The Playmaker has signed with “Resident Evil” producer Constantin Film to handle the international sales for its FrightFest London contender “Home Sweet Home – Where Evil Lives,” a one-shot horror film told in real time by director Thomas Sieben (“Kidnapping Stella”).
The film stars German A-list cast Nilam Farooq (“Heilstätten,” “Contra”), Justus von Dohnányi (“The Experiment”) and David Kross (“The Reader”).
“Home Sweet Home – Where Evil Lives” will have its world premiere at FrightFest London, which runs Aug. 24-28. It will be screened in the Main Screen section on Aug. 28 at the Cineworld Leicester Square on an IMAX screen.
The film follows heavily pregnant Maria (Farooq) as she returns alone to the remote country house of her father-in-law (Von Dohnányi). She has no idea what secrets are lurking within.
As she investigates strange occurrences, including a sudden power outage while talking to her fiancé Viktor (Kross), Maria descends to the basement and hears eerie noises and a mysterious breathing, unaware of a ghostly presence behind her.
Determined to uncover the truth, she discovers a hidden room revealing a terrible family secret. Panic sets in as Maria tries to flee back to town, only to find her car key missing. She enters an eerie and dramatic night, fighting not only for her own life.
“We are delighted to bring this marvelous and scary experience to audiences worldwide via our partners at The Playmaker. People are in for an edge of their seats treat,” producer Constanze Guttmann, for Constantin Film, said.
“ ‘Home Sweet Home – Where Evil Lives’ is a pulse-pounding horror movie that unfolds in real-time, immersing viewers in a nerve-wracking experience audience won’t soon forget,” Moritz Hemminger, deputy head of sales and acquisitions of The Playmaker, said. “The Playmaker team is deeply grateful for the trust Constantin have placed in our collaboration on ‘Home Sweet Home – Where Evil Lives’ and we cannot wait to present this bone-chilling horror at FrightFest London and to share it with the international genre community.”
Guttmann and Friederich Oetker produced the film for Constantin Film in co-production with ViaFilm (Benedikt Böllhoff, Max Frauenknecht). The production was supported and funded by the German Federal Film Board (Filmförderungsanstalt) and the German Federal Film Fund (Deutscher Filmförderfonds). The local theatrical distributor is Constantin Film Verleih, which will release the film on Jan. 25, 2024 in German cinemas.
Sieben studied film and photography at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston. His first feature film “Distanz,” with Ken Duken, opened the Perspektive Deutsches Kino section at the Berlinale 2009 and screened at more than 25 festivals.
Since then, Sieben has directed and written three more feature films, “Staudamm,” “Kidnapping Stella” and “Prey.” The last two ran worldwide as Netflix Originals.
Sieben has also worked on various film and series projects as a screenwriter.
