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In his feature film debut, Descendent, writer and director Peter Cilella tackles a subject that I personally wish we had more of in contemporary horror: alien abductions. But, this isn’t your typical alien abduction story, as Cilella taps into a deeper emotional core with this story about a soon-to-be dad and his traumatic past.

Read the full synopsis below:

Set in present-day Los Angeles, Descendent follows Sean Bruner, a school security guard who is haunted by childhood trauma while preparing for the birth of his first child with his wife, Andrea. After a beam of light appears in the sky during a late-night shift, Sean wakes up in the hospital with an inexplicable talent for vivid, unsettling drawings of extraterrestrials and desert landscapes. As his visions blur the line between dreams and reality, Sean’s grip on sanity unravels. With time running out, he must confront his fears to...

It's always fun to watch as an actor makes the bold step behind the camera. Excitingly, later this year, TheResolution and The Endless star Peter Cilella is making that exact jump, and in the sci-fi genre no less. What's more, Collider is offering you the chance to check out Cilella's next step early, as we team up with Rlje Films to bring you a night of thrills and spills as you watch Descendenteleven days before its nationwide release, which will be followed by an exclusive Q&a conversation with writer-director Cilella and producers David Lawson, Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead. To find out more about this exciting free opportunity, check out all the details below.

Through their production company, Rustic Films, Cilella is reteaming with the trio of Benson,Moorhead, and Lawson, to bring this mind-bending trip through existential trauma to life. "Set in present-day Los Angeles, Descendent follows Sean Bruner,...

An unsettling alien abduction is compounding the anxieties of an expecting couple in the new trailer for Descendent from Rlje Films.

Produced by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, Descendent will be released in limited theaters on August 8 before expanding nationwide & VOD on August 15.

Watch the new trailer below that’s reminiscent of Fire in the Sky.

Set in present-day Los Angeles, Descendent follows “Sean Bruner, a school security guard who is haunted by childhood trauma while preparing for the birth of his first child with his wife, Andrea. After a beam of light appears in the sky during a late-night shift, Sean wakes up in the hospital with an inexplicable talent for vivid, unsettling drawings of extraterrestrials and desert landscapes. As his visions blur the line between dreams and reality, Sean’s grip on sanity unravels. With time running out, he must confront his fears to escape his family’s tragic legacy.

"I just want to protect my family..." "From what?!" Rlje Films has revealed an official trailer for an indie sci-fi horror thriller titled Descendent, marking the feature directorial debut of director Peter Cilella. It's produced by the sci-fi indie filmmakers Benson & Moorhead and recently premiered at the 2025 SXSW Film Festival a few months ago. The film is ready for release starting this August for anyone curious. A troubled Los Angeles school guard, haunted by a family tragedy, experiences strange visions after a mysterious light appears in the sky. As his wife's due date approaches, he also races to face his demons before his growing obsession consumes him. This looks like it's paying homage to the classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers, with creepy faces of strangers and weird alien visions. Starring Ross Marquand and Sarah Bolger as the main couple. Early reviews state: "Strong performances from Marquand and Bolger buoy...

When Richard Dreyfuss walked onto the Mothership at the end of “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” it was just about the first time — and also nearly the last — that a movie hero voluntarily went on any such ride. More familiar notes of terror and disorientation come with the UFO territory of Peter Cilella’s “Descendent.” It has “The Walking Dead’s” Ross Marquand as a working-class Southern Californian whose world comes unglued once he suffers an apparent alien abduction. Occupying the slippery-reality realm of “Jacob’s Ladder,” this effective first feature, debuting at SXSW, limns its protagonist’s unraveling with suspenseful skill.

But those expecting straightforward sci-fi horror may resent the writer-director’s insistence on sticking to an ambiguity, played somewhere between the narrative models of “Communion” and “Mysterious Skin.” Cilella never fully resolves whether our protagonist is, indeed, the victim of extraterrestrial meddling or instead suffering delusions triggered by delayed childhood-trauma memories,...

One night while on patrol at his job as late-night security for an elementary school, soon-to-be father Sean (Ross Marquand) spots strange floating lights in the sky. As they flit around, he marvels, then when he goes to change a flickering bulb, he suddenly finds himself inside what appears to be an alien ship, strapped to a table, bound by a gauzy weblike substance as unknown entities study him. Next thing he knows he’s in the hospital being told that he fell from the roof of the school and is suffering from a traumatic brain injury. But Sean knows what he saw, and it will haunt him until he figures it all out. In Peter Cilella’s Descendent, the anxiety of impending fatherhood is explored through...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

With founders Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, masterminds of such low-budget horror as “Resolution,” “Spring,” and “The Endless,” now entrenched in the Marvel machine, their Rustic Films is calling in the reserves. “Descendent” writer/director Peter Cilella has been involved with multiple Rustic productions as an actor, going all the way back to “Resolution” in 2012. Now, he’s the latest member of the Los Angeles-based production company’s roster — he’s preceded by Michael Felker, whose “Things Will Be Different” debuted under the Rustic banner last year — to get his turn in the big chair, so to speak.

