The Orchard has acquired North American distribution rights to “Southbound,” the anthology horror movie that hails from the creators of the popular “V/H/S” series. The distributor announced plans to release the film in the first half of 2016.
“Southbound” recently had its world premiere in the Midnight Madness section of the Toronto International Film Festival and just screened at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas.
“Southbound” features a unique narrative structure that includes five haunting tales tied together only by the fact that they all appear to take place in the same general universe. On a desolate stretch of desert highway, weary travelers — two men on the run from their past, a band on their way to the next gig, a man struggling to get home, a brother in search of his long-lost sister and a family on vacation — are forced to confront their worst fears and darkest secrets in these interwoven tales of terror and remorse on the open road.
The majority of the “Southbound” team will be familiar to audiences as the creative forces behind the original “V/H/S,” including producers Brad Miska and Roxanne Benjamin, and directors David Bruckner (Paramount’s forthcoming “Friday the 13th”) and Radio Silence (“Devil’s Due”), as well as “V/H/S/2” director Jason Eisener, who edited Benjamin’s segment titled “Siren.” They are joined in the director’s seat this time by Patrick Horvath (“The Pact 2”) and Benjamin, who makes her directorial debut from a script co-written with Susan Burke. Additional producers on “Southbound” are Chris Harding and Greg Newman.
“After seeing such success with ‘V/H/S,’ we look forward to a repeat performance with ‘Southbound.’ Working with this group of dedicated and talented directors has proven to be a terrific experience and we are happy that The Orchard will be bringing our film to U.S. audiences,” said Miska.
“When we saw ‘Southbound,’ we knew we were looking into the eyes of a much different animal,” said Paul Davidson, senior VP of film and television at The Orchard. “Southbound is a slick and stylish film that will have audiences engrossed from the moment the engines kick into gear and we can’t wait to invite them to take that journey.”
The Orchard has been making waves in the independent film scene this year, acquiring and releasing a wide range of high-profile indie titles including, but not limited to, Patrick Brice‘s “The Overnight” starring Taylor Schilling, Adam Scott and Jason Schwartzman; Joe Swanberg‘s “Digging for Fire” starring Jake Johnson, Brie Larson and Anna Kendrick; and Matthew Heineman’s 2015 Sundance award-winning documentary “Cartel Land.”
The deal for the film was negotiated by Craig Sussman, senior director of acquisitions at The Orchard, with CAA on behalf of the filmmakers.