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Northern Gothic Thriller ‘The Oak Room’ Finds Distribution

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The Oak Room

Black Fawn Distribution has acquired the Canadian home video rights for the critically acclaimed northern gothic thriller The Oak Room (read our full review here). The film is set for release on Tuesday, April 27, 2021 on all major Canadian VOD and digital platforms.

Starring RJ Mitte (Breaking Bad) in the lead role opposite character actor Peter Outerbridge (V-Wars, Suicide Squad, and the recently announced role of Roman Sionis/Black Mask on CW’s Batwoman), The Oak Room was produced by Black Fawn Films, Breakthrough Entertainment, and Citizen Skull. Directed by Cody Calahan (Vicious Fun, Let Her Out), the film also stars Ari Millen (Orphan Black, I’ll Take Your Dead) and Martin Roach (The Shape of Water, Diary of the Dead).

In addition to Black Fawn Distribution’s acquisition, Lightbulb Film Distribution will oversee the film’s release in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand at the end of April while Gravitas Ventures recently released the film in the United States.

“It was an amazing experience working with Cody and the Black Fawn team to tell the unique and surreal story in The Oak Room,” states RJ Mitte. “From the cast to the crew in Canada, where we filmed this, it was such a great group to work with. I’m so excited for this project to come out.”

Blending the rural isolation of No Country for Old Men with the small-town, gothic claustrophobia of Frailty, The Oak Room enthralled audiences at its world premiere at Fantasia International Film Festival where it took home the award for Best Canadian Feature. The film went on to have its US premiere at Telluride Horror Show while also picking up the Audience Award at UK’s Grimmfest and the Best Feature Film Award at South African Horrorfest.

The Oak Room is a completely engrossing film experience,” states Black Fawn Distribution’s Sales Manager CF Benner. “You’ll hear the wind, you’ll feel the cold, and you’ll sense the walls closing in around you. The Oak Room is an intriguing jigsaw puzzle of a film that’s rooted in classic storytelling and gothic tension. There’s a lot more going on beneath the surface of this film and I guarantee you’ll be thinking about it long after the screen fades to black.”

If you’d like to read more about this Northern Gothic thriller, I can certainly help you there. I had the opportunity to visit the set during the filming of The Oak Room, which you can read all about at this link.

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Renny Harlin’s Recent Horror Movie ‘Refuge’ Releasing in U.S. This Month

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War is hell, and in Renny Harlin’s latest film Refuge it seems that’s an understatement. The director whose work includes Deep Blue Sea, The Long Kiss Goodnight, and the upcoming reboot of The Strangers made Refuge last year and it played in Lithuania and Estonia this past November.

But it’s coming to select U.S. theaters and VOD starting on April 19th, 2024

Here is what it’s about: “Sergeant Rick Pedroni, who comes home to his wife Kate changed and dangerous after suffering an attack by a mysterious force during combat in Afghanistan.”

The story is inspired by an article producer Gary Lucchesi read in National Geographic about how wounded soldiers create painted masks as representations of how they feel.

Take a look at the trailer:

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‘The Strangers’ Invaded Coachella in Instagramable PR Stunt

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Renny Harlin’s reboot of The Strangers isn’t coming out until May 17, but those murderous home invaders are making a pit stop at Coachella first.

In the latest Instagramable PR stunt, the studio behind the film decided to have the trio of masked intruders crash Coachella, a music festival that takes place for two weekends in Southern California.

The Strangers

This type of publicity began when Paramount did the same thing with their horror movie Smile in 2022. Their version had seemingly ordinary people in populated places look directly into a camera with an evil grin.

The Strangers

Harlin’s reboot is actually a trilogy with a more expansive world than that of the original.

“When setting out to remake The Strangers, we felt there was a bigger story to be told, which could be as powerful, chilling, and terrifying as the original and could really expand that world,” said producer Courtney Solomon. “Shooting this story as a trilogy allows us to create a hyperreal and terrifying character study. We’re fortunate to be joining forces with Madelaine Petsch, an amazing talent whose character is the driving force of this story.”

The Strangers

The movie follows a young couple (Madelaine Petsch and Froy Gutierrez) who “after their car breaks down in an eerie small town, are forced to spend the night in a remote cabin. Panic ensues as they are terrorized by three masked strangers who strike with no mercy and seemingly no motive in The Strangers: Chapter 1 the chilling first entry of this upcoming horror feature film series.”

The Strangers

The Strangers: Chapter 1 opens in theaters on May 17.

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‘Alien’ Returning to Theaters For a Limited Time

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It’s been 45 years since Ridley Scott’s Alien hit theaters and in celebration of that milestone, it is headed back to the big screen for a limited time. And what better day to do that than Alien Day on April 26?

It also works as a primer for the upcoming Fede Alvarez sequel Alien: Romulus opening on August 16. A special feature in which both Alvarez and Scott discuss the original sci-fi classic will be shown as a part of your theater admission. Take a look at the preview of that conversation below.

Fede Alvarez and Ridley Scott

Back in 1979, the original trailer for Alien was kind of terrifying. Imagine sitting in front of a CRT TV (Cathode Ray Tube) at night and suddenly Jerry Goldsmith’s haunting score begins to play as a giant chicken egg starts to crack with beams of light bursting through the shell and the word “Alien” slowly forms in slanted all caps across the screen. To a twelve-year-old, it was a scary pre-bedtime experience, especially Goldsmith’s screaming electronic musical flourishes playing over scenes of the actual movie. Let the “Is it horror or sci-fi?” debate begin.

Alien became a pop culture phenomenon, complete with kid’s toys, a graphic novel, and an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. It also inspired dioramas in wax museums and even a frightening setpiece at Walt Disney World in the now-defunct Great Movie Ride attraction.

Great Movie Ride

The film stars Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, and John Hurt. It tells the tale of a futuristic crew of blue-collar workers suddenly awakened out of stasis to investigate an undecipherable distress signal coming from a nearby moon. They investigate the source of the signal and discover it’s a warning and not a cry for help. Unbeknownst to the crew, they have brought a giant space creature back on board which they find out in one of the most iconic scenes in cinema history.

It is said that Alvarez’s sequel will pay homage to the original film’s storytelling and set design.

Alien Romulus
Alien (1979)

The Alien theatrical re-release will take place on April 26. Pre-order your tickets and find out where Alien will screen at a theater near you.

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