It was announced today that The Busan International Film Festival will be hosting the World Premiere of the psychological drama/thriller, The Family. The film comes from creative duo Dan Slater (director, co-writer) and Adam Booth (producer, co-writer) of West FILM. The film will screen October 8-12 at the festival held in Busan, South Korea.
“How could they see anything but the shadows if they were never allowed to move their head?” reads on the title screen that begins the film. In The Family, a young family is raised to fear what lurks beyond the borders of their farm. The six members are held captive by their beliefs and the teachings of their merciless Father and Mother; lead to believe they may be the only one left on earth. When Caleb, the eldest, begins to question these teachings, Father decides to make an example of him, his punishments becoming increasingly cruel and brutal. Caleb is forced to choose between his search for truth… and his life.
The Family delves into brooding and unpredictable family ethics. The feature redefines the notion of terror and explores psychological and physical trauma in a genre-bending sinister tale.
Filmed during COVID, the films feeling of isolation speaks to the pandemic and lockdowns of the past two years. The co-writers Slater and Booth were inspired by the vulnerability of people and the ability of cults to exploit their fears and beliefs to separate them from the rest of the world. This reflection led the filmmakers to invent a cult religion from scratch.
‘I think this story is all too relatable to today’s world. People are so driven by fear. By beliefs that they feel holds them to a different standard than the rest of the world. I think you can see the effects of the lockdown and pandemics in the story,” Says the films director Dan Slater on why telling this story is so important. “The feeling of isolation, as if the world around you is crumbling. I tend to think of myself as an optimist. I wanted the tone of The Family to be tense, brooding; I wanted the audience to feel they could lose their footing at any second. But I wanted the overall message to be hopeful. I wanted a hero to cheer for. I wanted the children to get their revenge and for the audience to cheer when they did. I think I was the right person to instill that sense of hope into what otherwise could just have been a dark film.
Starring Nigel Bennett (Father), Benjamin Charles Watson ( Caleb), Jenna Warren (Abigail), Toni Ellwand (Mother), Keana Lyn (Mary), and Yasmin MacKay (Evelyn), the film is co-written by Dan Slater and Adam Booth. Directed by Dan Slater. Produced by Adam Booth and Cristian de la Rosa. Executive Produced by Bo Ko and Carlo Liconti.
Scroll to the top to view the trailer for The Family.
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