Calling all horror fans with a funny bone! Get ready for Scared to Death, a genre-bending comedy that injects laughs into the chills. This fright fest features legendary actors Bill Moseley (The Devil’s Rejects) and Lin Shaye (The Insidious franchise), who co-starred in Gothic Harvest. They bring their signature scares to the screen.
The film follows Jasper, an ambitious filmmaker desperate to make his mark in Hollywood. He convinces his grumpy boss to take the cast and crew of their upcoming horror flick to a real séance. The chosen location? An abandoned children’s shelter with a dark past, a place where five children were mysteriously murdered in 1942. As you might guess, things don’t go smoothly for the “believing is seeing” crew. Trapped inside with restless spirits, the motley group is forced to confront their deepest fears – all while the situation devolves into hilarious chaos.
Director Paul Boyd, a veteran of the music video scene, draws inspiration from his own experiences. His non-believer stance gets a comedic twist as the film explores the power of fear and imagination. The story also winks at classic horror comedies, promising a satisfying blend of scares and laughter.
Adding to the excitement is the creature design by Legacy FX, the effects masters behind blockbusters like Godzilla vs Kong and AVATAR. They’ll be unleashing a brand-new horror character, The Grog, played by heavy metal musician Kurt Deimer, who also co-produced the film.
But the real monsters might not be supernatural. Scared to Death cleverly asks the question: which is scarier – the ghosts we imagine or the terrifying reality of a bad boss (played with gusto by Lin Shaye)?
The director, Paul Boyd, had this to say:
“Years ago, I purchased an old house in Hollywood, somewhere with lots of space to raise my kids. After the sale, the former owner informed me that the house was in fact haunted. Being a non-believer, I never experienced anything supernatural in the house. I would walk around at night, in the dark, looking over my shoulder and into mirrors, waiting to be caught off guard. To see a ghost. It never happened. But … my wife and kids, on the other hand, that’s a different story. They had multiple terrifying experiences which to them felt absolutely real. This paradigm inspired me to make a film about “believing is seeing” and that’s where the story started.
My producer, Eric Barrett, helped me focus the creative, and we decided to put a group of non-believers, filmmakers like us, in a haunted house where they get forced to confront their fears and beliefs. I made the story a genre parody to feel the humor and the ridiculousness of the situation, to be silly. Where adults act like children, which is what we do when scared. The production kicked into gear when I met actor/musician Kurt Deimer, who I cast as The Grog, a brand-new horror character we created to add to the genre’s rich pantheon. Kurt had a strong vision for the role and believed in the film enough to finance production. It was a win-win when his music and naturalistic performance delivered the laughs and added to the story.
Kurt and I knew when casting the great Lin Shaye that she would translate the energy required to play the worst boss in history, someone who has all the characters Scared to Death.
As soon as the release date is announced, we’ll let you know. In the meantime, check out the trailer.
