(February 17, 2018 – Toronto, ON) We’re not sure if the veteran Canadian actor will actually be there, but his 2017 film The Harrowing will have its World Market Premiere screening and European Film Market debut in Berlin tomorrow, February 18th.
Written and directed by veteran horror director Jon Keeyes (American Nightmare, Fall Down Dead), in addition to Michael Ironside, the horror feature costars Matthew Tompkins (Sicario), and Arnold Vosloo (The Mummy, G.i. Joe).
“The Harrowing is a movie that is going to get audiences excited across the world,” said director Keeyes. “We’ve carefully crafted an intelligent, suspenseful, tense thriller that will keep audiences on the edge of their seats while driving them down a road of psychological twists and turns. Right out of the gate, we pull them in with an explosive opening sequence, and then keep them guessing as the mystery unfolds until we blow their minds in the final moments. Being able to construct such an intricate puzzle like this – that is both entertaining and thought provoking – has been a joy.”
Ironside plays Carl Logan, a jaded police lieutenant who must decide whether or not his officer is a killer. Vosloo plays Dr. Whitney, who runs a forensic hospital that’s conducting secret experiments on its patients. The film focuses on vice detective Calhoun, played by Matthew Tompkins, who is accused of the ritualistic murder of his best friend. Bent on finding the truth, he is plunged into Hell when he goes undercover and discovers that demons might be real. This is a hard-boiled thriller in the vein of genre classics Jacobs Ladder and Angel Heart.
“The Harrowing is carefully constructed to be a powerful synergy of elements that make it one of those rare ‘elevated’ genre films with true crossover appeal to a wide variety of hardcore fans, said Matthew Tompkins, who also serves as Producer. “The film is a potent mix of horror and supernatural elements that underpin a very smart, disturbing, and complicated psychological thriller…the idea of being able to drive the narrative utilizing all of these things, to truly pull that off, from both a commercial and artistic perspective, was a fantastic opportunity for us as Filmmakers.”
Clay Epstein of Film Mode Entertainment, which is handling the film’s international rights said, “We’re thrilled to screen The Harrowing to distributors and audiences for the very first time in Berlin. Horror and thriller fans are in for the ride of their lives with The Harrowing – a gripping, mind-bending, nail-biter of a film that has a great deal of worldwide commercial appeal with the recent success of the genre.”
The film generated over $733 million in ticket sales in 2017, making it the biggest box office year ever for a horror film.
Learn more about Michael Ironside.