Dread Releasing Halloween Treat ‘Candy Corn’ This Fall
Dread, the horror division of Epic Pictures, has just picked up writer/director Josh Hasty’s highly anticipated Halloween indie Candy Corn, which they will release this fall.
As we previously reported, Candy Corn is an upcoming treat for horror fans, written, directed, and produced by Josh Hasty, who most recently helmed the documentary In Hell Everybody Loves Popcorn: The Making of 31 (which is available with DVD/Blu-ray release of Rob Zombie’s 31) and previously directed the Halloween-themed throwback Honeyspider.
The official synopsis: It’s the eve of Halloween in Grove Hill, Ohio. A traveling carnival is in town for the weekend and local outcast, Jacob Atkins, has been hired as one of the freaks in the event’s main attraction, “Dr. Death’s Side Show Spook House Spectacular”. Meanwhile, a group of local bullies are planning their annual public hazing of Jacob, but this year things go too far.
The cast includes horror icons P.J. Soles (Halloween, Carrie; read our interview) and Tony Todd (Candyman, Final Destination, The Crow), along with Courtney Gains (Children of the Corn) and Poncho Moler (31, American Fright Fest, 3 From Hell), as well as Sky Elobar, Caleb Thomas, Madison Russ, Cy Creamer, Jimothy Beckholt, Nate Chaney, Patrick Ryan, Justin Mabry, Matt O’Neill, and Jaime Gallagher.
The makeup effects team includes Justin Mabry (sculptor of the Michael Myers mask in Halloween 2018 and co-owner of Trick or Treat Studios), Chris Gallaher (Vice, Fear the Walking Dead, Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Passion of the Christ), and Erik Porn (Pineapple Express, Scream Queens, American Horror Story).
The film is produced by Courtney Gains alongside Matt O’Neill and executive produced by Tony Todd, James Claeys (of Local Boogeyman Productions), Justin Mabry (of Trick or Treat Studios), Lindsey Kowalski, Ben Scrivens (of Fright Rags), Johnny Cooper, Nick Ford, and Brandon Cooper. This is the first production financed by Local Boogeyman Productions.
As first reported by Dread Central, Epic Pictures is about to take the film to Cannes for international distribution sales.
Hasty explains, “For the last three years of my life Candy Corn has been a labor of love that’s consumed my every waking moment. I had the most incredible team of filmmakers that stood behind my ambitious goals through a very trying and stressful production. When you spend this much time with something you had to consistently keep alive against all odds, the thought of handing it off to a distributor can be horrifying.”
“I spoke with a lot of interested distributors, but the conversations ended after my first call with the team at Epic Pictures and DREAD,” Hasty continues. “They are leaps and bounds ahead of the competition when it comes to their passion and understanding for independent films like Candy Corn. Within ten minutes of our first phone call, I felt like I was talking to people who had been a part of our team from day one and would stop at nothing to get it in front of every Halloween-obsessed, bloodthirsty, cinema-loving eyeball in the world. I was often asked which distributor I hoped would take Candy Corn. I consistently stood by the notion that I would only sell my film to the distributor I thought would care about it as much as I do. That is the ultimate reason Epic Pictures and DREAD are putting out Candy Corn. And I couldn’t be happier.”
DREAD’s Director of Distribution, Rob Galluzzo, adds, “If there’s one thing that horror fans have a sweet spot for, it’s Halloween. And Candy Corn delivers what will no doubt become an annual tradition. With a killer all-star cast of genre names, rich mythology, a great looking iconic killer, and cool score, we’re so excited to bring this film to horror fans this Fall!”
You can watch the official teaser trailer for Candy Corn below.
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