The Shed is a bold horror feature from New York-based writer/director Frank Sabatella. The thriller recently wrapped filming in upstate New York and is eyeing a 2019 festival run. You can check out more first-look images and the film's poster below.
The Shed tells the story of Stan, an orphaned teenager stuck living with his abusive grandfather and tasked with routinely protecting his best friend from high school bullies. When Stan discovers a murderous creature has taken refuge inside the toolshed in his backyard, he tries to secretly battle the demon alone until his bullied friend discovers the creature and has a far more sinister plan in mind.
The film stars Timothy Bottoms (The Last Picture Show), Frank Whaley (Pulp Fiction), Siobhan Fallon (Men in Black), Jay Jay Warren (Amazon Prime's Bosch), Cody Kostro (CBS' Elementary), and newcomer Sofia Happonen. It is produced by Peter Block, godfather of Lionsgate's blockbuster SAW franchise, and producer of (House At The End Of The Street); Cory Neal, producer, who produced the ski-lift thriller Frozen with Block, as well as the Hatchet series; and Wing & A Prayer's Josh Crook (The All Nighter).
Sabatella previously wrote and directed the 2011 Lionsgate release Blood Night: The Legend of Mary Hatchet, as well as a number of holiday-themed Halloween shorts via his New York-based production shingle, Sideshow Pictures. Said Sabatella upon the completion of filming, “I'm really excited about our dynamic cast of veteran actors and incredibly talented fresh faces that bring an interesting dimension of realism to the film. It is a unique horror piece with great scares and awesome moments that I think audiences will really respond to. I can’t wait to get it in front of them." Added Block, “Frank (Sabatella) and I wanted to take a cool horror set-up and use it to comment on current anti-bullying discussions, as well as to use a horror creature as a metaphor for the extreme outcomes that occur when the bullied are pushed too far."
Rounding out the film's crew is Director of Photography Matthias Schubert (Ryuhei Kitamura's Downrange), longtime Sideshow Pictures collaborator Jeremy Selenfriend handling the picture's practical FX, and Mike Mendez as Co-Producer.
CMG handles international sales on The Shed, which will be featured at Santa Monica's American Film Market, October 31st - November 7th.
