Tuesday, January 19, 2016

01/19 XLrator Media Takes Ben Cresciman's "SUN CHOKE":




Press Release: LOS ANGELES (January 19, 2016) – XLrator Media has acquired North American distribution rights to the thriller SUN CHOKE and will release the film this Summer on its acclaimed “MACABRE” genre label. The film has played over a dozen festivals including FrightFest and the Stanley Film Festival.

Written and directed by Ben Cresciman (Negative Space), SUN CHOKE stars iconic horror film actress Barbara Crampton (You’re Next, Re-Animator, Lords of Salem), Sarah Hagan (“Freaks and Geeks,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”) and Sara Malakul Lane (17 & Life: Jailbait, the upcoming Kickboxer: Vengeance) along with Evan Jones, Joe Nieves and Jim Boeven. The film features a haunting score by noted musician/producer Boom Bip (aka Bryan Hollon).

“SUN CHOKE is a deeply unsettling psychological thriller in the vein of Roman Polanski’s Repulsion that will leave audiences emotionally shaken and questioning the line between reality and nightmare. It’s an impressive, assured work that marks Ben Cresciman as an important filmmaker to watch,” said XLrator Media CEO Barry Gordon.

Plot Outline: Janie (Sarah Hagan) is just trying to get well. As Janie recovers from a recent violent psychotic break, she’s subjected each day to a bizarre holistic health and wellness regimen designed, and enforced, by her lifelong nanny and caretaker, Irma (Barbara Crampton). Janie begins to veer off the road to recovery when she develops an obsession with a young woman, Savannah (Sarah Malakul Lane), whom Janie feels an inexplicable yet profound connection to.

The obsession turns increasingly invasive and wedges all three women into an ever-tightening and terrifying struggle for control. Will Janie pull herself back from the precipice of insanity? Or will she go over head-first, taking everyone down with her?

SUN CHOKE is produced by Georg Kallert, Rob Schroeder and Peter J. Nieves of Lodger Films with Wandie Kabule, Leigh Jones and Ian Keiser.

The deal was negotiated by XLrator Media’s Barry Gordon with BoulderLight Pictures’ Raphael Margules and JD Lifshitz on behalf of the filmmakers. Ben Cresciman is repped by Marc Manus at Manus Entertainment.

ABOUT XLRATOR MEDIA, LLC: One of the fastest-growing independent film distribution companies in North America since its creation in 2010, XLrator Media, LLC (XLratorMedia.com) will release 25 films in 2016. Its recent releases include Academy Award-winner John Ridley’s Jimi: All is by My Side starring Andre Benjamin as rock legend Jimi Hendrix, SXSW hits Housebound and The Diabolical starring Ali Larter. XLrator Media is also the home of the acclaimed MACABRE and TURBO genre film labels and the PACE multicultural film label. The company previously released such diverse films as The Machine, CBGB, American Mary, Storm Surfers 3D, Banshee Chapter, Ironclad: Battle for Blood and Five Star...