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Welcome back to Let’s Scare Bryan to Death! This month, we’re taking a trip to Norway for the beautiful seaside views, the lovely seafood, and the underwater monster-worshiping cults! We get all this and more from Andy Collier and Tor Mian’s 2020 film Sacrifice, and our guide is author Paul Kane, whose short story “Men of the Cloth” is the basis for the film. You might know Kane as the award-winning author and editor of over a hundred books, including the Arrowhead trilogy, The Butterfly Man and Other Stories, Hellbound Hearts, Wonderland, and Pain Cages. He’s also a longtime non-fiction writer and journalist with bylines in SFX, Rue Morgue and DeathRay. You can check out the latest and greatest at his website.

Kane’s pick this month follows Emma and Isaac Pickman (Sophie Stevens and Ludovic Hughes), a young, expecting couple visiting a small town in Norway...

An immensely ominous air is established during the opening credits of Sacrifice as multicoloured smoke plumes dissipate against a black backdrop, evoking an eerie Argento ghost train vibe. When coupled with Tom Linden’s foreboding score, Sacrifice looked set to turn into a cracking skull-rattler from the outset and a cut above most other Dtv horrors.

Sadly though, despite this atmosphere remaining for most of its duration, this second feature from the team behind decent British horror Charismata, stammers from the midpoint on due to a clunky script, stiff dialogue and mostly forgettable characters.

Inspired by short story “Men of the Cloth” by Paul Kane and the works of Hp Lovecraft, the script tells the tale of thirty-somethings Isaac Pickman (Ludovic Hughes) and his pregnant wife Emma (Sophie Stevens), who travel to a remote Norwegian village from America to sell a family home which Isaac inherited after the death of his mother.

Stars: Barbara Crampton, Sophie Stevens, Ludovic Hughes, Lukas Loughran | Written and Directed by Andy Collier, Toor Mian

[Note: With the film out digitally in the UK from Monday, March 15th, here’s a reposting of our review of Sacrifice from its screening last year at Frightfest]

Inspired not only by a short story called Men of the Cloth, Sacrifice is Very heavily influenced by the works of H.P. Lovecraft; a writer whose influence has always been felt on the genre but whom, it seems, looks to have a resurgence amongst independent filmmakers – with Sacrifice the second film in as many film festivals to have a direct link to the stories, and more specifically the mythos of Lovecraft’s work.

Sacrifice tells the story of New York-based Isaac who, after the death of his mother, returns, along with his pregnant wife Emma, to the Norwegian village on a remote island of his birth to deal with an unexpected inheritance. There they find themselves caught in a waking nightmare as an ancient frightening...

There’s a touch of giallo stylishness to this aquavit-fuelled monster horror set in a remote Norway of long nights and skinny-dipping

Writing-directing collaborators Andy Collier and Tor Mian’s follow-up to their well-received debut, cops-and-Satanists Charismata, constructs a classic fish-out-of-water premise by sending a wholesome average American guy, Isaac (Ludovic Hughes), and his heavily pregnant wife, Emma (Sophie Stevens), to a remote Norwegian island to claim a house Isaac has inherited. There, they find that the locals are pagans, that all dreams are bad and tentacled monsters lurk not just in the sea but also down the drain.

So maybe that makes this a fish-in-the-water story. Or you could call it an invertebrate-in-the-water, if you want to be as pedantic as the Norwegian bartender who almost starts a fight with Isaac over the nature of calamari in one of the early scenes.

While it enjoyed its debut this past Friday in select theaters, Sacrifice from filmmakers Andy Collier and Toor Man is set to arrive on digital platforms today for genre fans to enjoy from the comfort of their own homes. Loosely based on a short story by Paul Kane, Sacrifice stars Barbara Crampton, Sophie Stevens, and Ludovic Hughes and is centered around a young couple who arrive in an isolated Norwegian village to claim an inheritance, but get more than they bargained for when they realize the villagers are part of a cult that worship a sea-dwelling entity.

During the recent press day for Sacrifice, Daily Dead had the pleasure of speaking with both Mian and Collier about their latest collaboration, and they discussed what they initially saw in Kane’s story that felt ripe for adaptation, their thoughts on collaborating with Stevens for Sacrifice, and more.

Great to speak with you both today,...

Barbara Crampton is a Hollywood legend and genre icon, just don't call her a scream queen. An accomplished actress, she has appeared in quite a few classics since starring as Trista Evans on Days of Our Lives back in the 1980s. She is having a strong resurgence on the horror scene, and this weekend, she appears in the Norwegian set thriller Sacrifice. Written and Directed by Andy Collier and Tor Mian, the movie hits theaters Friday, February 5, before hitting On Demand February 9, and followed by the Blu-ray release on February 23.

Barbara Crampton made her feature film debut in a big way, with a role in the acclaimed 1984 Brian De Palma crime thriller Body Double followed by an appearance in the 1985 cult comedy classic Fraternity Vacation. But it was horror classic Re-Animator, which arrived that same year, that really put Crampton on the map. She would go onto appear in such...

Watch the Short Film The Lonely Host: "‘The Lonely Host’, starring Lulu Antariksa (‘Legacies’), Emily C. Chang (‘Babysplitters’) and Katie Featherston (‘Paranormal Activity’) made its international online debut this week on Gunpowder & Sky's hit Horror YouTube Channel Alter. The short was written and directed by Lisa J Dooley and produced by Supersight Media, Inc.

Nightmarish Conjurings praised 'The Lonely Host', saying "From compelling characters to a clever plot, 'The Lonely Host' is the total package" (Adrienne Clark), and Morbidly Beautiful raved "Lisa J Dooley's horror short 'The Lonely Host' is a sharp and gripping ride that'll have you hooked until the very last frame." (Claire L. Smith). 'The Lonely Host' also won 'Best Horror Comedy Short Film' at the 2020 Seattle Film Festival, and 'Best Actress in a Horror Comedy Short Film' (Emily C. Chang) at the 2020 Fright Night Horror International Film Festival.

Dooley, who recently graduated from USC’s Mfa Film/TV program,...

"We just call him... the 'slumbering one.'" Epic Pictures Group has released a trailer for a mysterious indie Lovecraftian horror film titled Sacrifice, made by filmmakers Andy Collier & Tor Mian. This film originally premiered at FrightFest in the UK last year. Inspired by the Paul Kane short story titled "Men of The Cloth", Sacrifice follows an American couple visiting a remote Norwegian Island who are drawn into a sinister cult that worship a sea dwelling deity. New Yorker Isaac and his pregnant wife return to a remote Norwegian village of his birth to claim an unexpected inheritance. Here they find themselves caught in a nightmare as an ancient evil awakens to claim a birthright of its own. Starring Barbara Crampton, Dag Sorlie, Erik Iundin, Jack Kristiansen, Johanna Adde Dahl, Ludovic Hughes, Lukas Loughran, and Sophie Stevens. A cult movie mashed up with Cthulhu? Freaky. I really dig Crampton's line delivery in the footage.

Stars: Barbara Crampton, Sophie Stevens, Ludovic Hughes, Lukas Loughran | Written and Directed by Andy Collier, Toor Mian

Inspired not only by a short story called Men of the Cloth, Sacrifice is Very heavily influenced by the works of H.P. Lovecraft; a writer whose influence has always been felt on the genre but whom, it seems, looks to have a resurgence amongst independent filmmakers – with Sacrifice the second film in as many film festivals to have a direct link to the stories, and more specifically the mythos of Lovecraft’s work.

Sacrifice tells the story of New York-based Isaac who, after the death of his mother, returns, along with his pregnant wife Emma, to the Norwegian village on a remote island of his birth to deal with an unexpected inheritance. There they find themselves caught in a waking nightmare as an ancient frightening evil is awakened to claim the colour of...

A refreshingly classy piece of folk horror which focuses on character and atmosphere rather than relying on shocks, Sacrifice was one of the more interesting selections for Frightfest's October 2020 edition. A loose adaptation of the Paul Kane novella Men Of the Cloth, it's also heavily influenced by the work of Hp Lovecraft, especially The Shadow Over Innsmouth, and it draws on the idea of lingering ancient traditions which fits very neatly into the Norwegian setting. It does have a few things in common with the recent Midsommar, but not the things you might expect.

Isaac (Ludovic Hughes) has come into an inheritance. The journey to claim it takes him back to the small island where he was born, and which his mother took him away from in early childhood after a shocking incident which he will only now begin to understand. His heavily pregnant wife Emma (Sophie Stevens) is...