‘What dies here, stays here’
Stay is a 2021 released American found-footage style horror film about a model and influencer whose new apartment is not what it seems.
Written, co-produced and directed by Brandon Walker – making his feature directorial debut – the Ghost Machine Pictures production stars co-producer Ashley Park (Trapdoor; The Headless; Terror Tales), Jesse LeNoir (Sweet Taste of Souls; Project Runway), Dre Davis (Pretty Little Liars) and Simone Posey.
Plot:
Olivia (Ashley Park) is taking the modelling world by storm. A cover girl in the making, Olivia is booking big clients and bringing her YouTube audience along for the ride. With newly earned cash, she moves into a New York Flatiron district loft apartment. Its glossy facade, however, conceals a sinister secret born years before.
Suddenly overwrought, her tenuous grip on reality begins to slip away. Beautiful, yet increasingly unstable, Olivia makes a shocking choice that leads to a battle for her soul…
Reviews:
“While I’m not completely sure how all the parts of the mystery fit together, this is a movie about the horror of the mystery itself, not about its solution. Most importantly, I cared about the main characters, who seem like good people who unwittingly become distracted by fame and attention- seeking.” Horror Variety
Release date:
Ghost Machine Pictures released Stay on Amazon Prime on March 26, 2021.
Cast and characters:
Ashley Park … Olivia Song aka Liv
Jesse LeNoir … Julian aka Jules
Dre Davis … Mia
Simone Posey … Riley
Alisa Levinson … Valya
Brendan Martin … A.J.
Robert Palmer Watkins … Ryan
Daz Crawford … Rasto the Building Supervisor
Adrian Quinonez … Creative Director
Kit DeZolt … Malcolm
Martin Harris … Russian Man
Kadan Rockett … Young Rasto
Marvin Ryan … David
Ana Bergman … Tatiana
Tony Gibbons … Patrick
Technical details:
82 minutes
Notes:
Although Stay was released in March 2021, an onscreen camera time of 10/27/2016 suggests that the film has sat on the shelf since then. The cheap-looking apartment where most of the filming took place does not appear to be in New York.
Trailer:
MOVIES and MANIA comment and rating:
Stay pokes fun at the vacuous world of modelling and online influencing before the usual paranormal found-footage tropes take over. Leads Ashley Park and Brit Jesse LeNoir prove to be more agreeable than the usual annoying types in this overplayed sub-genre. However, there is nothing remotely scary in Stay to recommend it to horror fans and most will surely have checked out well before an hour into the running time.