Escape (Short Horror Film 2024)

Help us fund our short film!

Escape is a story of 3 friends who go to upstate New York to get away from the stressful day-to-day of city life. Upon going for a hike, they encounter a strange man dressed in clothes from a different time. This kickstarts a series of events that are both terrifying and unsettling. We intend to make a grounded yet fun horror film that warrants multiple viewings to unpack all of its mysteries. After spending a great deal of time camping and hiking in upstate New York, we always felt its forests would make an incredible backdrop for a film. The beauty of this location is at the forefront of our project. We also have found an incredible house that matches the exact interior we had in mind while writing.

As writers, directors, and producers of this film, we (Brendan Welch, Calvin Robards, and Jake Sichterman) have dedicated nearly all our free time and resources to this project. Making a horror felt right for our first film as we could show many of our techniques and filmmaking styles. We are blessed to have working experience on various film sets and established friendships with some of our past colleagues. Our cinematographer, Matt P Jones, is an accomplished filmmaker with work spanning multiple genres. We felt that Brendan and two of our friends, Nick Alexander and Nathan Neale, would be the perfect fit for our three leads.

Meet Our Cast and Crew

Nicolas Alexander (Actor)

Instagram: @nicccington

Nathan Lee Neale (Actor)

Instagram: @nathanneale

Brendan Welch (Actor, Writer, Producer)

Instagram: @beartacklebrendan

Calvin Robards (Director, Writer, Producer, Actor)

Instagram: @fijigoshawk

Jake Sichterman (Director, Writer, Producer)

Instagram: @jake.sicky

Matt P Jones (Cinematographer)

Instagram: @mattpj

Website: www.mattpjones.com

Bella Green (Make-up, craft services, props master)

Etti Lafon (First Assistant Camera)

Instagram: @ettispaghetti

Joshua "JD" Pankiw (Colorist, Gaffer)

Instagram: @wheresjd

Website: www.jdpankiw.com

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Gallery/ Mood Boards

Outdoors Day/Night

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While more than confident we can bring our vision to life, we won't be able to do so without crowdfunding. We need to reach this goal for our shooting dates November 4th through 9th. With cast members working full-time jobs and moving to different corners of the country in December, These are the only dates where we have been able to find time in all of our schedules. We want to be 100% transparent about every dollar being raised and have included a detailed breakdown:

Cast and Crew Transportation (Gas, Tolls, Van rental) - $1,400

House Rental - $1,200

Dedicated Production Sound Mixer - $1,000+

Craft Services (Food for a crew of 10) - $400

Costumes, Makeup, and Props - $250

Other equipment (C-stands, Sandbags, Walkies) - $200

We've decided to reward our donors depending on their donation!

(you can expect these to ship out when the film releases in early 2023)

$50 - (Poster, Special Thanks)

$100 - (T-Shirt, Poster, Special Thanks)

$250 - (T-Shirt, Poster, DVD, Special Thanks)

$500 - (T-shirt, Hoodie, Poster, DVD, Executive Producer Credit*, 2 tickets to a screening)

$1000 - (2 T-Shirts, 2 Hoodies, Poster, DVD, Executive Producer Credit*, 2 tickets to a screening, and an exclusive lookbook documenting Escape's filming and preproduction process. This book will include pieces of wardrobe, sketches, photographs, and other artifacts from our shoot.)

*optional for donor