Bleecker Street has taken most global territories to the James Ashcroft-directed horror film When Darkness Loves Us, starring Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones, PONIES), Marlon Williams (Sweet Tooth, The Twelve), Victoria Pedretti (You, Forbidden Fruits) and Natascha McElhone (The Truman Show, The Crown).
Production recently wrapped in New Zealand, with a plan for a 2027 theatrical release. Bleecker backed the project early on; its global deal is for all rights except Australia and New Zealand, where it will be released by Umbrella Entertainment and Aotearoa New Zealand, respectively.
The deal was negotiated by Miranda King and Avy Eschenasy for Bleecker Street and CAA Media Finance on behalf of the filmmakers.
Based on Elizabeth Engstrom’s 1980s novella of the same name, the pic follows a young woman (Clarke) who, after surviving 15 years trapped in an underground cave system, returns to the surface to reclaim the family she believes is hers, no matter the monstrous cost.
Ashcroft (The Rule of Jenny Pen and the upcoming Netflix thriller The Whisper Man) wrote the screenplay alongside Hayley Sproull and Eli Kent. Desray Armstrong (Coming Home in the Dark, Bad Behaviour) produced the film, with Ant Timpson serving as executive producer alongside Ashcroft, Clarke, Katherine Bridle, Bleecker Street CEO Kent Sanderson and Tyler DiNapoli, Umbrella’s Ari Harrison and Jasmin McSweeney, Nicola Smith and Bleecker’s Miranda King are associate producers.
The project was financed by the New Zealand Film Commission, Images & Sound and the New Zealand Screen Production Rebate, cashflowed by Hinterland and Natixis Coficiné.
“The term ‘world-building’ is wildly overused, but the degree to which James and team have built a subterranean universe cannot be understated,” said Sanderson in a statement. “This film is a true journey into the darkness, literally and figuratively, and we can’t wait to shock audiences worldwide with James’ singular vision.”
“My passion for Elizabeth Engstrom’s story remains boundless; what an absolute gift it has been bringing this work to the screen,” said Ashcroft. “With When Darkness Loves Us, Liz never lets us forget that the actions of her characters are by turns both tragic and monstrous — no matter how sympathetic they may be. But it’s their indelible humanity that can’t be so easily shaken off afterwards, and that’s when we find ourselves at home in the darkness with them.”