Ryuhei Kitamura is a fascinating and exciting director. For me, it all started with Versus (2000) which immediately impressed the hell out of me. Later years would bring two genre favorites Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) and The Midnight Meat Train (2008). Eleven Arts is set to bring his latest horror classic Downrange to hungry audiences in 2018. Described in the press release as “a minimalist thriller with maximum tension,” we cannot wait to get our hands on Kitamura’s latest offering.
July 21, 2017 – San Diego, California – ELEVEN ARTS is proud to announce DOWNRANGE, the terrifying new thriller from acclaimed director Ryuhei Kitamura (The Midnight Meat Train, Versus, Godzilla: Final Wars). Produced by Kitamura and ELEVEN ARTS’ Ko Mori (Lords of Chaos, Man From Reno, Uzumasa Limelight), the film is executive produced by Taro Maki (In This Corner of the World). Screenplay is by Joey O’Bryan (Motorway, Fulltime Killer), with story by O’Bryan and Kitamura.In the film, six college students are carpooling cross-country when one of their tires blows out on a desolate stretch of country road. Getting out to fix the flat, they quickly discover that this was no accident. The tire was shot out. With their vehicle incapacitated, the group is pinned down and mercilessly attacked by an unseen assailant as they desperately attempt to find a way to escape.
Producer Mori states, “It’s an honor and privilege to partner with a director as visionary as Ryuhei Kitamura, whose art has thrilled genre audiences for over fifteen years since first shocking the world with his debut feature Versus. Our longtime friendship has culminated in this exciting collaboration, and Ryuhei’s dedication to horror, action, and thrillers makes him the perfect fit to helm a film like DOWNRANGE – which is nonstop tension from its opening frame.”Adds director Kitamura, “While I’ve created single location films in the past, DOWNRANGE marks a new style of storytelling for me, wherein sustained, breathless terror in a singular location is what drives the entire plot. We’ve crafted a film in which is fueled by relentless dread, and are very excited to share it with horror and suspense fans around the world.”Kitamura has unleashed an uncompromising vision with DOWNRANGE, creating a minimalist thriller with maximum tension. His filmmaking is as stylish as ever, but leaner and meaner than ever before.
DOWNRANGE stars newcomer Kelly Connaire, Stephanie Pearson (Insidious: Chapter 2), Rod Hernandez-Farella, Anthony Kirlew, Alexa Yeames (The CW’s The Originals), and Jason Tobias (ABC Television’s Notorious). It is currently scheduled to be released in early 2018.
Doc a lifelong fan of horror films, sci-fi flicks and monster movies first discovering Universal Monsters and Planet of the Apes as a young child in the 1970's searching out every issue of Famous Monster of Filmland (and, later, Fangoria). Favorite films include Jaws, The Car, The Birds, The Tingler, Vampire Circus and The Exorcist. Still a huge fan of horror films from the 70s, Doc continues consuming horror films to this day for the site, for the podcasts and for the fun of it all.
