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Stars: Annie Hardy, Amar Chadha-Patel, Angela Enahoro, Jemma Moore | Written by Gemma Hurley, Rob Savage, Jed Shepherd | Directed by Rob Savage

The filmmaking team behind lockdown hit Host return with this Blumhouse-produced follow-up, shot by the cast and crew on iPhone cameras. Amusingly provocative, fast-paced and filled with shocks and scares, it’s the epitome of a wild ride.

Sticking to the fruitful territory of horror movies set during the pandemic, Dashcam centres on Annie Hardy, a gleefully offensive, Maga-loving, Covid-denying vlogger, who drives around L.A. at night hosting “Bandcar: The Internet’s Number 1 Live Improvised Music Show Broadcast from a Moving Vehicle” (Hardy’s actual show).

Fed up with America, Annie decamps to England, intending to visit her friend Stretch (Amar Chadha-Patel), but her obnoxious antics quickly get her thrown out by Stretch’s girlfriend (Jemma Moore), so she steals Stretch’s car and accepts a pick-up job on his behalf.

Sometimes knowing the why and wherefore of something slightly spoils a horror film. Why does Michael Myers kill? No reason. What exactly is The Thing in The Thing (it’s a thing). Wft is That at the end of [Rec]?

Rob Savage’s Dashcam, his follow up to Zoom-based lockdown horror Host is in some ways one such movie. It’s a barrage of images and sound transmitted via protagonist Annie’s dashcam and her mobile phone. We the audience don’t really understand exactly what’s going on anymore than Annie does, we just know it’s gross and horrible!

But if you’re someone who after the fact does like to delve a little deeper into the mythology of what’s going on, we’re here for you.

Dashcam follow right-wing internet a-hole Annie Hardy (played by Hardy) who travels to the UK from LA to visit former band...

Here’s the latest episode of the The Filmmakers Podcast, part of the ever-growing podcast roster here on Nerdly. If you haven’t heard the show yet, you can check out previous episodes on the official podcast site, whilst we’ll be featuring each and every new episode as it premieres.

For those unfamiliar with the series, The Filmmakers Podcast is a podcast about how to make films from micro budget indie films to bigger budget studio films and everything in-between. Our hosts Giles Alderson, Dan Richardson, Andrew Rodger and Cristian James talk how to get films made, how to actually make them and how to try not to f… it up in their very humble opinion. Guests will come on and chat about their film making experiences from directors, writers, producers, screenwriters, actors, cinematographers and distributors.

The Filmmaker’s Podcast #279: Dashcam – How to follow up a smash-hit movie...

Following up the fantastically frightening Host was never going to be a walk in the park for writer/director Rob Savage and writer/producers Gemma Hurley and Jed Shepherd, but the trio have thankfully smashed it with the dazzlingly demented Dashcam.

With scale, production and (presumably) budget enhanced, and clout bolstered by Blumhouse, Dashcam retains the faux “found footage” online vibe that worked so well with its predecessor, yet this is more sprawling and adventurous, despite, like Host, being produced during the pandemic, with crew and fictional characters operating under Covid restrictions.

The story introduces us to grating anti-vax vlogger Annie Hardy (Annie Hardy) who livestreams a journey to the UK from America as part of her improvised driving/music show BandCar. Upon arrival, Annie meets ex-band mate/musical collaborator “Stretch” (Amar Chadha-Patel) who has since settled down, got married and found a job delivering food.

After clashing with Stretch...

Film played 2021 BFI London, Sitges, Toronto.

Film Sales Company president Andrew Herwitz has announced territory sales in Cannes on Blumhouse Productions horror Dashcam.

The company has closed deals with Non Stop for Scandinavia and Baltics, Lanterna De Pedra Filmes for Portugal, Kriscoe Media for Middle East and M C Twist for Japan.

Herwitz said negotiations were underway for numerous other territories and added, “Even though the market has definitely changed since Covid, it is reassuring to see that quality still sells.”

Writer-director Rob Savage’s story centres on a live-streaming, abrasive musician’s night which takes a dangerous turn when...

Written by Gemma Hurley, Rob Savage and Jed Shepherd and produced by Blumhouse Productions, Dashcam is directed by Rob Savage (Host) and stars breakout Annie Hardy, Angela Enahoro and Amar Chadha-Patel (Disney+’s Willow).

