Brendan Jesus
The past couple of weeks have been fraught with incredible news coming out of the horror community, and this latest piece only adds fuel to the fire. Cut back to Panic Fest 2023; I see a film that completely blows my mind and expectations. In a now [unfortunately], lost to my own error review, I described the film Beaten to Death as “[if] Ozploitation and New French Extremity had a baby that was raised by mid-aughts American Slashers.” This film really stuck out, breaking apart from the mold of not just festival films but from the genre as a whole. So many extreme genre films lack characterization, story, and heart; Beaten to Death finds the middle ground between a balls-to-the-wall extremity film while still finding the time to be a genuinely compelling film.
Beaten to Death unfolds after a desperate choice leads a man named Jack (Thomas Roach) down a path that leaves him battered and bruised as he struggles against man, nature, and his own insanity. Stranded in the middle of nowhere after barely surviving a horrific assault, Jack encounters one local after another and quickly learns that a sick game of cat and mouse is about to begin. Battling the deranged country psychos and the harsh landscape, Jack must go to extreme lengths to survive.
On top of acquiring Invoking Yell, Welcome Villain Films continues its stronghold on the genre by acquiring and distributing Sam Curtain’s game-changing film Beaten to Death. Welcome Villain Films recently exploded onto the scene with Malum and Hunt Her, Kill Her, and these most recent acquisitions prove that they don’t have any plans to slow down soon. Welcome Villain Films is a genre studio committed to giving a platform to uniquely gnarly filmmakers, and I am just happy to be along for the ride. If there is anything this WGA/SAG strike has shown us, it’s that large Hollywood studios only care about one thing: their bottom line. Studios like Welcome Villain Films, on the other hand, are proving they care more about the craft and everyone involved in working from A to Z to bring us the final product.
Beaten to Death will be released theatrically on September 1st, 2023. Be sure to check this one out on the big screen, and maybe bring a plastic bag along with you…just in case.
