Bleecker Street has acquired US and most of worldwide rights excluding New Zealand and Australia to the horror film When Darkness Loves Us starring Emilia Clarke, which has just wrapped production in New Zealand.
Starring alongside Game Of Thrones and Me Before You lead Clarke in the feature from James Ashcroft are Marlon Williams from A Star Is Born and the series Sweet Tooth, Victoria Pedretti from series The Haunting Of Bly Manor and You, and Natascha McElhone, whose credits include The Truman Show.
Principal photography recently wrapped in New Zealand. Bleecker backed the project at an early stage and plans a nationwide release in 2027.
When Darkness Loves Us is based on Elizabeth Engstrom’s 1980s cult novella of the same name and follows a young woman (Clarke) who, after surviving 15 years trapped in an underground cave system, returns to the surface to reclaim the family she believes is hers, no matter the monstrous cost.
Ashcroft co-wrote the screenplay with Hayley Sproull and Eli Kent. Desray Armstrong is producing and Ant Timpson serves as executive producer with Ashcroft, Clarke, Katherine Bridle, Bleecker’s Kent Sanderson and Tyler DiNapoli, and Umbrella’s Ari Harrison and Jasmin McSweeney. Nicola Smith and Bleecker’s Miranda King are associate producers.
The feature is financed by New Zealand Film Commission and Images & Sound, as well as the New Zealand Screen Production Rebate, which was cash-flowed by Hinterland and Natixis Coficiné. Umbrella Entertainment will distribute in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.
“The term ‘world-building’ is wildly overused, but the degree to which James and team have built a subterranean universe cannot be understated,” Sanderson said. This film is a true journey into the darkness, literally and figuratively, and we can’t wait to shock audiences worldwide with James’ singular vision.”
“My passion for Elizabeth Engstrom’s story remains boundless; what an absolute gift it has been bringing this work to the screen,” Ashcroft added. “With When Darkness Loves Us, Liz never lets us forget that the actions of her characters are by turns both tragic and monstrous – no matter how sympathetic they may be. But it’s their indelible humanity that can’t be so easily shaken off afterwards, and that’s when we find ourselves at home in the darkness with them”.
Miranda King and Avy Eschenasy negotiated the deal for Bleecker Street with CAA Media Finance on behalf of the filmmakers.
Bleecker Street recently delivered a hit through its event cinema distribution division Crosswalk on Stray Kids: The dominATE Experience. Upcoming releases include Adam Shankman’s Stop! That! Train! starring RuPaul; Victorian Psycho with Maika Monroe; Guy Nattiv’s Harmonia, starring Carrie Coon, Bella Ramsey, Odessa Young, and Lily James; Alex Gibney’s Musk; and the currently untitled next film from Mike Leigh.
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