At the film’s SXSW premiere, Cilella described his feature directorial debut as being about “depression, anxiety, and aliens.” And the film’s priorities do unfold in that order. There’s also some soul-searching about what it means to be a man in contemporary America, a topic that’s too often hijacked...

Ahead of the film’s premiere at SXSW (stay tuned for Bloody Disgusting’s coverage!), Variety reports that the close encounter thriller Descendent has been acquired by Rlje Films.

Produced by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, Descendent will be released in U.S. theaters by Rlje Films later this year.

The film follows Sean Bruner, a man racked by trauma as the birth of his first child approaches. Discovering a mysterious beam of light during a graveyard shift, Bruner reawakens with visions of extraterrestrials and a slippery sense of reality.

Ross Marquand (“The Walking Dead”) and Sarah Bolger (“Mayans M.C.”) star.

“This film was a labor of love, and I could not be more thrilled to partner with Rlje Films to bring Descendent to SXSW and beyond,” writer and director Peter Cilella said in a statement shared by Variety ahead of SXSW this week. “It truly takes a village to...

“Descendent,” an L.A.-set thriller about an elementary school security guard unraveling after a close encounter, has been picked up by Rlje Films ahead of the feature’s debut at SXSW. The distributor is setting a theatrical release for North America later in 2025.

“This film was a labor of love, and I could not be more thrilled to partner with Rlje Films to bring ‘Descendent’ to SXSW and beyond,” said writer and director Peter Cilella. “It truly takes a village to bring a project like this to life, and I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who helped make it possible.”

The thriller, which marks Cilella’s feature directorial debut, stars “The Walking Dead” actor Ross Marquand and Sarah Bolger of “Mayans M.C.” The film follows Sean Bruner, a man racked by trauma as the birth of his first child approaches. Discovering a mysterious beam of light during a graveyard shift,...

This year’s SXSW Film Festival, taking place in Austin, TX, has unveiled its lineup this afternoon and it’s another insanely packed year for horror premieres.

While the Midnighter section is dedicated to the genre lovers, SXSW 2025 has filled its Headliner section and beyond with buzzy, highly anticipated titles including Flying Lotus‘s sci-fi horror movie Ash, Christopher Landon‘s ode to Brian De Palma in Drop, and A24’s Death of a Unicorn. Also look for Clown in a Cornfield, the film adaptation of Adam Cesare’s YA slasher novel.

Read on for the genre titles included in SXSW 2025’s lineup, and stay tuned for additional programming announcements.

Headliner

Big names, big talent featuring red carpet premieres and gala film events with major and rising names in cinema.

Ash

Director: Flying Lotus, Producers: Nate Bolotin, Matthew Metcalfe, Screenwriter: Jonni Remmler

A woman wakes up on a distant planet...

Here at /Film, we have talked quite a bit about how much we love genre-specific streaming services like Shudder or Alter, but does such a platform exist for fans of science fiction? Sure, there's always the Syfy channel on cable, but with so many people cutting cords and pivoting exclusively to streaming, you may be wondering where to find new and unique sci-fi stories. Well, may we interest you in Dust? A sister site of Alter, Dust comes from the folks at Gunpowder and Sky, the independent studio behind hits like "Summer of 84," "Tragedy Girls," "Her Smell," "Hearts Beat Loud," "Call Me Miss Cleo," and "Kobe Bryant's Dear Basketball."

A hub for the very best in sci-fi short films, Dust also has a live linear channel constantly playing from their selection of shorts, so if you don't feel like wading through the selections, you can let the service choose for you.

Welcome back to a new Let’s Scare Bryan to Death, where we’re diving into a freaky whirlpool of addiction, cosmic horror, and meta discussions about storytelling as we explore Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead’s debut feature, Resolution. Joining me for this surreal journey is Philip Yount, a graphic designer, metalhead, and cosmic horror enthusiast whom you likely know from the great Dead Ringers podcast (regulars may remember we had founder/co-host Nolan McBride on for a discussion on Lake Bodom). You can also catch Philip on his Twitch channel, where he’s likely painting fantasy miniatures or playing the odd game or two.

It was actually while guesting on a recent episode of Dead Ringers that I revealed myself to be unacquainted with the work of Monsieurs Benson and Moorhead, and since I’d already been looking for an excuse to chat with Philip about a movie...

