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Dane Elcar writes, directs and films this innovative indie movie that follows a bickering couple with seemingly no end

A plucky microbudget indie, Brightwood is a masterclass in what is achievable with hardly any money whatsoever: just a premise, a couple of actors, and a writer-director (Dane Elcar) who doubles as cameraperson. It’s also an illustration of the limits of the form, because it would be starry-eyed and untrue to claim that money makes no difference to what can be achieved.

We open on a couple, jogging in the woods and fighting as they go. Jen (Dana Berger) and Dan (Max Woertendyke) have evidently been married for long enough to really get to know and dislike each other. She’s listening to a podcast about how to divorce, he’s irritated she won’t take her earbuds out long enough for them to have a conversation, she’s furious...

Stars: Dana Berger, Max Woertendyke | Written and Directed by Dane Elcar

Let’s get this out of the way up front… I’ll be honest, in my opinion, Brightwood is one of the smartest well-executed high concept low low-budget projects I have seen in a good long while. I will be diving into the film a little bit but when you see something that is done this well, then, well it’s cards on the table time. Especially if for the first 10 minutes you are wondering if you will make the end credits.

I do believe that Brightwood started its life as a short movie from writer/director Dane Elcar and though I have not seen it, I am glad they blew this up into a full feature.

Jen and Dan are a married couple whose marriage is very much on the outs. The day we meet them Jen has...

Remember how we mentioned that last week was a bit of a “calm before the storm” situation, as we get closer to the Halloween season and its nonstop onslaught of fresh horror movies?

That orange wave has arrived, and it won’t be slowing down until October 31. In fact, there are so many new releases this week that we’re going to break them up into separate days.

Here’s all the new horror that just released for August 22, 2023!

For daily reminders about new horror releases, be sure to follow @HorrorCalendar.

Cinephobia Releasing brings Dane Elcar‘s acclaimed sci-fi thriller Brightwood home today, a time loop horror movie that’s now available on all your favorite VOD outlets.

The indie horror movie centers on a married couple at the end of their rope, and that’s before they get trapped into a loop with a hooded killer in the woods.

The prickliest challenge for indie time-loop thrillers like Dane Elcar’s Brightwood to overcome is simple: can you entertain an audience with minimalist repetition? Elcar utilizes nothing more than a suburban pondside trail, two actors, and the temporal puzzlement of purgatorial duplication. Your mileage will vary with an almost 90-minute mindbender that’s as barebones as a Bear Grylls camping trip due to the stripped-down nature of a movie running in circles by design. Everything rides on character dissections as reality fractures like a damaged record skipping the same few beats over and over, which may or may not be enough to pull viewers through Elcar’s conversationally dependent, light-and-breezy nightmare.

Dana Berger stars as Jen, and Max Woertendyke as her husband Dan — an Anywhere, America couple needing therapy, reconciliation, or divorce. Jen decides to go for a brisk jog through local wilderness routes, and Dan tags along to make a half-hearted,...

Break-ups are often protracted sagas, littered with fading sympathy, belated realizations and a lot of dead air — all irritations that define Dane Elcar’s low-budget “Brightwood,” a sci-fi tall tale that follows a couple on the downslope of a marriage that becomes mysteriously ensnared in a time loop while jogging in the woods. Inelegantly extending the premise of his 2018 short “The Pond” to feature length, the writer-director quickly expends all interesting angles on his barebones premise. Though his feature debut is billed as a genre high-wire act, Elcar simply isn’t enough of an acrobat to put on a show.

Jen (Dana Berger) is out for a jog, pumping herself up to the beat of a podcast about how to prepare for divorce. Dan (Max Woertendyke) is panting to keep up, gasping between apologies for being a messy drunk at the previous evening’s party, soiling what was supposed to...

Cinephobia Releasing is bringing Dane Elcar‘s acclaimed sci-fi thriller Brightwood to VOD on August 22, and Bloody Disgusting has been provided with a sneak peek today.

The time loop horror movie centers on a married couple at the end of their rope, and that’s before they get trapped into a loop with a hooded killer in the woods.

Check out an exclusive clip below to whet your appetite…

In Brightwood, “Jen and Dan’s marriage is on the rocks with Jen seriously thinking about ending it for good. But when the pair go on a jog around a local pond in an attempt to hash things out, they find themselves running in circles as the exit trail vanishes and they repeatedly return to the same spot.

“Being stuck together in an endless loop would be bad enough, but when a silent hooded killer appears and starts tracking them down,...

Cinephobia Releasing will be giving the sci-fi thriller Brightwood – a film that is said to be a “chilling mind-bender” that’s “in the twisted vein of Timecrimes and Coherence” – a VOD and DVD release on August 22nd. With that date just over a month away, a trailer for Brightwood has arrived online and can be seen in the embed above.

