Ben DeLoose’s new movie, “Escape the Dark,” will be shown at the Carolina Theater in Durham on Friday, Feb. 23, and Saturday, Feb. 24.
Before touring campus this week, Elon alumnus Ben DeLoose ’08 hadn’t been back at his alma mater for nearly a decade. While he enjoyed seeing the expansive changes to the School of Communications and reconnecting with former instructors – like his tour guide, Assistant Professor Gerald Gibson – they weren’t the main reason for his trip to North Carolina.
DeLoose, who has worked in development at various Los Angeles-based media companies, most notably Disney-ABC Television Group and NBCUniversal, made the trip east to screen his new film, “Escape the Dark.” The psychological-supernatural horror film will be shown as part of the 19th annual Nevermore Film Festival on Friday, Feb. 23, at 9 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 24, at 5 p.m. at the Carolina Theater in Durham. He will participate in a Q&A session after both screenings.
This is the film’s fifth festival and the 100-minute movie has earned rave reviews, collecting awards for Best Horror Feature, Best Horror Actress, Outstanding Screen Story, and Outstanding Ensemble Cast. “Escape the Dark” will also be screened at the North Hollywood Cinefest in late March.
Written and directed by DeLoose and his creative partner Matthew Chilelli, the film follows two sets of roommates who find themselves trapped in their apartments by an unseen entity. The project stars Erik Moody, Sarah Nicklin, Karli Kaiser and Michael Slefinger.
“We raised our production budget on Kickstarter – $16,000 – and shot the film in Los Angeles over 15 days,” DeLoose said.
Created in 1999, the Nevermore Film Festival is a juried competition festival which programs brand-new genre feature and short films from around the world. The festival seeks submissions for narrative feature and shorts with an emphasis on horror, science fiction, dark fantasy, animation, mystery/suspense, and action-thrillers.