Blue Finch Films have sold North American rights to thriller “Last Straw” to Shout! Studios at the Berlin European Film Market.
Written by Taylor Sardoni, “Last Straw” pays homage to the pressure- cooker genre films of the past and aims to present a raw and unrelenting twist on the home-invasion thriller. The story revolves around a young waitress working the late shift alone at a rural roadside diner. Her life takes a terrifying turn when she becomes the target of a group of masked assailants. As the night unfolds she must muster all her strength to survive.
This film, which premiered at Beyond Fest and Sitges last year, marks the directorial debut of Alan Scott Neal, and the cast includes Jessica Belkin (“American Horror Story”), Jeremy Sisto (“Thirteen”) and Taylor Kowalski (“Snowfall”).
Daniel Brandt (“I Love My Dad”), Bad Grey’s Dane Eckerle (“I Love My Dad”) and Cole Eckerle (“Mother, May I?”) produce alongside Michael Giannone and Phil Keefe representing AC3 Media, Levon Panek and Sam Slater of Burn Later Prods.
“‘Last Straw’ is a smart and twisty edge-of-your-seat thriller that delivers scares and surprises in equal measure. A layered screenplay and terrific performances led by the dynamic Jessica Belkin make this night of hell-on-earth a terrifying pleasure, and Shout! is honored to bring the experience to audiences nationwide,” said Gus Krieger, director of acquisitions and development at Shout! Studios.
Eckerle and Brandt added: “It’s clear that Shout! Studios is a company that’s run by people who truly love movies. They have a deep understanding of how to position genre films for success. We set out to make a film that had a hyper-specific, modern voice while also paying homage to genre classics that came before it. Ironically, some of those classics are a part of Shout’s library, so for that reason and so many more, we couldn’t be more thrilled to partner with them to bring ‘Last Straw’ to North American audiences.”
Blue Finch’s EFM slate includes SXSW-bound horror film “Oddity” and horror-comedy “Destroy All Neighbors.” The company’s international slate also includes thriller“Steppenwolf” from writer-director Adilkhan Yerzhanov, which premiered at Rotterdam,Sitges and Beyond Fest title “Last Straw,”Tribeca selected “You’ll Never Find Me,”SXSW narrative competition winner “Raging Grace”and Sydney-winning, SXSW 2024-selectedgender politics thriller “Birdeater.”