The feature debut of writer/director Dane Elcar, Brightwood has the following synopsis: Jen and Dan’s marriage is on the rocks with Jen seriously thinking about ending it for good. But when the pair go on a jog around a local pond in an attempt to hash things out, they find themselves running in circles as the exit trail vanishes and they repeatedly return to the same spot. Being stuck together in an endless loop would be bad enough, but when a silent hooded killer appears and starts tracking them down,...

Fans of time loop horror movies like Timecrimes and Coherence take note: Cinephobia Releasing has set a summer release date on upcoming time-bending horror feature Brightwood.

Look for Dane Elcar‘s acclaimed sci-fi thriller Brightwood on VOD and DVD on August 22, 2023.

A brand new trailer for the horror film introduces a married couple at the end of their rope, and that’s before they get trapped into a loop with a hooded killer. Marriage counseling by way of horror. Check out the trailer and new poster below.

In Brightwood, “Jen and Dan’s marriage is on the rocks with Jen seriously thinking about ending it for good. But when the pair go on a jog around a local pond in an attempt to hash things out, they find themselves running in circles as the exit trail vanishes and they repeatedly return to the same spot. Being stuck together in an...

Following its recent festival run, Dane Elcar's sci-fi thriller Brightwood will be released by Cinephobia Releasing on VOD and DVD on August 22nd, and we have a look at the brand-new trailer and poster:

"Jen and Dan’s marriage is on the rocks with Jen seriously thinking about ending it for good.

But when the pair go on a jog around a local pond in an attempt to hash things out, they find themselves running in circles as the exit trail vanishes and they repeatedly return to the same spot.

Being stuck together in an endless loop would be bad enough, but when a silent hooded killer appears and starts tracking them down, the couple must figure out how to survive -- together or apart."

Written and directed by Dane Elcar, Brightwood stars Dana Berger and Max Woertendyke.

The post Watch the Trailer for Dane Elcar’s Brightwood appeared first on Daily Dead.

While previous incarnations of Salem Horror Fest occured in tourist-heavy October, this year’s sixth installment smoothly shifted to two weekends in April. The official selections include 20 features and 37 shorts, along with repertory programming, celebrity guests, live podcasts, panels, after parties, and more.

Here’s what I saw at this year’s event…

Bury the Bride

After making his feature directorial debut with last year’s horror anthology Allegoria, Powerman 5000 frontman Spider One returns with Bury the Bride, exhibiting considerable growth as a filmmaker in a short span of time. He channels a redneck-fueled grit similar to his elder brother Rob Zombie’s ourve, particularly The Devil’s Rejects, coupled with Quentin Tarantino-esque idiosyncrasies.

The film follows bride-to-be June along with her older sister (co-writer Krsy Fox) and three of her closest friends into the California desert for a bachelorette party at a rural house owned by her mysterious fiance,...

American Indie Psychological Horror Film, Brightwood from Cinephobia Releasing will be playing at Another Hole In The Head Film Festival on Monday, December 5, 2022.

A couple on the verge of divorce find themselves mysteriously trapped while on a run around a pond.

Writer / Director: Dane Elcar

Stars: Dana Berger, Max Woertendyke

“Dark and disturbing…a low-budget triumph!” – My Bloody Reviews

“A couple’s failing, rut-stuck relationship is presented as several circles of hell in a low-key science-fiction scenario – and it jogs on to an ending that is all at once unexpectedly happy and horrifically bleak.” – Projected Figures

Order Tickets for Brightwood at Another Hole In The Head:

https://holehead2022.eventive.org/schedule/6361df2be0c83404257702b8

San Francisco’s Another Hole in the Head film Festival is a 18-day cinematic excursion into the realms of Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, and assorted other genre fare. Under the auspices of Sf IndieFest, ‘Ahith...

American Indie Psychological Horror Film, Brightwood from Cinephobia Releasing will be playing at Another Hole In The Head Film Festival on Monday, December 5, 2022. A couple on the verge of divorce find themselves mysteriously trapped while on a run around a pond. Writer / Director: Dane Elcar Stars: Dana Berger, Max Woertendyke “Dark and …

The post Psychological Horror Film, “Brightwood” playing Another Hole In The Head Fest on December 5th appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.

Recently, CBS delivered the new, official synopsis/spoilers for their upcoming "Elementary" episode 21 of season 3. The episode is entitled, "Under My Skin, " and it turns out that we're going to see some very interesting and intense stuff go down when Sherlock and Watson join a huge manhunt to locate a vicious killer, and more! In the new, 21st episode press release: When Two New York City Paramedics Are Killed During A Kidnapping,Holmes And Watson Join The Manhunt To Find The Murderer And The Woman He Abducted. Press release number 2: When two New York City paramedics are killed during a kidnapping, Holmes and Watson are going to join the manhunt to find the murderer and the woman he abducted. Also, Holmes is going to learn important information about his recovery sponsor, Alfredo (Ato Essandoh), that strains their relationship. Guest stars feature: Fisher Stevens (Marty Ward), Terry Serpico (Wallace Turk...