TOP HORROR-COMEDY SHORT TO PREMIERE ONLINE HALLOWEEN EVE
Multi-award-winning “Born Again” hits Short of the Week starting 10/30 at 10 a.m.
Born Again, a horror comedy short film featuring the “worst Satanists ever” and their hilariously misguided attempts to summon the Prince of Darkness, will hit the internet Oct. 30 via one of the biggest platforms on the globe – Short of the Week.
The short has toured the world on the film festival circuit for the last year, including stops at Oscar-qualifying festivals Sitges, Rhode Island Vortex and Cleveland International. In that time, it’s accumulated more than 60 awards and nominations, and made several end-of-year lists, including: Best short film of 2016 (Cinema Constant), top five horror short of 2016 (iHorror), top 10 short of 2016 (From Dusk Till Con), and top 20 horror short of 2016 (Fright Meter Awards).
Born Again was created under director/co-writer Jason Tostevin’s Hands Off Productions banner, whose genre shorts have been screened and celebrated around the world. The team has never before released one of its shorts online, but felt compelled to premiere Born Again because of “overwhelming audience response,” Tostevin said.
“So many people have seen it at fests and asked to see it again, or heard from friends they had to see it, we just felt it was right to arrange an online premiere,” he said.
The seven-minute film tells the story of “five amateur Satanists who have their summoning ceremony go terribly wrong, and accidentally create the holiest holy shit moment ever,” according to director and co-writer Jason Tostevin.
“We wanted to go back to our ‘80s horror roots, when you could get a laugh with your blood splatter,” said Tostevin. “And we wanted to push some boundaries. I know for sure we were left out of some programs because of the ending.”
The short stars award-winning actor and indie horror icon Ellie Church (Frankenstein Created Bikers, Harvest Lake, Time to Kill) as the pregnant leader of the cabal, returns veteran Brian Spangler (Progeny) and introduces Randall Greenland as “Greg,” the affable screw-up who might just have ended the world.
The team’s last festival short, A Way Out, starred Hollywood icon Robert Costanzo and played more than 100 festivals. Before that, I Owe You was named indie short of the year by movie blog Cinema Constant. And the ’Til Death, their first fest short, was included in the horror anthology Seven Hells.
As a bonus to fans, the team is also quietly making two of its top shorts public along with the premiere of Born Again. Both ‘Til Death and I Owe You will be available to view on the team’s Vimeo channel, vimeo.com/HandsOffProductions, beginning immediately.