Stars: Constance Wu, Jonathan Kite, Jocelin Donahue, Ashley Clements, Mark Kelly, Graham Skipper, Matt Long, Amanda Fuller, Catherine Parker, Morgan Peter Brown, Michelle DeFraites, Stephanie Drake, Peter Cilella, Makeda Declet, Megan Duffy | Written and Directed by David Ian McKendry, Rebekah McKendry

Originally released in 2018, as far as I know All The Creatures Were Stirring is the second ever Christmas horror anthology movie, with the first being the highly entertaining A Christmas Horror Story.

This one has five segments and one encompassing segment which begins and ends the film as well as linking each other segment. In this we see a man and woman who are kind of on a date at a local theatre. They meet outside and once inside are introduced to a couple of strange characters until they are eventually seated to watch the show. The first part of the show then leads into the opening segment The Stockings Are Hung.

I’m a big fan of Dust and the short films that they have produced over the years. They tend to develop great high quality work that entertains.

Today we have a trailer to share with you for one of their upcoming sci-fi short film projects called Occupant. The film tells the story of a man who is unexpectedly replaced by an alien replica of himself.

The movie was directed by Peter Cilella and it stars Dan O’Brien, Lauran September and Caroline Jennings. It was also produced by Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson.

Occupant is set to be released on Thursday, May 9th on all Dust channels, and we’ll share it here when it is released.

Stars: Constance Wu, Jonathan Kite, Jocelin Donahue, Ashley Clements, Mark Kelly, Graham Skipper, Matt Long, Amanda Fuller, Catherine Parker, Morgan Peter Brown, Michelle DeFraites, Stephanie Drake, Peter Cilella, Makeda Declet, Megan Duffy | Written and Directed by David Ian McKendry, Rebekah McKendry

As far as I know All The Creatures Were Stirring is the second ever Christmas horror anthology movie, with the first being the highly entertaining A Christmas Horror Story.

This one has five segments and one encompassing segment which begins and ends the film as well as linking each other segment. In this we see a man and woman who are kind of on a date at a local theatre. They meet outside and once inside are introduced to a couple of strange characters until they are eventually seated to watch the show. The first part of the show then leads into the opening segment The Stockings Are Hung.

Gunpowder & Sky, the content studio, is expanding the reach of Dust, its science-fiction channel, with platform launches this month on Twitch, Stirr (the new Sinclair streaming service), NBC’s WatchBack and Vizio. Dust will also launch on Samsung Plus in December; it launched on Roku in August.

The brand’s expanded reach coincides with the promotion of Eric Bromberg to Dust’s General Manager. The alumnus of UCLA and MIT Sloan School of Management takes on day-to-day management duties after a.year as Gunpowder & Sky’s VP Business Development. He worked previously with Pluto TV (content licensing manager) and Fusion Media Group (digital strategy manager).

Adam Jensen (new head of operations) has also been added to the team and promotions have elevated Anna Levine (to digital channel manager) and Kyle Brunick (to social manager), according to Floris Bauer, co-founder and president of Gunpowder & Sky. Gunpowder & Sky was founded by...

Stars: Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead, Callie Hernandez, Vinny Curran, Peter Cilella, James Jordan | Written and Directed by Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead

Spring was one of my favourite horror movies of 2015. Mixing Lovecraftian horror with the strangest of love stories and creating an emotional, original and beautiful genre film. Directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead now return with The Endless.

Like Spring before it, The Endless is a truly unique movie. Two brothers, Justin and Aaron (played by the directors) return to a cult that they both fled from ten years previous. The writing is good enough that this doesn’t seem as stupid an idea as it might. The brothers haven’t had exactly the greatest of lives since leaving the cult and Aaron in particular wants to see what the cult is like now he is an adult. Justin is less sure but hopes his brother will find some...

"If you let it control you, it's gonna control you over and over again." Well Go USA has released a new full-length trailer for the film The Endless, the latest from Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead, the duo behind the cult favorite horror film Spring from 2014. The Endless is a film about two brothers, played by Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead themselves, who return to the cult they fled from years ago to discover that the group's beliefs may be more sane than they once thought. There's some crazy cool twists in this that you just have to see to believe. The full cast includes Callie Hernandez, James Jordan, Lew Temple, Tate Ellington, Emily Montague, and Peter Cilella. Jeremy loved this film and wrote a glowing review, and I caught up with it in Sitges, and it's a one-of-kind mind-bender that I highly recommend seeing for yourself. Here's the full-length trailer (+ poster...

"In your own words, what is 'it'?" Well Go USA has released the first teaser trailer for the new film The Endless, from Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead, the duo behind the cult favorite horror film Spring from 2014 (it was in Jeremy's Top 10 of 2015 he loved it so much). The Endless is a film about two brothers, as played by Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead themselves, who return to the cult they fled from years ago to discover that the group's beliefs may be more sane than they once thought. That sounds like one hell of a pitch with lots of mystery. The cast includes Callie Hernandez, James Jordan, Lew Temple, Tate Ellington, Emily Montague, and Peter Cilella. This is playing at Fantastic Fest and the London Film Festival, so take a look for your first glimpse, and keep an eye out if you're intrigued. This is a great teaser. Here's the...

