Saturday 3 December 2016

Louisa Connolly - Burnham to star in Hereford's horror TORMENTED


London - December 2, 2016
Prolific UK indie Hereford Films has announced its first project for 2017 – TORMENTED – and the first in a slate of American-set genre movies.

Written and directed by Adam Stephen Kelly (Done In, Kill Kane), TORMENTED is a supernatural horror film centred around teenager Ashley Loren, who – in the aftermath of a tragic car accident – is haunted by nightmares of her dead sister, and must uncover her town's dark past in the hope of vanquishing the malevolent spirit that terrorises her from beyond the grave.

Hereford Films CEO Jonathan Sothcott commented: “The glut of horror films released weekly to home entertainment platforms makes standing out from the crowd a particular challenge, and over-saturation of inferior product is going to be an increasing problem but our model for these genre films at Hereford mixes the best elements of Hammer and Blumhouse. Unashamedly populist, high-concept and modestly budgeted horror films that will not only stand out in the market, but haunt audiences' imaginations long after the end credits. With one of the best genre scripts I've ever read, I want Tormented to be the first in a slate of horror pictures that can go toe-to-toe with modern genre classics such as The Purge and The Babadook.”

Hereford Films is currently closing finance and is near to signing off a multi-territory distribution deal with an international distributor. No sales agent has been appointed as of yet.

Executive producers include Damien Morley and Nick Aldrich.

Writer and director Kelly said: “With a supernatural twist and a thrilling edge, Tormented deals with the very real, very scary phenomenon known as sleep paralysis while also taking inspiration from an incredibly dark chapter in American history. The response to the script has been fantastic and I'm so excited to have the interest of so many talented actors, not to mention Louisa Connolly-Burnham in the lead role who is a fantastic talent.”

Casting is currently underway with rising star Louisa Connolly-Burnham (Wolfblood) in the lead role: “I'm thrilled to be a part of Tormented. Despite many sleepless nights, horror has always been one of my favourite genres and I'm so excited to finally be on the other side of the scares! I've personally experienced sleep paralysis and it's absolutely terrifying – the script definitely brings that aspect out.”

Hereford Films' 2017 slate also includes genre films Aura, Pentagram, Dracula: New Blood and We Still Die the Old Way, plus family films Pride and Prejudice and Ollie.