JP Nunez
If you’re a fan of surreal, mind-bending sci-fi horror in the vein of 2013’s Coherence, you’re going to want to pay attention to this news. Cinephobia Releasing just put out a trailer for Brightwood, one of my colleague Sean Parker’s favorite movies from this year’s Salem Horror Festival, and from these 90 seconds alone, I can already see why Sean loved the film so much.
Brightwood follows Jen and Dan, a married couple on the brink of divorce, and one day, they decide to go for a jog around a nearby pond while they try to hash things out. But soon enough, they realize something isn’t quite right. The exit trail has vanished, so they’re just going around in circles with no way out. On top of that, they also discover that they’re being stalked by a mysterious killer, so not only do they have to escape this bizarre loop, but they also have to make sure they don’t die before they find a way out.
I don’t know about you, but that premise alone has me sold. It’s like a dark riff on The Twilight Zone, so this movie has already skyrocketed up my most-anticipated list. And when you add in the trailer, Brightwood becomes even more intriguing.
Seriously, this trailer is chock-full of suspense and WTF moments, so I absolutely need to see the full movie. In particular, I’m really intrigued by the shot where Jen and Dan seem to be watching another version of themselves. It has my mind spinning with all sorts of possibilities, so I can’t wait to find out just what these characters have gotten themselves into.
And thankfully, the wait isn’t going to be too long. Brightwood is scheduled to hit VOD and DVD on August 22, so it’s just about a month and a half away. But if you need something to hold you over in the meantime, check out the latest episode of The Horror Obsessive Podcast, where Sean Parker and Brendan Jesus speak to the film’s writer/director Dane Elcar and its stars Dana Berger and Max Woertendyke.