For the past six years, genre moviemakers and moneymen have congregated for long weekends at Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival, taking part in the Frontières Co-Production Marketplace. Founded in 2012, the market was conceived as a place for horror/fantasy/action auteurs — both established names and newcomers — to pitch projects to potential backers and take part in various networking events.

A highlight of the Market is the opening-day pitch session, in which selected directors, writers, and producers offer multimedia presentations of their nascent features. At the very first Frontières, this event spawned Anouk Whissell, Francois Simard, and Yoann-Karl Whissell’s exuberant futuristic actioner “Turbo Kid”; subsequent movies that took their first steps to fruition there include Steven Kostanski and Jeremy Gillespie’s cult/monster horror film “The Void”; Caroline Labrèche and Steeve Léonard’s science-fiction thriller “Radius,” which premiered at this year’s Fantasia; and Jenn Wexler’s upcoming punk-slasher opus “The Ranger.

If you remember, a while back we started talking about what was next for Gustavo Cooper, director of June. Inspired by a real-life story from Ireland, Cooper began working on a new project he called The Home. We premiered a nifty poster not too long ago. Well, now we are premiering the teaser for that Proof of Concept/short film right here.   Together with actor Peter Cilella (Benson and Moorehead's Resolution and the upcoming The Endless) they wrote and created a Proof of Concept/short film. He ran it by a few of his friends, including some of us here at ScreenAnarchy, and we urged him to get it onto the festival circuit.   Cooper and Cilella also presented their vision for a feature length version...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

In today’s casting round-up, THR reports that Jamie Dornan, Ben Mendelsohn, and sisters Jemima and Lola Kirke will be teaming together for the indie drama Untogether, the directorial debut of best-selling author Emma Forrest. The film concerns Jemima Kirke’s former-teen-prodigy-turned-junkie Andrea, who has an affair with Nick (Dornan) while she’s clean and trying to be a writer. Nick is already a successful writer, regaling the world with stories of his war-time experiences. Lola Kirke plays Jemima’s younger sister, whose relationship with the older Mendelsohn is tested when she falls for a Rabbi with an even larger age gap than her and Mendelsohn. Forrest will pen the script as well, which is being produced by Luke Daniels, Scott Lastaiti, and Brandon K. Hogan.

THR is also reporting that Michael Cera is currently in discussion to star in Aaron Sorkin‘s directorial debut Molly’s Game, alongside Jessica Chastain and Idris Elba.

Everyone give a Vulcan salute to the Mr. Spock figurine from Mezco, which is available now for pre-order. Also in this round-up: Contracted: Phase 2 Blu-ray details and a 360 interactive seance video to celebrate the VOD and Digital HD release of Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension.

Mezco's Spock Figure: From Mezco: "The One:12 Collective is proud to present one of the most iconic and enduring characters in the pop culture lexicon: Spock from the original Star Trek series.

First introduced to audiences in 1966, the Star Trek series was a landmark show that sparked countless fans’ a love of science, space and technology, and inspired many real-world inventions. Spock, powerfully portrayed by Leonard Nimoy in both the TV series and in the film franchises, embodied a new kind of TV hero: calmly logical, and cerebral but not completely devoid of human emotion. Spock has transcended his genre and has been voted...

It’s October, so you know what that means… Halloween! And what better way to celebrate the festival of fear than with a whole heap of new movie releases? But with a whole heap of new horror movies on the way this month, we thought we’d take a look at what UK distributors have to offer on DVD later this month:

Toolbox Murders 2

The handyman of horror is back with a new box of tricks in in this terrifying sequel to Tobe Hooper’s 2004 reimagining of the 1978 cult favourite. Picking up directly after the events of Hooper’s film, we follow ‘Coffin Baby’, Hollywood’s most twisted killers, as he plans to put the screws to a new victim – Samantha, the sister of his prey from his previous rampage. Samantha finds herself held captive in a house of horrors and forced to undergo the most unspeakable tortures…

Unlike previous releases,...

IFC Midnight and BoulderLight Pictures released the first trailer for "Contracted: Phase II", opening in Theaters, On Demand and Digital September 4th, 2015. Directed by Josh Forbes with a screenplay by Craig Walendziak, "Contracted: Phase II" will star Matt Mercer, Peter Cilella, Marianna Palka, Morgan Peter Brown, Laurel Vail, Alice Macdonald, Anna Lore and Suzanne Voss. Producers J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules says We are thrilled to announce that we've wrapped principle photography on Contracted 2, an all out, bigger, crazier, virus-ier sequel in every way possible. We can't wait to unleash it on fans.Phase II follows the story of Samantha as she suffers from a mysterious and degenerative disease. Picking up directly where the previous film left off, Phase II follows...

