Fango has got the scoop on the upcoming horror feature DESOLATION, written and to be directed by Krist Rufty, whose previous movie THE CUTTING ROOM was recently released as part of Pendulum Pictures’ six-movie FATAL FEMMES collection. The new project reteams him with actor Trent (SUBURBAN NIGHTMARE) Haaga in “the terrifying story of one family’s weekend of horror,” according to the official synopsis. “When Robert Carlowe takes his family on a weekend getaway to reconnect with his loved ones after a tragic incident, he is suddenly thrust into a life-and-death struggle when his idyllic vacation turns into the weekend from hell. When a mysterious stranger from Robert’s past invades the vacation home and takes his wife and children hostage, Robert must confront his demons head-on and fight for the survival of his family.”
“DESOLATION came about after a couple of my other scripts weren’t generating any interest,” Rufty tells Fango. “I had just begun writing DESOLATION and sent part of the script to Trent, just to get his input, and his enthusiasm gave me the drive to tweak it and make it better. I wanted to write a character for Trent that he could really do some damage with. The role of Douglas Hinson will give him the opportunity to show another side of himself.
“I’ve explored a lot of fears in the writing of DESOLATION: the loss of a child, the loss of a spouse, the dangers of alcoholism,” Rufty continues. “And chainsaws…I want to make chainsaws scary again. I want to evoke the feeling of the horror films of the ’70s and early ’80s. I don’t want to duplicate those movies, but I want to recreate the intensity they had.”
For this project, Rufty has teamed up with indie horror specialist Kevin Woods, whose own most recent project, SURVIVAL, rolls next month. “For the past couple of years,” Rufty says, “people had been telling me that I needed to meet with Kevin, since he was only a couple of hours away from me. He and his producing partner, Adam Minarovich, had been making movies for several years with a moderate degree of success. So I found Kevin on MySpace and contacted him, telling him a bit about DESOLATION, and he agreed to come on as producer. A couple of days later, I was fortunate to get Adam, who is a great actor himself, to sign on in a vital role. Adam and Kevin have been friends with Trent for a few years, but this will mark the first time they have collaborated on a project. We’ll also be working with actress Vanelle, whom I’ve become great friends with since working with her on CUTTING ROOM.”
“I have to say that the script is a massive leap forward for Krist in terms of quality and story,” Haaga adds. “I’m excited about this role and working with Krist again, and also looking forward to finally meeting and working with Adam and Kevin, two guys I have been networking with for a few years now. Adam is a talented writer and a fantastic actor, so it’ll be interesting working alongside him. And having Kevin on board to produce it should prove to be a really productive shoot. It’ll be a lot of fun!”
DESOLATION’s special FX will be created by Ricky Lee Leonard, and the shoot is scheduled for late July-early August, with the filmmakers eyeing a late-2006 release. An official website will be up very soon, and in the meantime you can check out the production’s MySpace page here.
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