New Zealand-based sales company Black Mandala has acquired Australian horror film Nightfall: Paranormal Investigation, directed by Miles McEwen and Ripley Stevens, with the production and sales company eyeing franchise potential, it was revealed on the sidelines of TIFFCOM, the market arm of the Tokyo International Film Festival.
Set in 1988, this supernatural thriller follows investigators Mick Sutherland and Archie Charlesworth as they respond to a frantic call from Elizabeth Blair’s isolated home, where they encounter a malevolent presence that disrupts their sanity over the course of seven days in an incident known as Case 13.
The Adelaide-based filmmaking duo wrote, directed and starred in this feature film. The film offers a fresh perspective on the paranormal investigation subgenre while paying homage to classics like “The Exorcist.”
McEwen revealed that the project was inspired by a personal experience of anxiety. “The film was inspired by a series of unforgettable events. I spent a week in the dead man’s apartment in Budapest watching my co-star Ripley sleepwalking and talking, while back in Adelaide I was told that the light in her bedroom had turned on several times by itself,” he said. “It felt like something spiritual, maybe even demonic, was possessing us.”
Nightfall has been compared to the work of James Wan and Leigh Whannell, and places McEwen and Stevens as part of a new wave of Australian horror filmmakers.
Black Mandala confirmed continued collaboration with Mr. McEwen and Mr. Stevens following the acquisition. The company recently launched Hollywood Hells, a thriller film that takes aim at the dark side of the entertainment industry.
Michael Kraetzer and Nicolas Onetti launched Black Mandala in 2017 and built it into a leading player in independent horror and genre distribution. With over 100 titles under its belt, the Auckland, New Zealand-based organization maintains a presence in key markets, champions visually striking material, and fosters ongoing relationships with genre filmmakers around the world.