The film follows Annie Hardy on a crazy horror road trip. Viewed through her livestream, this abrasive musician’s night takes a dangerous turn after she agrees to help transport a frail elderly woman out of town.

The new film from the creators of acclaimed lockdown breakout hit Host, Dashcam is being released on the back of a successful festival run, including the 2021 BFI London Film Festival, horror festival Sitges, and Toronto International Film Festival, where it was named runner up People’s Choice Award: Midnight Madness.

Dashcam will be released in selected UK cinemas on Friday June 3, 2022 by eOne and will be available for digital download from Monday June 6, 2022. Check out the new trailer and...

“Dashcam,” the divisive horror movie from Rob Savage and Blumhouse, has revealed a trailer ahead of its release in theaters and on demand on June 3.

Per the official synopsis, “At the start of the pandemic, an indulgent and self-deluded livestreaming improv musician abandons L.A. for London, steals her ex-band mate’s car, and makes the wrong decision to give a ride to an elderly woman who is not what she seems.”

The found footage horror about a “noxious pandemic denier who flouts all contagion-prevention protocols” is produced by Jason Blum and Douglas Cox, while executive producers include Savage, Gemma Hurley, Jed Shepherd and Ryan Turek. Annie Hardy stars alongside Amar Chadha-Patel, Angela Enahoro and Seylan Baxter.

“Dashcam” follows Savage’s 2020 effort “Host,” another pandemic-set horror about six friends who hire a medium to hold a seance via Zoom call.

Variety’s review out of the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival,...

Andrew Herwitz’s The Film Sales Company handles international sales and EFM.

Momentum Pictures has acquired North America and UK rights to Blumhouse Productions’ Dashcam from Host director Rob Savage. Andrew Herwitz’s The Film Sales Company has launched handles international sales at EFM.

The distributor plans a summer theatrical release on Dashcam,which follows an abrasive musician’s night, via her livestream, as it takes a dangerous turn when she agrees to help transport a frail elderly woman out of town.

Annie Hardy stars as a caustic online streamer whose anarchic behavior triggers a non-stop nightmare. The film also...

Momentum Pictures has acquired North American and UK rights to Blumhouse Productions’ thriller Dashcam from director Rob Savage, who broke out in 2020 with his pandemic horror feature, Host. The Entertainment One company plans to release it in theaters this summer.

Dashcam follows an abrasive musician’s (Annie Hardy) night, via her livestream, as it takes a dangerous turn when she agrees to help transport a frail elderly woman out of town.

The film premiered at the 2021 Toronto Film Festival, where it was named runner-up for the Midnight Madness People’s Choice Award, then going on to screen at BFI London and the horror festival Sitges. Savage, Gemma Hurley and Jed Shepherd penned the script, with Savage producing alongside Jason Blum and Douglas Cox, and Hurley, Shepherd and Ryan Turek exec producing. Amar Chadha-Patel (Disney+’s Willow) and newcomer Angela Enahoro rounded out the cast.

Blumhouse has tapped frequent collaborator Andrew Herwitz,...

Exclusive: Domina and The Terror actor Matthew McNulty has joined Sky’s supernatural crime thriller The Rising. McNulty replaced actor Daniel Ings in pre-production with filming ongoing in the UK on the series.

Clara Rugaard, the Danish actress who starred in Netflix’s I Am Mother, leads cast on the series inspired by Belgian drama Hotel Beau Séjour. The eight-part series is the first Sky drama produced entirely in-house by Sky Studios.

We understand the series is likely to air next spring in the UK.

Rugaard stars as Neve Kelly, a woman who discovers she is dead. She’s scared and confused by this new existence. But, when she realizes she has been murdered, she’s furious. She’s determined to find her killer and get justice, believing that it was someone she knew.

Also starring are Silent Witness actress Emily Taaffe as Kelly’s estranged father and beloved mother,...

There’s cringe humor, like when Larry David bows to the Japanese delivery guy; and then there’s cringe horror, like when a blood-spewing parasitic twin bursts out the back of a skull (spoiler alert for a recent unnamed release). In “Dashcam,” a wildly unhinged cinematic invention playing the Toronto International Film Festival, Blumhouse and “Host” director Rob Savage have pioneered a rollicking chimera of the two — the cringe horror comedy.

