Scoot McNairy is joined by Isabelle Fuhrman and Ben Hardy in dystopic survival thriller directed by Rod Blackhurst, who also directed Blood for Dust. More details below:
Isabelle Fuhrman (“Orphan,” “Horizon: An American Saga”), Ben Hardy (“Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Unicorns”) and Scoot McNairy (“A Complete Unknown,” “Nightbitch”) are set to lead the cast of dystopian survival thriller “Die by Night.”
The feature is being launched by Protagonist Pictures ahead of the upcoming EFM in Berlin. Protagonist is handling international sales while UTA Independent Film Group is representing North American rights.
“Die by Night” is written and directed by Emmy nominee Rod Blackhurst (“Blood for Dust,” “Night Swim,” “Amanda Knox”), based on the prequel screenplay “The Chosen Few,” written by Blackhurst and J. Hunter Richardson.
Set in a post-apocalyptic world where long stretches of ‘Night’ plunge the world into chaos, the story sees creatures known as The Horde hunt in the dark. Runaway Lucia (Fuhrman) must find her way to The Wall where safety awaits, while an injured but determined Barry (Hardy) promises to get them there. But The Horde are not the only threat out there. The Clans — tribes of people whose survival and prosperity depends on selling and trading humans to gain strength in numbers — also stand in their way. As per the film’s description: “In this propulsive thriller playing out over the course of one night, the only way to survive the to see a new day is to trust each other and stay in the light until they make it to The Wall.”
“Die by Night” is produced by Witchcraft Motion Picture Company’s Noah Lang (“Blood for Dust,” “Sleeping Dogs”), Story in the Sky’s Ben Shields Catlin (“Sam & Kate,” “Stealing Pulp Fiction”), and executive produced by Dave Bishop and George Hamilton of Protagonist Pictures.
“This film was born from the fears and anxieties that came with becoming a father for the first time, the overwhelming desire to somehow protect my daughter from the dark forces that exist in the world — from the dangerous ideologies that fuel the self-righteous, and of the impossible choices we must make in the face of chaos,” said Blackhurst. “We’re pleased as punch to be partnering with Protagonist whose taste and prestige precedes them; they make the kinds of films I love and immediately understood the duality of ‘Die by Night’ as both a mad genre film and a story about us and the times we’re living in but depicted in the most fantastical ways.”
Creature design on the film is being spearheaded by Emmy Award-winning concept artist Vincent Proce, known for his design work on blockbuster projects including “It Chapter 2”, and both films in the “Smile” series.
“Die by Nightpromises to be a nail-biting, action-packed thriller with non-stop jump scares,” said Bishop. “Rod’s vision of a dark, dystopian, post-apocalyptic new world, combined with the terrifying hordes of creatures conceived by the industry’s top designers, will reach out and grab the audience not letting go until the credits roll.”
Added Shields Catlin and Lang, “‘Die by Night’ is the type of film we wished we could have seen at our neighborhood theatre when we were kids, begging our older brothers to sneak us in somehow — visceral, hardcore, relentless, and scary. The sort of film that we can’t show our kids just yet, but can’t wait until they are old enough that we can.”