Trailer: Urban Legend Horror THE CURSE OF BUCKOUT ROAD in Select Theaters & VOD September 27th
Josh Millican
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Buckout Road might be known as the most haunted road in New York State, but nobody really believed it… until now.
Synopsis:
A college class project on modern mythology turns deadly when a trio of students and an on-leave soldier discovers a series of horrific urban legends surrounding Buckout Road may actually be true. The deeper they dig into the road’s dark history, the more dangerous their quest becomes. From witches burning at the stake, to backwoods albino killers to a modern, unstoppable stalker, writer/director and horror-film aficionado Matthew Currie Holmes leaves no genre unexploited in this loving throwback to late-80’s midnight movies.
During its festival run, The Curse of Buckout Road received numerous awards and accolades, including Best Feature Film at the Pasadena International Film Festival, Best Thriller Feature Film at the Hot Springs Horror Film Festival, and Best Feature Film & Best Screenplay at both Blood in The Snow Film Fest and Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival. The Curse of Buckout Road won the Audience Award at People’s Film Festival Harlem, and Richmond International Film Festival as well as the Special Jury Award at Brazil International Film Festival. Director/Writer Matthew Currie Holmes won Best Director at Commffest and World Music and Independent Film Festival.
The Curse of Buckout Road is written and directed by Matthew Currie Holmes, and stars Evan Ross (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay), Henry Czerny (Ready or Not, Mission: Impossible), Dominique Provost-Chalkley (Wynonna Earp, Avengers: Age Of Ultron), Colm Feore (The Prodigy, Thor), and Danny Glover (the Lethal Weapon series, Jumanji II: The Next Level).
Director’s Statement:
Buckout Road is a culmination of everything I adored as a young lad, perusing the shelves of my local video store trying to find that GoreZone magazine approved, low budget/high concept horror film. Gems like Renny Harlin’s Prison, Night Of The Demons, I, Madman and Anthony Hickox’s gory and hilariously twisted Waxwork were my VCR’s mainstay. While bigger movies like The Lost Boys, The Blob, Pumpkinhead and Child’s Play were flying the horror flag at the local the cinema, it was these VCR indies (and dozens more like them) that won my teenage heart.
These spine tinglers weren’t afraid to be unique, bold and more than a little crazy… They were the new Midnight Movie and I consumed them all voraciously. It was in that spirit, I made Buckout Road.
Buckout Road is a supernatural thriller that tells the story of a group of college kids whose class project on ‘the creation and destruction of modern myth’, turns terrifying when they come to realize the many urban legends surrounding the infamous Buckout Road (aka The Most Haunted Road In America) may, in fact, be REAL.
What attracted me most to this project was the fact that there is an actual road in upstate New York that is the home of over fourteen urban legends. One or two sure, but fourteen? How can one small stretch of road be the birthplace to so many spooky stories? That question was the impetus for me to come up with the conceit that it is no coincidence. The Evil has always
existed and it is The Road itself that is the portal.
I’ve always been fascinated with the supernatural laying underneath the surface of our lives. The theory that the only reason The Boogyman exists is that people are afraid of him. It was with that in mind I gave The Evil its perfect antagonist: The Atheist.
If a person doesn’t believe in anything, they cannot feed the fear and give the Boogyman his strength, right? Wrong. There’s a great saying: “Science doesn’t care what you believe.”
Ironically at Buckout Road, The Evil doesn’t care either. It will find you and when it does, you’re done.
I’ve never cared much for the physical manifestation of evil on screen. Seeing the Devil is never as scary as just knowing he exists. It’s so much scarier just knowing that evil is all around us; replete with the ability to serpentine in and out of our lives as clandestinely as a thought, or even better… a dream.
By having the characters first dream of the urban legends surrounding Buckout Road and then ultimately (and subconsciously) succumb to that evil, I was able to give physicality to their plight, something visceral, and without having to expose the mystery surrounding it. The dreams they have are strange mental movies that provide bizarre road maps to the truth…
And that’s where the fun of the midnight movie comes in.
The characters take this Jungian treasure map and try and solve the mystery surrounding Buckout Road with it… but, of course, like all classic midnight movies, nothing is really what it seems and the closer they get to solving this mystery the further down the rabbit hole they fall.
Buckout Road is a classic tale of good vs evil that I chose to tell bereft of any modern, biting cynicism, self-awareness or mockery. It is a fun, often shocking, loving throwback to those high concept low budget midnight movies I adored as a teen.
I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I enjoyed making it.
Are you excited to check out The Curse of Buckout Road? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram! You can also carry on the convo with me personally on Twitter @josh_millican.
