The difference between what's real and what's fake can be difficult to gauge, even more so when you're attending a horror-related amusement mark and some masked serial killer is terrorizing you. That's exactly what happens to a group of friends in the new NSFW trailer for HELL FEST, an upcoming slasher flick from Lionsgate and CBS Films. When Natalie (Amy Forsyth) visits her childhood best friend Brooke (Reign Edwards) and her roommate Taylor (Bex Taylor-Klaus), the three of them and their boyfriends decide to attend Hell Fest, "a sprawling labyrinth of rides, games, and mazes that travels the country and happens to be in town." However, one visitor has decided to turn Hell Fest into their own personal hunting ground and sets their sights on Natalie and her friends. Cue the carnage and obligatory cameo from horror legend Tony Todd.
While speaking with Entertainment Weekly, executive producer Gale Anne Hurd (The Walking Dead) explained where the idea came from. "One of the executives at my company came to me with a pitch: Wouldn’t it be cool if there was a film about someone who is actually evil, who’s using that environment to kill people?" said Hurd. "What if one of those people in a mask, or one of those people who had a prop chainsaw, was actually a killer themselves? And that is where the idea came from." Director Gregory Plotkin (PARANORMAL ACTIVITY: THE GHOST DIMENSION) added that he found inspiration for the horror film from an unlikely source: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. "I was with my kids, and I got stuck on a ride, and for the very first time in my entire life, I had a panic attack," Plotkin said. "My kids could care less, they thought it was the funniest thing in the world, but I literally had to pull out my phone and just read emails to take my mind off of it. It really occurred to me how scary it is and how little control you have in some of these places. It was a real big influence on the development of certain parts of the park [in the film]."
The official synopsis for HELL FEST:
A masked serial killer turns a horror themed amusement park into his own personal playground, terrorizing a group of friends while the rest of the patrons believe that it is all part of the show. College student NATALIE (Forsyth) is visiting her childhood best friend BROOKE (Edwards) and her roommate TAYLOR (Taylor-Klaus). If it was any other time of year these three and their boyfriends might be heading to a concert or bar, but it is Halloween which means that like everyone else they will be bound for HELL FEST – a sprawling labyrinth of rides, games, and mazes that travels the country and happens to be in town. Every year thousands follow Hell Fest to experience fear at the ghoulish carnival of nightmares.
But for one visitor, Hell Fest is not the attraction – it is a hunting ground. An opportunity to slay in plain view of a gawking audience, too caught up in the terrifyingly fun atmosphere to recognize the horrific reality playing out before their eyes. As the body count and frenzied excitement of the crowds continues to rise, he turns his masked face to NATALIE, BROOKE, TAYLOR and their boyfriends who will fight to survive the night.
HELL NIGHT will hit theaters on September 28, 2018.