With the uncomfortably charismatic Annie Harding (playing a heightened version of herself), “Dashcam” has not only created a character far more terrifying than any mythical monster, but has totally rewritten the rules for the ever elusive “unlikable woman.” In her raspy-voiced soft lisp, the petite blonde terror livestreams from her car, under the guise of a project she has dubbed “Bandcar: The Internet’s Number 1 Live Improvised Music Show Broadcast from a Moving Vehicle.” (The LA-based musician’s actual show.

In his latest interview, screenwriter and film podcast host Stuart Wright talks with screenwriter Gemma Hurley. She is one of the writers on the upcoming show The Rising and the co-writer of the amazing streaming horror hit Host, which took the internet by storm in 2020. Gemma talks about her choices of 5 Great Found Footage Films, which include:

Ghost Watch (1992) The Blair Witch Project (1999) Paranormal Activity (2007) Lake Mungo (2008) Creep (2014)

Notable mentions of:

Punishment Park (1971) Cannibal Holocaust (1980) The Conspiracy (2012) Be My Cat: A Film For Anne (2015) Butterfly Kisses (2018)

Check out the rest of our Host coverage right here.

Here’s the latest episode of the The Filmmakers Podcast, part of the ever-growing podcast roster here on Nerdly. If you haven’t heard the show yet, you can check out previous episodes on the official podcast site, whilst we’ll be featuring each and every new episode as it premieres.

For those unfamiliar with the series, The Filmmakers Podcast is a podcast about how to make films from micro budget indie films to bigger budget studio films and everything in-between. Our hosts Giles Alderson, Dan Richardson, Andrew Rodger and Cristian James talk how to get films made, how to actually make them and how to try not to f… it up in their very humble opinion. Guests will come on and chat about their film making experiences from directors, writers, producers, screenwriters, actors, cinematographers and distributors.

The Filmmakers Podcast #223: ‘Host’ Screenwriter Gemma Hurley on Writing a Hit Movie

Today,...

Sky has announced the production of a brand new 8-part supernatural crime thriller ‘The Rising’, adapted from the Belgian crime thriller ‘Hotel Beau Séjour.’

The series will be the first produced entirely in-house from Sky Studios, Sky’s production and development arm, who are working with executive producer Julian Stevens, producer of ‘The Fall’ (BBC Two) and ‘Informer’ (BBC Two).

The thriller will follow the story of Neve Kelly (Rugaard), who discovers that she is dead. She’s scared and confused by this new existence. But, when she realises she has been murdered, she’s furious. She’s determined to find her killer and get justice, believing that it was someone she knew.

Impulsive and restless, Neve regrets never leaving her isolated community. And, as she comes to terms with her abilities, she begins to destabilise the lives of those she left behind. Particularly her estranged father, Tom (Daniel Ings...

In today’s Global Bulletin, Sky commissions supernatural thriller “The Rising” and Channel 4 and Peacock wage “The Undeclared War”; The Garden, BBC Studios Productions and Constantin Film Development reveal senior appointments; Rakuten TV expands AVOD offering; and Disney India picks up kids series “Dr Tenali Rama Hmkd” from Cosmos-Maya.

Commissions

Sky original series, supernatural crime thriller “The Rising,” is the first series produced entirely in-house from Sky Studios, Sky’s production and development arm. It tells the story of Neve Kelly who discovers that she is dead, and is determined to find her killer and get justice, believing that it was someone she knew.

The cast includes Clara Rugaard (“I Am Mother”), Nenda Neururer (“A Brief History of Struggle”) and Solly McLeod (“Boxing Day”), alongside Daniel Ings (“I Hate Suzie”), Emily Taaffe (“Rare Beasts”), Alex Lanipekun (“Spooks”) and Robyn Cara (“Ackley Bridge”).

The eight-part drama was commissioned by Zai Bennett,...

Clara Rugaard, the Danish actress who starred in Netflix’s I Am Mother, is to lead the cast for Sky’s The Rising, a supernatural crime thriller that was originally inspired by Belgian drama Hotel Beau Séjour.

Deadline first revealed in October 2019 that Sky was making its own version of Hotel Beau Séjour, and the drama is now poised to shoot in the Lake District, England, next month. The eight-part series represents the first Sky drama produced entirely in-house by Sky Studios.

Rugaard stars as Neve Kelly, a woman who discovers she is dead. She’s scared and confused by this new existence. But, when she realizes she has been murdered, she’s furious. She’s determined to find her killer and get justice, believing that it was someone she knew. Billed as having a distinctive tone and visual style, The Rising is a story about love, justice, and the...

Stars: Haley Bishop, Jemma Moore, Emma Louise Webb | Written by Gemma Hurley, Rob Savage, Jed Shepherd | Directed by Rob Savage

Well, well, well… I guess we knew it was only a matter of time before we started to get a plethora of lockdown movies coming out the woodwork and it would seem that horror based streaming platform Shudder are going to be the first to dip their toe into, what I assume, to soon be very crowded waters… I can’t say these are times I have been looking forward to knowing how fairly uncreative things can get when we are essentially just following a trend but like any reviewer or just all round movie lover It is my duty to at least watch the movies and give them a fair shot.

So buckle up and lets get into Host. A Blair Witch for the 2020s you could say… We wont,...

Host, the breakout horror sensation of the Summer from director Rob Savage is coming to DVD and Blu-ray next Tuesday. Rlje Films, part of AMC Networks, is handling the physical release after picking up the rights from Shudder. We have two (2) Blu-rays to give away to lucky readers. Check out how down below.     Host was shot remotely during quarantine and features groundbreaking scares, stunts, and surprises, all filmed by the actors in their own homes. The project was commissioned, written, produced and will be released in under three months. Host is the feature directorial debut of Rob Savage who co-wrote the film with Gemma Hurley (Shoot for the Moon) and Jed Shepherd (Multiplex). The film stars Haley Bishop (Angel Has Fallen), Radina...

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

One of the most buzzed-about and timely horror films of 2020, Rob Savage’s Host is coming to Blu-ray and DVD on February 2nd from Rlje Films, and to celebrate, we've been provided with two Blu-ray copies to give away to lucky Daily Dead readers!

---------

Prize Details: (2) Winners will receive (1) Blu-ray copy of Host.

How to Enter: We're giving Daily Dead readers multiple chances to enter and win:

Instagram: Following us on Instagram during the contest period will give you an automatic contest entry. Make sure to follow us at:

https://www.instagram.com/dailydead/

Email: For a chance to win via email, send an email to contest@dailydead.comwith the subject “Host Blu-ray Contest”. Be sure to include your name and mailing address.

Entry Details: The contest will end at 12:01am Est on February 3rd. This contest is only open to those who are eighteen years of...

Thank goodness that’s over, right?

To say 2020 was a challenging year is like announcing the Hindenburg had a rough landing. In a period that’s transformed how billions live their lives, there isn’t one person, family, business, or industry that wasn’t impacted significantly by upheaval. And that includes going to the movies.

Just 12 months ago, moviegoers were turning out by the millions to see their favorite space adventures in theaters. Now they’re watching them, and everything else, on streaming. It’s an astonishing journey we’ve detailed further here, but even if our relationship to how we experience films is changing, the fact remains cinema is as vital a form of escape and inspiration as ever. And even in 2020, as Hollywood studios largely abandoned multiplexes to fend for themselves, there also remained excellent motion pictures. Some were released on Netflix, some experimented with premium video on demand,...

For many people, this has been the year of Zoom calls, and director Rob Savage (along with co-writers Gemma Hurley and Jed Shepherd) brought innovative terror to the virtual meeting format with Host. One of the most buzzed-about films of the year since its summer streaming release on Shudder (you can listen to us discuss the film on a previous episode of Corpse Club), Host is coming to Blu-ray and DVD on February 2nd from Rlje Films, and we have a look at the cover art and full list of bonus features.

From the Press Release: Los Angeles – Rlje Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, has picked up select rights to Host from Shudder, AMC Networks’ streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural. Host will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on February 2, 2021. The film is Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with a 100 percent score on the Tomatometer.

Update: This story is being updated this week as the new longlists are unveiled. Today (November 20) the Best Documentary longlist has been published, see below.

Previously, November 17: Organizers of the British Independent Film Awards have confirmed their upcoming ceremony will delay from its traditional end-of-year dates to February, 2021, moving in line with this year’s major awards shows.

