‘Lights, camera… cut’
Sleepaway Slasher is an American horror film about a group of budding filmmakers invited to the site of an unfinished ’80s cult movie… and the death of its infamous starlet. As the retreat progresses, something evil lurking behind-the-scenes begins to steal focus and the group become characters in a real-life horror film.
Directed by Alexander Birrell, Eugen Bräunig, Emma Hall-Martin, Hayley Monek, Martin Murray, Michael Newton, Christina Reilly, Ben Venturina and Kerey Viswanathan.
Written by Alyssa Amer, Kabir Chopra, Ryan Crash, Catherine Delaloye, Anthony DiMieri, Carrie King, Zoe Lasden-Lyman, Ericka Mitton, Mia Sorensen, Prashant Thakker and Mariana Trevino.
Back in 2016, actor/filmmaker James Franco set up a collective called Studio4 Acting & Film School, with the goal to allow all of the students to take key roles in the creation of a feature-length movie. The result was a feature shot under the title Horror Time. It is not clear when the final version was completed.
Plot:
On the 30th death-iversary of cult director Norman Von Ness, his son, Peter, hosts a film festival at the site of his father’s murderous last project, ‘The Devil’s Fire’. Keen young filmmakers flock to the isolated campground retreat, thrilled to compete for the top prize and eager to uncover the mystery of Von Ness’ last film – and its dead star, Carly Skye.
When an actress, Kelly, gets injured on one of the sets, accusations fly between the female cast and their male director. Peter steps in to extinguish tensions, but as production resumes, something or.. someone is fanning the flames behind the scenes.
Furthermore, when a filmmaker goes missing before the final screening, the boy’s side grows suspicious of one of the actresses. Paranoia threatens madness as the campers struggle to discern fact from fiction. How far will they go to be survivors in their own horror movie?
Release:
Sleepaway Slasher was released on Amazon Prime on October 30th 2020.
Reviews:
“The direction is OK […] The big problem here is that Sleepaway Slasher does not have enough content for its 1 hour and 40 minutes run time. Whole scenes go by without moving the film along in any meaningful way. We also get too many, interchangeable characters that are not fully developed, so it is quite tricky to remember who was, who is chasing who and if this is “real” or if it is from one of the horror films being made.” Nerdly
Cast and characters:
Sara Silva … Rosemary
Shawn Thomas Diefenbach … Chad
Alana Johnson … Anne
Kimberley Aria Peterson … Kelly / Grace
Yevgeniya Kats … Ray / Emeline
Steven Anderson … Ryan / Silas
Peter Angelinas … Peter Von Ness
Steven Wody … Trevor / Jonas
Raleigh Cain … Carly
Mackenzie Gilmore … Jo
Conor William Wright … Simon
David Alan Madrick … Kyle
Demi Edwards … Kiki
Jason A. Coombs … Felix
William Sumsky … Norman Von Ness
Carey Urban … Julia
Kelsey Ann Wacker … Eva / Virginia
Brinda Dixit … Daria
Nathaniel D’Domenicus … Martin / Gregory
Asim Rashad … Kobe
Ian Hamilton … Vincent
Aly Mang … Emma / Persephone
Morgan Doelp … Francesca
Tim Cordell … Ernest / John
Asra Arif … Liza
John Mcnulty … Sam
Sofia Sparta … Sheila
Michelle Scarr … Amber
Reema Sampat … Mariana
Antoni Porowski … Jacob
Julie Bell … Detective Cunningham
Jacqueline Honulik … Jasmine
Christina Russo … Jasmine
Fran Kravitz … Bonnie
Marianne Noscheze … Sarah
Rebecca Gruss … Mia / Selah
Hansel Pacheco … Bobby
Daniel Bitar … Robert
Paul Michael Polsinelli … David
Brady Bryson … Josh
Alexis Martinez … Maria
Makayla Patton … Karen / Amity
Jake Stafford … Jay
Miranda Gruss … Sierra / Cornelia
Cameron Moir … Curty
Jess Domain … Detective Riley
Frank Hughes … Anthony / Abraham
Holly Heiser … Jess
Foster Reisz … Warner the Murderer
Sarah Bernero … Melissa
Chiara Davis … Tamara
Catherine Delaloye … Courtney
Technical details:
1 hour 41 minutes
Trailer:
Full film free to watch online:
