Fresh off of starring in the Netflix vampire movie Night Teeth, Debby Ryan – who starred in the Disney Channel shows Jessie and The Suite Life on Deck back in the day – has signed on to star in the LGBTQ+ horror thriller Howdy, Neighbor! alongside several other Disney Channel alums. They are Matthew Scott Montgomery (So Random!), Alyson Stoner (Camp Rock), Kevin Chamberlin (Jessie), Tim Bagley (Shake It Up!), Shayne Topp (So Random!), and Damien Haas (So Random!). Also in the cast are Sterling Sulieman (The Funhouse Massacre), Adam Faison (Into the Dark: Midnight Kiss), Greer Grammer (Awkward), Grant Jordan (NCIS: Los Angeles), and Kimmy Shields, who was on Insatiable with Ryan.
Allisyn Snyder (Sonny with a Chance) will be directing Howdy, Neighbor! from a screenplay written by Montgomery. Montgomery will be playing the role of
Benjamin, a young queer millenial actor living in West Hollywood who was once a famous child actor. When a new neighbor Chase (Jordan) moves across the hall and reveals himself as a fan, Benjamin begins investigating the oddly familiar man with his best friend Harley (Ryan).
Variety reports that Howdy, Neighbor! will be a “screenlife” film, with all of the footage occurring on computer screens.
Howdy, Neighbor! has been financed by Watch the Footage Productions, the production company founded by Snyder and her husband Dylan Snyder. Exit Strategy is producing the film with Watch the Footage, and the individual producers are Allisyn Snyder, Montgomery, and Exit Strategy’s Charles M. Barsamian. Dylan Snyder and Bob Morrison serve as executive producers for Watch the Footage.
Howdy, Neighbor! heads into production later this month. Does this project sound interesting to you? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Here’s a publicity shot of Matthew Scott Montgomery, with Demi Lovato and Dallas Lovato, from the show Unidentified with Demi Lovato: