Vertical Entertainment has acquired the North American rights from XYZ Films for “VISCOUS”, a mystery thriller from first time writer/director Braden R. Duemmler. The film stars veteran actress Mena Suvari (American Beauty, American Pie), Trey Tucker (The Space Between Us) and newcomer Ema Horvath who is set to star in the upcoming “The Lord of the Rings” Amazon Studios series. Vertical Entertainment plans to release the film in US theaters and on VOD in December this year. XYZ Films will be handling international sales.
After returning from two months at camp, Liberty, a socially awkward 16-year-old is blindsided when her mother introduces her to her new fiancée, John Smith. At first, his charm, intelligence, and beauty seem too good to be true, after a series of strange occurrences Libby starts to realize that this new member of their family is not exactly who he seems.
From Director Braden Duemmler: “When we are young, our curiosity propels us. Viscous exploits that drive to reconnect us with the anxiety, uncertainty, and fears of adolescence – we indulge the curiosity, until it’s too late. This is my first feature film and I’m incredibly excited to work with Vertical and XYZ on its release.”
The North American deal was negotiated by Peter Jarowey and Josh Spector from Vertical Entertainment with Paradigm on behalf of the filmmakers.
VISCOUS was written and directed by Braden R. Duemmler; produced by Abel Vang, Stephen Stanley (p.g.a.), and Kristina Esposito; executive produced by Linus Hume; co-produced by Panda Lord, cinematography by Jimmy Jung Lu; production design by Monica Dabrowski; edited by R.J. Daniel Hanna and Marc Sedaka; and composed by Gavin Keese.
About Vertical Entertainment
Vertical Entertainment is a global independent distributor that offers a unique combination of full-service marketing and sales services. Dedicated to providing highly-effective and collaborative solutions, Vertical leverages unparalleled relationships to maximize revenue across all streams. The marketing and sales expertise from Vertical’s seasoned team gives content partners a wealth of experience minus the studio costs.
Vertical won a Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress for Molly Shannon’s role in “Other People” and the film won a GLAAD Award for “Outstanding Film Limited Release” as well. Vertical also had four other Indie Spirit nominations – three more for “Other People” (Best Lead Actor for Jesse Plemons, and Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay for filmmaker Chris Kelly) and one for Best International Film for Babak Anvari’s “Under the Shadow,” which was also the official UK submission for the 2017 Oscars, in addition to winning one BAFTA Award and three British Independent Film Awards as well.
Upcoming Vertical releases include “Hard Kill” starring Bruce Willis and Jesse Metcalfe; “The Big Ugly” starring Ron Perlman, Vinnie Jones and Malcolm McDowell; “Archive” starring Theo James and Stacy Martin; “A Nice Girl Like You” starring Lucy Hale, Jackie Cruz and Mindy Cohn; “Yes, God, Yes” starring Natalia Dyer, Timothy Simons, and Alisha Boe; and “Skylin3s”, the third installment of the Skyline franchise. Other notable recent releases include “Inheritance” starring Lily Collins, Simon Pegg, Chace Crawford and Connie Nielsen; “Human Capital” starring Liev Schreiber, Marisa Tomei, Peter Saarsgard and Maya Hawke, “Code 8” starring Stephen Amell, Robbie Amell, and Sung Kang, “Can You Keep A Secret?” starring Alexandra Daddario, Tyler Hoechlin and Laverne Cox, “American Woman” starring Sienna Miller, Aaron Paul and Christina Hendricks; “The Professor and the Madman” starring Mel Gibson, Sean Penn and Natalie Dormer “Drunk Parents” starring Alec Baldwin, Salma Hayek, Jim Gaffigan, Ben Platt and Joe Manganiello; “Lying and Stealing” starring Theo James and Emily Ratajkowski; Keith Behrman’s “Giant Little Ones” starring Josh Wiggins, Kyle Maclachlan, and Maria Bello; Rob Reiner’s “Shock and Awe” starring Woody Harrelson, James Marsden, Milla Jovovich, Jessica Biel, and Tommy Lee Jones; and Kevin Connolly’s “Gotti” starring John Travolta, Kelly Preston and Chris Mulkey.