Indie Horror Film is Inspired by Argento and Fulci
With the recent release of the remake of Dario Argento’s SUSPIRIA, it’s interesting to note the impending release of a similarly abstract indie horror drama, one that exploits the grueling world of dancing as its anchor in a world filled with supernatural shock. That film is BLOODY BALLET (aka FANTASMA), a Euro-styled skin-crawler directed by Brett Mullen (BOMBSHELL BLOODBATH, BELLADONNA) and starring TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE PART 2 legend Caroline Williams , indie icon Debbie Rochon and THE CRAZIES star Brett Wagner.
Synopsis: When a beautiful ballerina dancer, Adriana Mena (Kendra Carelli), lands the lead role in the upcoming Nutcracker performance, she’s forced to face her demons as jealousy and tension begin to provoke the supernatural.
“I started this film before there was an announced remake of SUSPIRIA,” Mullen says of his elegant spook show.
“I was really inspired to do a dance slasher like Lucio Fulci’s MURDER ROCK or Argento’s original SUSPIRIA and kinda took a little bit of both of their styles and created my own unique story.”
BLOODY BALLET deserves credit for accentuating aesthetics and beauty over simple bloodshed (although there’s plenty of that too) and run-of-the-mill cruelty. A fitting companion to the Italian classics Mullen (and co-writer Matt Cloude) is inspired by.
BLOODY BALLET releases on VOD on November 13th and on DVD/BluRay on December 4th.