EXCLUSIVE: Deadline can reveal an exclusive first look at Grace Van Dien (Stranger Things) in The Swallow, filmmakers Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer’s (Pet Sematary) backwoods horror. The movie has recently wrapped principal photography in Oregon, USA.
Van Dien stars as Ziggy, who, along with her four friends, journeys out on a camping trip to a picturesque remote forest. But trespassing into an off-limits area, they awaken an uncanny terror in the woods… and a ravenous hunger from within the Earth. Soon, the ground itself is trying to swallow anything and anyone it touches and now the group have nowhere to run as every step they take could be their last.
Pic is being financed by BondIt Media Capital. The project was made possible through BondIt’s financing relationship with Red Sea Media, who are representing North America and co-representing global sales with Architect, who have pre-sold the movie in GAS & Italy (Plaion), Latin America (BF), ANZ (Rialto), CIS & Baltics (Russian Report), Turkey (BG), Israel (United King), Portugal (Nos Lusomundo), Middle East (Front Row), Czech Republic, Slovakia & Poland (Forum), Indonesia (Omega), Malaysia (GSC), Philippines (Pioneer), Taiwan (Cai Chang) and Vietnam (Mockingbird).
The Swallow is written and directed by Kevin Kölsch & Dennis Widmyer (Pet Sematary) and produced by James Harris (47 Meters Down), Josh Goldbloom (V/H/S franchise) and John Finemore (Watcher).
Rounding out the cast are Jack Wright (A Bloody Night), Tayler Buck (Annabelle: Creation), Kalama Epstein (The Fabelmans), and Kayla DiVenere (Love, Victor series).
The movie marks a return for directorial duo Kölsch and Widmyer following their remake of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary, which grossed $113M worldwide for Paramount. Their debut Starry Eyes was an award winner at SXSW.
Kölsch and Widmyer said: “The Swallow is a tonal throwback to the type of horror that made us excited about this genre in the first place. Something pure, visceral and absolutely harrowing. Our hope is that it will make you never look at the ground the same way again.”
The movie’s production team includes vet SFX supervisor Tony Gardner (The Blob), whose in-camera work will bring the malevolent forces that lurk in the forest to life.
Executive producers include Matthew Helderman, Luke Taylor, and Grady Craig for BondIt Media Capital, Calum Gray and Max Pirkis for Architect, Roman Kopelevich for Red Sea, and Adam Goldworm.
