The first feature film to be developed entirely over the Internet and distributed in theatres nationwide, PERKINS' 14, is currently in post production, in preparation for a release in January 2009 as part of the After Dark Horrorfest. What a year ago may have been a fleeting YouTube sensation now has the potential for box office success. The film is produced by After Dark Films and Massify, the online production network founded by Brett Icahn and Kenneth Woo.
Directed by Craig Singer (DARK RIDE, DEAD DOGS LIE, A GOOD NIGHT TO DIE), with a screenplay by Lane Shadgett (LUNA PARK, ALL LOST SOULS), PERKINS' 14 was developed online at Massify.com. Writers were invited to upload story pitches, and actors submitted audition videos. The site's community members then voted on their favorite story and on which actors they thought deserved to be cast in the four main roles.
The winning idea, submitted by Jeremy Donaldson, follows Robert Perkins, who at age 6, becomes mentally unstable when his parents are brutally murdered inside their home. He is convinced the killers will return in the future to kill him as well. At age 34, Perkins kidnaps 14 people from his hometown of Brightsville and brainwashes them, creating a unified team of psycho killers.
Shot on location in Romania, PERKINS 14 features Shayla Beesley, making her feature lead acting debut. Former Misfits frontman Michale Graves will be playing the love interest of Beesley's character. Graves' song "Blackbird" will also be featured in the film.
