Los Angeles-based Dark Star Pictures has acquired the North American distribution rights to the festival midnighter DEMENTIA PART II as part of their exciting collaboration with horror leader Bloody Disgusting, the companies announced Monday morning.
Taken from the pages of Sam Raimi, and delivering absurd gross-out humor and nonstop mayhem, the making of DEMENTIA PART II came out of a dare from Chicago’s Cinepocalype Film Festival and the movie’s producers JD Lifshitz and Raphael Margules. The two must produce a feature-length midnight movie from concept to finished product in one month so that it could make its World Premiere on the last night of the film festival. The film turned out to be DEMENTIA PART II, a tongue-in-cheek sequel to Mike Testin’s 2015 original film.
In DEMENTIA PART II, Suzanne wasn’t always this confused. She wasn’t always dead either – When an ex-con takes a job as a handyman for an unstable elderly woman to avoid a parole violation, it becomes a choice he may regret.
The film stars genre favorites Matt Mercer (Contracted, Bliss, Beyond the Gates), Graham Skipper (Almost Human, Sequence Break, VFW), Najarra Townsend (Contracted, The Stylist), and Suzanne Voss (The Lords of Salem, Dementia).
It was produced from conception to its world premiere screening by the writer/director team Matt Mercer and Mike Testin (The Salesman, Dementia) in just 30 days.
Dark Star and Bloody Disgusting plan a theatrical release for DEMENTIA PART II in late spring with the VOD/Digital and DVD release to follow in early summer.
“From the first conversation we had with Mike Repsch and the Dark Star team, we were excited to work with them,” said co-directors Matt Mercer and Mike Testin. “It felt like they were the right company to shepherd the gleefully slimy midnight antics of DEMENTIA PART II to audiences. We had fun making the movie, and in such an unconventional way, and are excited to work with such a cool and progressive distributor to unleash it on eyeballs.”
The acquisition of DEMENTIA PART II was first unveiled to horror enthusiasts at the WELCOME TO DARK STAR PICTURES film fest held this past weekend. The distribution company held a free virtual screening of six of its latest films plus DEMENTIA PART II as an exclusive secret screening.
“DEMENTIA PART II is an immensely unique gross-out journey of a horror film and perfect addition to our Dark Star//Bloody Disgusting collaboration,” said Dark Star Pictures’ Michael Repsch. “From the inception of the project and how it was made to the putrid practical effects used, this is one that audiences should embrace for and enjoy the ride.”
Dark Star Pictures President Michael Repsch negotiated the deal with Raphael Margules from BoulderLight Pictures on behalf of the filmmakers.
Recently, Dark Star Pictures and Bloody Disgusting partnered on its first acquisition on the acclaimed backwoods horror film Honeydew starring Sawyer Spielberg in his feature acting debut. It was written and directed by Devereux Milburn, with the film also marking his directorial debut. Dark Star and Bloody Disgusting plan to release the film in theaters March 2021, with a VOD/Digital release and DVD to follow in April.