Advertisement

Scott Cooper’s ‘Antlers’ to Close Beyond Fest After Pandemic Delays

Matt Donnelly
·2-min read

Scott Cooper’s horror thriller “Antlers” is finally ready to trot.

The Searchlight Pictures release, delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, will bow as the closing night film of the annual Beyond Fest. After, it will continue rolling out at global genre festivals, including Fantastic Fest, the Telluride Horror Show and Sitges Film Festival.

More from Variety

The tour will conclude with a domestic theatrical release on Oct. 29.

“I made ‘Antlers’ as a communal theatrical experience for cinema lovers,” said director and co-writer Cooper. “I can’t think of a more apt series of screenings to launch our film before audiences across the globe — audiences whom I hope share an appreciation for horror films with a different perspective on our everyday fears and ancestral mythology.”

Cooper, whose credits include “Hostiles” and “Crazy Heart,” helms the pic, produced by Guillermo del Toro, David S. Goyer (“The Night House”) and J. Miles Dale of the upcoming “Nightmare Alley.”

The film follows an isolated Oregon town in which a middle-school teacher (Keri Russell) and her sheriff brother (Jesse Plemons) become embroiled with her enigmatic student (Jeremy T. Thomas). The boy’s dark secrets lead to terrifying encounters with a legendary ancestral creature who came before them.

C. Henry Chaisson (“Servant”) and Nick Antosca (“The Act”) wrote the script with Cooper based on Antosca’s short story “The Quiet Boy.” The film features an accomplished crew of craftspeople, including cinematographer Florian Hoffmeister (“The Deep Blue Sea”), production designer Tim Grimes (“The Wrestler”), editor Dylan Tichenor (“Brokeback Mountain”) and composer Javier Navarrete (“Pan’s Labyrinth”).

Russell and Plemons co-star with Academy Award nominee Graham Greene (“Dances With Wolves”), Scott Haze (“Jurassic World: Dominion”), Rory Cochrane (“Encounter”) and Oscar nominee Amy Madigan (“Twice in a Lifetime”). “Smoke Signals” director Chris Eyre served as a consultant on the film.

Beyond Fest founder Christian Parkes said “we know our audiences will journey into the heart of the monster for this artful nail-biter. It’s an honor for us and the American Cinematheque to welcome Scott back, as we have celebrated his genre-spanning films from ‘Crazy Heart’ to ‘Out of the Furnace’ over the years.”

The full “Antlers” rollout includes a “Fantastic Fest Presents” special screening with Alamo Drafthouse in San Francisco and Austin on Oct. 11; the international premiere at the 54th Sitges International Film Festival on Oct. 13; closing night of the 12th annual Telluride Horror Show on Oct. 17; and a special drive-in screening at the 57th Chicago International Film Festival on Oct. 15.

Best of Variety

Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.