David Farnor | On 07, Jul 2020

Shudder is getting into the lockdown spirit for Host, a new horror directed by Rob Savage.

Savage, who impressed with his directorial debut Strings back in 2012, has gone on to be one of the most interesting up-and-coming genre filmmakers, with shorts ranging from Healey’s House to Dawn of the Deaf. The latter, along with Salt, went viral online, thanks to their combination of innovative visuals and high-concept writing. Since then, he has also gone on to helm several episodes of Sky’s Britannia.

I’ve been hearing strange noises from my attic, so I called a few friends and went to investigate… pic.twitter.com/CxmJAf44ob

— Rob Savage (@DirRobSavage) April 21, 2020

Near the start of the coronavirus lockdown, he went viral once more with a short film based around a Zoom call that turned sinister. Now, he’s turning that short into a feature film for Shudder, which will release it later this month.

Savage, who wrote the script with Gemma Hurley and regular collaborator (and fellow exec-producer) Jed Shepherd, directed the film remotely over the internet, with the cast all recording their parts in their own homes. The film is produced by Douglas Cox of Shadowhouse Films, in association with Boo-Urns.

The actors include Haley Bishop (Deep State), Radina Drandova (Dawn of the Deaf), Edward Linard (The Rebels), Jemma Moore (Doom: Annihilation), Caroline Ward (Stalling It) and Emma Louise Webb (The Crown). They play a group of six friends who hire a medium to conduct a séance over Zoom during lockdown. When things go wrong, they get far more than they bargained for, and start to fear that they might not make it through the night.

Craig Engler, Shudder’s general manager, told Deadline that what Savage delivered off the back of the viral short “exceeded their expectations”.

“I’m a certified Shudder obsessive,” Savage added in a statement. “When lockdown began, I spent weeks bingeing everything on Shudder, so to find myself premiering a new film on the platform only a few months later is incredible. Shudder understood the potential of this mad little film from day one and totally supported us making it in our own way. It was such a rewarding process and the final product is something we’re all so proud of. I hope this is the first of many collaborations.”

Host hits Shudder on 30th July.

Add to Watchlist