‘Blood Shine’ Rituals Will Transform Dark Sky Into God

Dark Sky Films has acquired all North American distribution rights to Blood Shine, the latest feature from husband and wife filmmaking duo Emily Bennett and Justin Brooks, reports Variety.

Blood Shine stars Bennett (Shelby Oaks) as Clara, a devout zealot who worships the light through solitary, sacred rituals in upstate New York.

David Call (Insidious: The Red Door) plays Brighton West, a troubled horror filmmaker who retreats upstate to complete his screenplay, only to encounter Clara and become entangled in her increasingly extreme spiritual practices. Convinced that her sadistic ceremonies will transform him into a god, Clara draws Brighton into a hallucinatory descent into faith, flesh, and the sublime.

The cast also includes Brendan Sexton III (Russian Doll), Larry Fessenden (MaXXXine), and Toby Poser (Hellbender).

Described as a “striking blend of arthouse sensibility and visceral folk horror,” the film will be released later this year following a successful festival run that included the Sitges Film Festival, the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, and others.

The distribution agreement was negotiated by Greg Newman, executive vice president of Dark Sky Films, and Aaron B. Koontz of Paper Street Pictures.

“Blood Shine is a film that balances an arthouse sensibility with extremely visceral horror, and Dark Sky Films immediately understood that,” said Bennett and Brooks.

Brooks served as director of photography, with Brian Spears (Smile 2, American Horror Story) providing the film’s visceral gore effects.

Producers include Alexander Schepsman, Garrett Fennelly and Zeus Kontoyannis via Zeus Pictures, and Aaron B. Koontz via Paper Street Pictures. Ashleigh Snead and Cameron Burns serve as co-producers via Paper Street. Executive producers are Michael McFadden, G. Riley Mills and Matt Sullivan. Bennett is represented by Nick McCabe of Anonymous Content.

“We are thrilled to bring Blood Shine to North American audiences,” added Greg Newman, executive vice president of Dark Sky Films. “Emily Bennett and Justin Brooks have created a daring and visually arresting film that expands the boundaries of folk horror and really delivers.”