IFC Midnight and BoulderLight Pictures released the first trailer for "Contracted: Phase II", opening in Theaters, On Demand and Digital September 4th, 2015. Directed by Josh Forbes with a screenplay by Craig Walendziak, "Contracted: Phase II" will star Matt Mercer, Peter Cilella, Marianna Palka, Morgan Peter Brown, Laurel Vail, Alice Macdonald, Anna Lore and Suzanne Voss. Producers J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules says We are thrilled to announce that we've wrapped principle photography on Contracted 2, an all out, bigger, crazier, virus-ier sequel in every way possible. We can't wait to unleash it on fans.Phase II follows the story of Samantha as she suffers from a mysterious and degenerative disease. Picking up directly where the previous film left off, Phase II follows...

IFC Midnight and BoulderLight Pictures released the first trailer for "Contracted: Phase II", opening in Theaters, On Demand and Digital September 4th, 2015. Directed by Josh Forbes with a screenplay by Craig Walendziak, "Contracted: Phase II" will star Matt Mercer, Peter Cilella, Marianna Palka, Morgan Peter Brown, Laurel Vail, Alice Macdonald, Anna Lore and Suzanne Voss. Producers J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules says We are thrilled to announce that we've wrapped principle photography on Contracted 2, an all out, bigger, crazier, virus-ier sequel in every way possible. We can't wait to unleash it on fans.Phase II follows the story of Samantha as she suffers from a mysterious and degenerative disease. Picking up directly where the previous film left off, Phase II follows...

IFC Midnight and BoulderLight Pictures released the first trailer for "Contracted: Phase II", opening in Theaters, On Demand and Digital September 4th, 2015. Directed by Josh Forbes with a screenplay by Craig Walendziak, "Contracted: Phase II" will star Matt Mercer, Peter Cilella, Marianna Palka, Morgan Peter Brown, Laurel Vail, Alice Macdonald, Anna Lore and Suzanne Voss. Producers J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules says We are thrilled to announce that we've wrapped principle photography on Contracted 2, an all out, bigger, crazier, virus-ier sequel in every way possible. We can't wait to unleash it on fans.Phase II follows the story of Samantha as she suffers from a mysterious and degenerative disease. Picking up directly where the previous film left off, Phase II follows...

IFC Midnight has acquired North American rights to Dementia, the horror pic from BoulderLight Pictures that stars The Sacrament‘s Gene Jones as an aging war veteran who suffers a stroke and is diagnosed with dementia. He is forced by his estranged family to hire a live-in nurse, only to find that she harbors a sinister secret. The pic came together in spring 2014 and was directed by Mike Testin from a script by Meredith Berg. Kristina Klebe (Halloween), Peter Cilella…...

By Jonathan Weichsel

MoreHorror.com

Note: This review original appeared April of 2013 on the now defunct website Planet Fury.

I have read a lot of online reviews lately bashing indie horror as a whole for being derivative, unimaginative, and amateurish. I have been reviewing indie horror films for years, and I have watched my share of knockoffs made by people with no knowledge of the genre, and “homages” made by filmmakers who follow the rules of the genre so slavishly that their films end up adding nothing new. Like these other critics, I get sick of it too. But every once in awhile I come across a great indie horror movie like Resolution directed by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, a clever, innovative, unique little film that slowly gets under your skin. Films like Resolution are the reason indie filmmaking exists.

When Michael Danube (Peter Cilella) receives a mysterious email...

Featuring a plot that amplifies people’s fears of STDs, Eric England’s Contracted has done well on VOD, with its potent combination of unsettling decomposition and keen social commentary attracting a steady stream of viewers. The home media response to Contracted has been successful enough for IFC Midnight to move forward with a sequel, Contracted: Phase II, which will follow both familiar and new faces.

Deadline reports that IFC Midnight is developing Contracted: Phase II with Josh Forbes in the director’s chair. The sequel will mark Forbes’ first feature film, working off a script by Craig Walendziak.

Eric England, who wrote and directed Contracted, is not attached to the sequel. The follow-up film will see the return of characters Riley (Matt Mercer) and Alice (Alice Macdonald). In addition to Mercer and Macdonald, the sequel’s cast includes Peter Cilella, Marianna Palka, Morgan Peter Brown, Laurel Vail, Anna Lore and Suzanne Voss.

Exclusive: After seeing strong VOD returns from last year’s Std horror flick Contracted, IFC Midnight is springing for its sequel, Contracted: Phase II. Writer-director Eric England’s first film was an original low-budget take on the zombie genre about a young woman in rapid decay after picking up an icky, mysterious disease from a one-night stand. The sequel continues where Contracted left off, as newly-infected Riley (Matt Mercer) scrambles to track down those responsible for the outbreak and discovers a larger conspiracy that threatens to infect the world.

England’s not involved in the follow-up, which is already in production in La; he’s currently filming indie comedy Get The Girl. Instead, BoulderLight Pictures producers J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules tapped new blood to helm the sequel, hiring newcomer Josh Forbes to direct from a script by first-timer Craig Walendziak.

Contracted co-stars Matt Mercer and Alice MacDonald are back,...

The filmmakers behind the psychological horror movie “Dementia” have released a slew of photos. The movie stars Gene Jones (“The Sacrament”) and Kristina Klebe (“Proxy”), as well as Peter Cilella (“Resolution”), Richard Riehle (“Texas Chainsaw 3D”), Marc Senter (“Red, White & Blue”), Graham Skipper (“Almost Human”), Molly McQueen (“Carjacked”), Tony Denison (“The Closer”) and newcomer Hassie Harrison. Described as a cross between “Misery” and “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane,” the film hails from director Mike Testin and producers Raphael Margules and J.D. Lifshitz. The trio previously collaborated on “Contracted.” Also read: Millennium Acquires Psychological Horror ‘Dead Within’ Diagnosed with dementia, war...

As we told you a few months back, Contracted's Dp Mike Testin is making his feature debut with an old-school horror flick entitled Dementia, which boasts a handful of faces that are quite familiar to us horror folk. On tap for you today are the first images from the film so dig in!

From the Press Release

Dementia, starring Gene Jones (Sacrament) and Kristina Klebe (Proxy), leaves you thinking Misery meets Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?

The film also stars some of horror’s hottest indie actors including Peter Cilella (Resolution), Richard Riehle (Texas Chainsaw 3D), Marc Senter (Red, White & Blue), and Graham Skipper (Almost Human). Molly McQueen (Carjacked), Tony Denison (“The Closer”), and newcomer Hassie Harrison co-star.

Diagnosed with dementia, war veteran George Lockhart (Jones) must deal with his estranged family. Son Jerry (Cilella) and granddaughter Shelby (Harrison) force him to hire a live-in nurse (Klebe), only to...

Some familiar faces have joined the cast of upcoming indie Dementia with Twitch getting word of the complete cast on the latest from the producers of Contracted. All the details below:Peter Cilella (Resolution), Tony Denison (TNT's Major Crimes, The Closer), Steve Agee (Sarah Silverman Program), Morgan Peter Brown (Absentia), and Richard Riehle (Office Space) have been added to the cast of BoulderLight Pictures' "Dementia". They join Gene Jones, Kristina Klebe, Marc Senter, Hassie Harrison, Molly McQueen,and Graham Skipper. The plot is as follows: "After suffering a stroke, an elderly war veteran is forced by his estranged family to hire a live in nurse, only to find she harbors a sinister secret..."The film is directed by Mike Testin from a script by Meredith Berg. J.D. Lifshitz...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Another year has come to an end, which means it's time for the Dread Central staff to weigh in with their picks of the best and worst of 2013's horror offerings. We're giving you a full dozen lists this time, and per usual they come in a variety of formats, each reflecting the unique styles of our writers.

We've also compiled them to come up with the year's overall winners and losers. We averaged out the top and bottom five vote getters on everyone's lists, and here are the results:

Best: Maniac

Runners-up: The Conjuring, Evil Dead

Worst: Texas Chainsaw 3D

Runners-up: The Purge, The Last Exorcism Part II

Check out the Dread Central staff's Best of and Worst of lists for 2013 by following the links below!

[Andrew Kasch]

[Anthony Arrigo]

[Brad McHargue]

[Buz "Danger" Wallick]

[Debi "The Woman in Black" Moore]

[The Foywonder]

[Gareth "Pestilence" Jones]

[Jinx]

[MattFini]

[Scott "Doctor Gash" Hallam]

[Staci Layne Wilson]

[Uncle Creepy]

Andrew Kasch's Picks

Stoker: Chan-wook Park delivered some next-level filmmaking and his best film since Oldboy with his U.

Furious that I missed Resolution during its Tribeca run in 2012, I’ve been anxiously waiting to get my grubby paws on a copy of the Blu-Ray for review – and it didn’t disappoint. Writer/director Justin Benson and director Aaron Moorhead created a tantalizing bit of mindfuckery that exemplifies all the best aspects of independent filmmaking, not really adhering to one single genre. While most assuredly a psychological horror film, there are moments of lighthearted, comical banter, and also dramatic, tension filled scenes full of mystery. It’s a bit of a tonal mish mosh, but the flavors are all farm fresh, grade A quality – in other words, they work wonderfully together.

The plot is rather simple – Michael Danube (Peter Cilella) wants to save his drug addicted best friend Chris Daniels (Vinny Curran). Fortunately for Michael, Chris has fled into the woods and is currently living in a remote cabin,...

