch of people coming around for dinner and cracking jokes over a few beers and wines ... is that a compelling idea for a feature film? The director Dean Murphy and his ubiquitous star/producer, Shane Jacobson – who is increasingly giving the impression of being a person happy not just to attend the opening of an envelope but to star in a feature film about such an event – believe the answer is a firm yes.

The twist is that the guests of the true-blue soirée held in That’s Not My Dog! are well-known Australian comedians, instructed to bring with them their three funniest jokes of all time. The guest list is impressive – including Jacobson, Paul Hogan, Jimeoin, Paul Fenech, Michala Banas, Steve Vizard, Fiona O’Loughlin, Tim Ferguson,...

"Playing detective can be murder." So be careful if you don't know what you're doing. A trailer has arrived online for a microbudget comedy-noir feature titled Trench, the first full feature made by up-and-coming Australian filmmaker Paul Anthony Nelson. Set in Melbourne, the story follows a struggling comedian name Sam Slade who decides to pretend to be a private detective in order to pay her rent. She takes on the case of a reclusive writer being stalked in her own apartment. But they end up over their heads in mystery, doing their best not to end up getting killed along the way. Starring Samantha E. Hill as Sam Slade, with a cast including Perri Cummings, David Lamb, Scott Major, Lulu McClatchy, Simon Godfrey, Robert Davis, and Cate Wolfe. This definitely seems homemade without any budget, but might be fun to watch. Here's the first official trailer (+ poster) for Paul Anthony Nelson's Trench,...

Here’s your daily dose of an indie film, web series, TV pilot, what-have-you in progress — at the end of the week, you’ll have the chance to vote for your favorite.

In the meantime: Is this a project you’d want to see? Tell us in the comments.

Trench

Logline: Reclusive writer Becky Holt is being stalked in her high-rise apartment, so Samantha Slade, failed stand-up comedian turned fledgling private eye, comes to her aid… for a fee, of course. But will her first case be the death of them?

Elevator Pitch:

“Trench” is a girl-powered modern-day detective comedy/thriller, shot like a 1940s Film Noir and set in the city of Melbourne, Australia. When reclusive writer Becky Holt experiences strange phenomena in her apartment, her online call for help is answered only by Sam Slade — a stand-up comic on the skids who needs cash and fancies herself a private eye.