Exclusive Short Film Debut: BLACK CAT IN A DARK ROOM from ALTER
Josh Millican
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Regular readers of Dread Central know that we’re huge fans of the thrice-weekly short films released by ALTER, many of which we share with our readers. Today, we’re thrilled to exclusively debut their latest: Black Cat in a Dark Room, directed by Leland Montgomery.
Give Black Cat in a Dark Room a spin and read more about the short film below.
Synopsis:
Bev, Florence, and Pauline are three vampires who live in the outskirts of Los Angele’s urban sprawl. Rather than make use of their full powers, they subsist on the blood of the terminally ill and forgotten. They run an underground hospice service for folks with no family and no support system. In this way, they can live both “ethically” and under the radar. Their way of life is interrupted when their leader Beverly begins to question the morality of feeding off of other’s lives. As her empathy grows, the bonds of the coven’s family start to fray. Bev is ultimately confronted with a choice – she can continue along a path that feels increasingly unfamiliar to her, or she can break free and die.
Montgomery co-wrote the screenplay for Black Cat in a Dark Room with Michael Basha; the short film stars Alice Winslow, Libby Matthews, and Taylor Shurte.
Director’s Statement:
To be honest, it took me a while to figure out what the purpose of this movie was. There was something in the foundation of the idea that was interesting to me, but I couldn’t figure out why. On a macro level, Black Cat is about a woman trying to reconcile what she is with how she’d like to live. As a gay man, that struggle feels incredibly personal to me. I think many queer people try to reconcile how society views them with how they’d like to live their life. This is especially true when it comes to relationships. All relationships are tricky, but dating someone who is similarly confused about their inner compass can lead into incredibly tricky emotional territory. Ultimately, I feel that the theme of the movie is that to accept yourself, sometimes you have to make sacrifices and take risks to live your most authentic life.
About ALTER:
The most provocative minds in horror bring you three new short films every week exploring the human condition through warped and uncanny perspectives.
Are you a fan of the short films on ALTER? What do you think of Black Cat in a Dark Room? 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.