For those of you that keep up with us, you’ll probably know that Resolution is a film that we’ve been talking about for a while now. At least a year, anyway, since Jeff saw the film at last year’s Toronto After Dark, and not only that, but had the “Pubcast” edition of the podcast, recorded at Pub After Dark, directly after the festival, invaded by the inebriated cast and crew of the film. It certainly made for a fun listen, and I’m fairly sure it made for an epic experience for Jeff, getting to hang with those guys for such an extended period of time. In fact, You can listen to that here, as it will make for a great companion to the movie itself. After becoming aware of the movie, and hearing all of the things Jeff had to say about it, I knew this...

Resolution Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack Giveaway!

Now available on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital-To-Own Platforms!

Synopsis: Michael (Peter Cilella) is committed to getting his best friend Chris (Vinny Curran) to sober up and get his life back on track. With the best of intentions, Michael implements a plan to convince Chris to go to rehab before his drug addiction leads to an early death. But what begins as an attempt to save his friend’s life quickly takes an unexpected turn as the two friends confront personal demons, the consequences of past actions, and forces beyond their control.

This giveaway is simple. Simply like The Liberal Dead Facebook Page, and down here in the comments section let us know your favorite ‘cabin in the woods’ type horror movie. Please leave us your email address as well, so that we can contact you for the address to ship your prize. That’s it!

What's better than winning a new horror movie on Blu-ray? Why, winning two of course! Interested! Sure you are! Read on for instructions on how to score both Static and Resolution!

To enter for your chance to win, just send us an E-mail Here including your Full Name And Mailing Address. We’ll take care of the rest.

Written by Justin Benson, who also co-directed the film with Aaron Moorhead, Resolution was the winner of Best Screenplay and Most Innovative Film at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival. The movie stars Peter Cilella and Vinny Curran and features Zahn McClarnon and Bill Oberst, Jr.

Synopsis

Michael (Cilella) is committed to getting his best friend Chris (Curran) to sober up and get his life back on track. With the best of intentions, Michael implements a plan to convince Chris to go to rehab before his drug addiction leads to an early death.

After a VOD and limited theatrical release earlier this year, Resolution is headed to Blu-ray, DVD, and digital platforms on October 8th.

“In an abandoned cabin on the edge of an Indian reservation, Mike (Peter Cilella) stages a risky intervention to force his friend Chris (Vinny Curran) off meth and into rehab. But what begins as an attempt to save his friend’s life takes an unexpected turn when ominous threats start appearing around the house – and they realize that Chris’s addictions are the least of their worries. One of the most talked-about discoveries of last year’s festival circuit, Resolution is genre-bending horror at its most bone-chilling.”

Resolution was directed by Justin Benson and Aaron Scott Moorhead, and stars Peter Cilella, Vinny Curran, Kurt David Anderson, Emily Montague, Skyler Meacham, and Zahn McClarnon. The movie will be released on DVD, as well as a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack.

Though the home video release is still just under three months away on October 8th I think it wise that Resolution filmmakers Justin Benson and Aaron Moorehead, along with their leads Peter Cilella and Vinny Curran, let you know now that their movie increases your chances of experiencing carnal delights. Like myself, not everyone has someone at the ready to jump in the sack. We need all the help we can get. So, careful and meticulous planning is needed when we do get our desired companion in front of the TV to watch their horror film. If we let the movie do the talking for us, according to Justin and Aaron Resolution will help us have sex! And if you're like me, three months may be just...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Directed by: Justin Benson and Aaron Scott Moorhead

Written by: Justin Benson

Featuring: Peter Cilella, Vinny Curran, Emily Montague, Zahn McClarnon

I have read a lot of online reviews lately bashing indie horror as a whole for being derivative, unimaginative and amateurish. I have been reviewing indie horror films for years, and I have watched my share of knockoffs made by people with no knowledge of the genre and "homages" made by filmmakers who follow the rules of the genre so slavishly that their films end up adding nothing new. Like these other critics, I get sick of it too. But every once in awhile, I come across a great indie horror movie like Resolution, a clever, innovative, unique little film that slowly gets under your skin. Films like Resolution are the reason indie filmmaking exists.

When Michael Danube (Peter Cilella) receives a mysterious email containing a map and a...

Taking place this weekend is the CineMayhem Film Festival in Thousand Oaks, California. If you’re a fan of independent horror, there will be a variety of short films, multiple features, including The ABCs of Death, and the world premiere of Roadside:

“(Los Angeles, CA)—In just less than 48 hours, the first-ever CineMayhem Film Fest will be underway at the Muvico Thousand Oaks (166 West Hillcrest Drive, Thousand Oaks, CA) and to get the fans out there ready, we have a few final details we wanted to share in preparation of our two-day celebration of independent horror this weekend.

CineMayhem sponsor SideShow Collectibles has generously donated four figurines for us to raffle off to attendees at the following screenings on March 2nd and 3rd: Roadside and The ABC’s Of Death on Saturday and K-11 and Resolution on Sunday. Scream Factory, another CineMayhem sponsor, has also kindly donated several of...

If you're in or around Los Angeles and are a horror fan, you should make it your business to attend this weekend's CineMayhem Film Festival in honor of Indie Horror Month! Read on for the skinny on all that's happening!

From the Press Release

In less than 48 hours, the first-ever CineMayhem Film Fest will be under way at the Muvico Thousand Oaks (166 West Hillcrest Drive, Thousand Oaks, CA), and to get the fans out there ready, we have a few final details we wanted to share in preparation of our two-day celebration of independent horror this weekend.

CineMayhem sponsor Sideshow Collectibles has generously donated four figurines for us to raffle off to attendees at the following screenings on March 2nd and 3rd: Roadside and The ABC's Of Death on Saturday and K-11 and Resolution on Sunday. Scream Factory, another CineMayhem sponsor, has also kindly donated several of their cult classic...

The CineMayhem Film Fest is pleased to announce its final line-up with tickets and festival passes going on sale Today for the two-day celebration of independent horror at the Muvico in Thousand Oaks, CA, this March.

Ticket and Pass prices for the 2013 CineMayhem Film Fest are:

Saturday Pass- $30

Sunday Pass- $30

Individual Movie- $7 per ticket

Tickets and full-day passes can be purchased at the Muvico Thousand Oaks website. The theatre is located at 166 West Hillcrest Drive, Thousand Oaks, CA.

And don't forget that starting Right Now, you can submit your short film to us, and if gets the most "Likes" via our official CineMayhem Contest Facebook App, it will be shown during the fest. To upload your film for judging, just hit the link and get started.

From the Press Release

Founded this year as a launch event to kick off Dread Central's third annual Indie Horror Month this March by Heather Wixson,...

Dread Central got the exclusive and it’s just to good to not share with you here.

The film is titled Resolution and promises the following:

Synopsis

Michael (Peter Cilella) is committed to getting his best friend Chris (Vinny Curran) to sober up and get his life back on track. But what begins as an attempt to save his friend’s life quickly takes an unexpected turn as the two friends confront personal demons, the consequences … Continue reading →...

Okay, kids, it's exclusive time. On tap for you right now is a new clip from the stellar indie flick, Resolution. Check it out and do yourself a favor... make your own resolution to see this movie as soon as possible.

Resolution (review here) is now available on VOD and in select theaters via Tribeca Film.

Peter Cilella, Vinny Curran, Kurt David Anderson, Emily Montague, Skyler Meacham, Zahn McClarnon, and Bill Oberst, Jr., star.

Synopsis

Michael (Peter Cilella) is committed to getting his best friend Chris (Vinny Curran) to sober up and get his life back on track. But what begins as an attempt to save his friend’s life quickly takes an unexpected turn as the two friends confront personal demons, the consequences of past actions, and forces beyond their control. Expertly balancing dark humor with genuine thrills and unexpected pathos, Resolution is an utterly unique cinematic experience that defies genre classification.

Resolution has been making the festival rounds for a short while now, and it’s left a strong mark as a smart horror film. Comparisons to the higher profile Cabin In the Woods are frequent, but the two actually share little in common aside from their desire to break away from the genre template. Granted, most of the action here does take place in a cabin in the woods… But the events that transpire differ wildly. Instead of the expected archetypes, our leads are simply two old friends reunited by loyalty, compassion and something that oozes evil from every possible pore (or whatever the evil equivalent of pores are). Kills A few stragglers get offed. Ills Not a lot of physical ills here, but there’s some definite creepiness running throughout. Lust It’s a veritable sausage-fest. Learning Drug addicts are lost causes. Especially when they’re hanging out in otherwise deserted cabins in the middle of...

You know that terrible, bumper-friendly saying, “friends help you move, real friends help you move bodies?” Well, turns out, it’s not entirely accurate – real friends help you detox from meth while rangy, money-hungry drug dealers try to knock down your door. Such is the plot of Justin Benson and Aaron Scott Moorhead‘s genre-bending Resolution. In the film, Mike (Peter Cilella) decides to stage an intervention for his methhead friend Chris (Vinny Curran), the kind of intervention that involves handcuffing his pal to a pipe in a dirty cabin while all sorts of weird things keep happening around them. Trust us, there is far more to this very surprising project than that little logline could ever let on. Do you think you know what’s going to happen next? Nope. You don’t. Check out a very special exclusive clip (and Reject-special introduction!) from Resolution after the break, one that will surely continue to lull you...