This week, the BIFAs will unveil its various longlists of awards, which will be whittled down to its final nominations, to be revealed on December 9.

Today, the New Talent awards longlists have been unveiled, featuring a total of 46 directors, writers and producers. Each of the below will participate in BIFA’s Springboard scheme, a tailored program of professional development and peer to peer support.

Best Documentary

The Art Of Political Murder Paul Taylor, Teddy Leifer, Regina K. Scully

The Australian Dream Daniel Gordon, Stan Grant, Sarah Thomson, Nick Batzias, Virginia Whitwell,...

“Saint Maud,” “White Riot” and “Calm With Horses” are among the leading titles on the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) longlists announced Tuesday.

Riz Ahmed, star and co-writer of Berlin-winner “Mogul Mowgli” is on the longlist in the debut screenwriter long list, alongside Billie Piper for “Rare Beasts.”

Rose Glass, director of “Saint Maud,” which won an honorable mention at the BFI London Film Festival in 2019, makes it to the BIFA debut director and screenwriter longlist, as does producer Oliver Kassma, in the breakthrough producer category.

“White Riot” won awards at Berlin, London, Krakow and IndieLisboa, and director Rubika Shah duly makes it to the debut director list and Ed Gibbs in the breakthrough producer category.

“Calm With Horses” won at the Irish Film and Television Awards, and director Nick Rowland finds a place in the director longlist, Joseph Murtagh in the debut screenwriting category and Daniel Emmerson as breakthrough producer.

Twenty-seven films have been longlisted across three new talent categories.

The British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs) has moved its ceremony from its traditional early December slot to February 2021 as it announces the longlists for six categories this week.

The nominations will be announced on December 9 and winners revealed “in early February”, according to BIFA. An exact date and format of the ceremony has yet to be announced.

Scroll down for the New Talent longlists

Rose Glass’ horror Saint Maud and Nick Rowland’s drama Calm With Horses are two of six films included in all three longlists for the BIFA 2020 New Talent categories.

Picture which launched on genre platform Shudder in July heads to Sitges this week.

Paris-based sales company Charades has unveiled a slew of deals on UK director Rob Savage’s zeitgeisty, Zoom-set horror film Host, ahead of its first festival outing at the Sitges fantasy film festival this week.

Charades recently partnered with AMC Network’s genre streamer Shudder to sell the hit title worldwide, excluding North America, UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, where the film played on the platform over the summer.

The sales follow the picture’s launch on Shudder in July, where its timely setting and...

Rob Savage directed the Zoom-based horror during the Covid-19 quarantine.

Rob Savage’s viral hit Host is to receive a theatrical release in the UK and Ireland through Vertigo Releasing following a deal with Shudder.

The UK horror, which takes place over a Zoom video call, debuted on AMC Networks’ streaming service Shudder in the UK and North America on July 30 and has proved a cult hit, scoring 100% on critic aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes.

Vertigo now plans to give Host a day-and-date release on December 4, comprising a wide theatrical opening and making the film available to rent and buy on...

Hot off his acclaimed film, Host, Blumhouse has entered into a three-picture deal with sought-after British director Rob Savage. Blumhouse will finance and partner with Savage to produce the three films. Savage will be collaborating with the same team behind Host, including producer Douglas Cox; writers Jed Shepherd & Gemma Hurley; and editor Breanna Rangott. …

The post Blumhouse enters into a 3 Picture Deal with Director Rob Savage appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.

After getting everyone’s attention with Host, his pandemic horror movie now streaming on Shudder, director Rob Savage is headed to Blumhouse. The filmmaker just signed a three-picture deal with the horror-centric studio. For his three-picture deal, Savage will be working with some of the same people behind Host, including writers Jed Shepherd and Gemma Hurley. Blumhouse just signed […]

The post ‘Host’ Director Rob Savage Signs Deal With Blumhouse appeared first on /Film.

