Filmmaker Joe Swanberg was a major figure in the mumblecore film movement, and as the years have gone by he has also earned several credits in the horror genre, whether by taking acting roles in films like A Horrible Way to Die, You’re Next, The Sacrament, and Blackout, or by directing the werewolf movie Silver Bullets and contributing a segment to the anthology film V/H/S. Now Swanberg has increased his number of horror credits by five, as Deadline reports that he has teamed with Jordan Yale Levine and Jordan Beckerman of Yale Entertainment to produce a slate of five horror films – all of which have already wrapped filming! Four of the titles are Helldorado, Kenneled, Yellow Eyes, and Monkey’s Magic Merry Go Round. The fifth movie is currently simply known as the Untitled Jae Matthews Project.
Written and directed by Kansas Bowling (Cuddly Toys and the Troma release B.C. Butcher), Helldorado centers on Queho, a Native American serial killer with a checkered past, as he takes out the people of a struggling mining town in the stark deserts of Nevada one by one, with the town Deputy right on his tail.
Jay Burleson, director of the Troma release The Nobodies and the Third Saturday in October double feature, took the helm of Kenneled, working from a screenplay by H.K. Moore. The film follows a destitute dog walker who finds a wealthy client who saves him from financial ruin. But this is no ordinary dog…
Yellow Eyes appears to mark the feature directorial debut of producer/photographer Jesse Korman. Scripted by Mickey Solis, this one watches as a young couple inherits a house containing a mysterious relic that hosts the spirit of a powerful demon, and the wife of the man it possesses must find an exorcist to save him.
Aidan Leary also appears to be making his feature directorial debut with Monkey’s Magic Merry Go Round, which he wrote with C.R. Thompson. Their story is about what happens when a children’s TV show host, ensnared in a case of amnesia, must confront his missing memories as his puppet co-stars turn on him.
Jae Matthews, who is in the band Boy Harsher (which had songs on the soundtracks of Daniel Isn’t Real, Chucky, Terrifier 2, and Halloween Ends), previously wrote the horror film My Animal, but makes her feature directorial debut with her untitled project, which she also wrote. Her story centers on a young woman will do anything to avoid her ex at a secluded house party. But a supernatural virus passing through the partygoers may take care of him for her.
The Deadline article notes that the decision to make this slate of films was “inspired by the producing exploits of Roger Corman, with a workflow similar to a season of television. Specifically, Swanberg drew on his experiences producing his Chicago-set Netflix anthology Easy, which he viewed as an efficient and economical model for features. Much of the crew crossed over from project to project, while the writers and directors rotated.”
Other producers on the projects include Will Hirschfeld and Ben Gojer. Edmund Lowell, Declan Morgan, Jason Kringstein, Dajana Gudic, Jeremy Gardner, Matthew Ajayi, Carla Jones, Clay Pecorin, Russell Geyser, Jodie Lazar, Jeffrey Tussi, David Rudnick, Nick Donnermeyer, and Madeleine Cella serve as executive producers.
Swanberg provided the following statement: “I was very lucky to team with Yale Entertainment, who understood the model and were excited to try the most ambitious version of producing five features back-to-back. Using my resources from 20 years in Chicago, combined with support from the great team at Yale and my co-producer Ben Gojer, we have brought five incredible projects to life, each led by exciting early career filmmakers with huge futures. (The projects) feature breakout performances from truly exciting acting discoveries. Having witnessed firsthand the power of community early in my career, collaborating with Greta Gerwig, Ti West, Adam Wingard, Amy Seimetz and David Lowery in combinations of acting, directing, cinematography, editing and crewing, or simply lending each other equipment and resources, I knew the projects would be stronger if the filmmakers teamed up. I am happy that many of the writers and directors worked on each other’s films in different capacities, creating a much stronger group of projects than any would have been individually.” Levine and Beckerman added: “We’ve been longtime fans of Joe’s work, he’s a veteran ultra-efficient wizard at film production. The team at Yale immediately found a kinship with Joe when it came to making quality films on fast schedules that look large on screen. We are so thrilled to now have the opportunity to produce these projects with him. We hope this is the start of a continued partnership between the company and Joe.“
Are you looking forward to seeing this slate of horror films produced by Joe Swanberg and his collaborators? Share your thoughts on this news by leaving a comment below.
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