If you listened to our latest episode of Corpse Club, you know that we're big fans of the Zoom-set horror movie Host (now streaming on Shudder), so we're especially thrilled that Host director Rob Savage has signed a new deal with Blumhouse, in which Savage will work with the creative team behind Host to make three new movies financed by Jason Blum's production company:

Press Release: September 10, 2020, Los Angeles, CA -- Hot off his acclaimed film, Host, Blumhouse has entered into a three-picture deal with sought-after British director Rob Savage. Blumhouse will finance and partner with Savage to produce the three films. Savage will be collaborating with the same team behind Host, including producer Douglas Cox; writers Jed Shepherd & Gemma Hurley; and editor Breanna Rangott.

“We’ve been tracking Rob’s work for some time now, and when I got a look at Host, I saw the inventiveness in...

Hollywood horror kingpin Jason Blum’s Blumhouse has signed a three-picture deal with “Host” director Rob Savage and will finance and partner with Savage to produce the films.

Savage will be collaborating with the same team behind “Host,” including producer Douglas Cox; the writing team of Jed Shepherd & Gemma Hurley; and editor Breanna Rangott.

“We’ve been tracking Rob’s work for some time now, and when I got a look at ‘Host,’ I saw the inventiveness in his work that Ryan Turek on the Blumhouse team had been championing,” Blum said. “We are looking forward to getting this partnership underway immediately.”

“Host,” a found-footage horror movie, centers on a group of friends who hold weekly Zoom calls in order to stay in touch during the pandemic and begin to experience unexplained horrors. Savage had complete creative control on his film, which was entirely conceived, shot and distributed in 12 weeks during the pandemic lockdown.

Blumhouse has entered into a three-picture deal with sought-after British director Rob Savage, which the studio will finance and partner with the filmmaker to produce.

Savage will be collaborating with the same team behind Host, including producer Douglas Cox; writers Jed Shepherd & Gemma Hurley; and editor Breanna Rangott.

“We’ve been tracking Rob’s work for some time now, and when I got a look at Host, I saw the inventiveness in his work that Ryan Turek on the Blumhouse team had been championing,” said Blumhouse founder Jason Blum. “We are looking forward to getting this partnership underway immediately.”

“I’m thrilled to be partnering with Blumhouse on these movies. Their status in the horror genre is unmatched, but I equally admire their filmmaker-led approach. They embody the independent filmmaking spirit with which we made Host and I can’t wait to create some new nightmares with them.”

Host was released July 28 on Shudder.

Blumhouse Productions has inked a three-picture deal with director Rob Savage following his critical success with “Host,” Blumhouse announced on Thursday.

Blumhouse will finance and partner with the British filmmaker for three films, while Savage will be collaborating with the same time behind “Host,” which includes producer Douglas Cox, writers Jed Shepherd and Gemma Hurley, and editor Breanna Rangott.

Released on July 28, in the middle of the pandemic on Shudder, “Host” garnered media attention and critical acclaim as Savage shot and distributed the film in 12 weeks during quarantine. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has scored a rating of 100%.

He previously wrote, directed, shot, co-produced and edited the film “Strings” when he was 17 years old, a film that premiered at the Rome Film Festival and was then acquired by Vertigo Films. He won the Discovery Award at the British Independent Film Awards for the film, making him the youngest director to win a BIFA.

Blumhouse has inked a three-picture pact with Rob Savage, the director behind the critically acclaimed lockdown-produced horror film Host.

Blumhouse will finance and partner with Savage to produce the three films, which will see Savage collaborating with the same team behind Host, including producer Douglas Cox, writers Jed Shepherd and Gemma Hurley and editor Breanna Rangott.

“We’ve been tracking Rob’s work for some time now, and when I got a look at Host, I saw the inventiveness in his work that Ryan Turek on the Blumhouse team had been championing,” said Jason Blum. “We are looking forward to getting this partnership underway immediately.”

Added ...

Blumhouse has inked a three-picture pact with Rob Savage, the director behind the critically acclaimed lockdown-produced horror film Host.

Blumhouse will finance and partner with Savage to produce the three films, which will see Savage collaborating with the same team behind Host, including producer Douglas Cox, writers Jed Shepherd and Gemma Hurley and editor Breanna Rangott.

“We’ve been tracking Rob’s work for some time now, and when I got a look at Host, I saw the inventiveness in his work that Ryan Turek on the Blumhouse team had been championing,” said Jason Blum. “We are looking forward to getting this partnership underway immediately.”

Added ...

Stars: Haley Bishop, Jemma Moore, Emma Louise Webb | Written by Gemma Hurley, Rob Savage, Jed Shepherd | Directed by Rob Savage

Well, well, well… I guess we knew it was only a matter of time before we started to get a plethora of lockdown movies coming out the woodwork and it would seem that horror based streaming platform Shudder are going to be the first to dip their toe into, what I assume, to soon be very crowded waters… I can’t say these are times I have been looking forward to knowing how fairly uncreative things can get when we are essentially just following a trend but like any reviewer or just all round movie lover It is my duty to at least watch the movies and give them a fair shot.

So buckle up and lets get into Host. A Blair Witch for the 2020s you could say… We wont,...

It’s one of the most talked about films of the Summer. Capturing a time we’ll never forget, horror film Host focuses in on a seance taking place over a Zoom call. It’s innovative, resourceful and most importantly, really frickin’ scary. To celebrate the film’s release – via Shudder – and subsequent success, we spoke to the director Rob Savage. Funnily enough, it was via Zoom.

Below he talks about when he and co-writers Jed Shepherd and Gemma Hurley had this idea, and he also comments on how thrilled he has been with the film’s incredible – and richly deserved – response. We dig deep into the logistics of the shoot, and we also ponder how bright a future Savage has in this industry as he’s soon to be teaming up with no other than horror maestro Sam Raimi.

Watch the full interview with Rob Savage below:

Synopsis

Six...

When lockdown began, British director Rob Savage intended to make the best of his isolation — digging out classics by the likes of Ingmar Bergman, Andrei Tarkovsky, and all the rest. Ten minutes into the latter’s 1972 epic Solaris, though, Savage gave up and turned on Halloween 4.

“I wanted something that was a bit removed [from reality],” he tells Rolling Stone. “A fun roller-coaster that you can watch and forget about what’s going on for a bit.”

The urge is understandable; as months pass by in quarantine, sometimes we just want to...

Join award-winning filmmaker Rob Savage and the cast of Host for a Shudder TV live watch of the hit Zoom-based horror film this Friday, August 7 at 3:30pm Pst/6:30pm Est/11:30pm BST. Rob and the cast will be live tweeting as they watch and sharing behind-the-scenes footage and stories from filming. Follow along and join the conversation using on Twitter using #HappySpookies. Host is now available on demand exclusively on Shudder in all its territories. The film which was shot remotely during quarantine features groundbreaking scares, stunts, and surprises, all filmed by the actors in their own homes. Due to social distancing precautions, Savage never set foot in the same room as his actors at any point during production and instead directed them remotely. The film stars Haley Bishop (Deep State), Radina Drandova (Dawn of the Deaf), Edward Linard (The Rebels), Jemma Moore (Doom: Annihilation), Caroline Ward...

Time moves differently during lockdown. But that’s actually worked to the advantage of director Rob Savage who has managed to create an incredibly timely, sincerely scary and wonderfully shot horror movie in 12 weeks. That’s 12 weeks from conception to its appearance on streaming service Shudder.

The result is Host, a horror set over a Zoom call that couldn’t be more relevant and more zeitgeisty, which will likely secure a place in horror history as a movie that captured a moment which, with any luck, will look like a bizarre blip. Though Host certainly leans into horror movie tropes that existed before it – you can see shades of The Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity and Unfriended here – Host is put together with such ingenuity, particularly given the whole lockdown situation, that it’s difficult not to be somewhat in awe of what Savage and his extraordinary cast and crew have achieved.

Shudder is the latest to unveil its filmed-in-quarantine project with the horror feature Host, which is set to premiere on the streaming platform July 30.

Directed by Rob Savage (Dawn of the Deaf), who wrote the script with Gemma Hurley and Jed Shepherd, Host was shot remotely in the actors’ homes during quarantine and adheres to social distancing rules with inventive ways to deliver the scares, stunts and surprises expected from a horror pic.

Host follows six friends who hire a medium to hold a séance via Zoom during lockdown — but they get far more than they bargain for as things quickly go wrong. When an evil spirit starts invading their homes, they begin to realize they might not survive the night. The movie stars Haley Bishop (Deep State), Radina Drandova (Dawn of the Deaf), Edward Linard (The Rebels), Jemma Moore (Doom: Annihilation), Caroline Ward (Stalling It) and Emma Louise Webb...