The Barn (film) explained

The Barn
Director:Justin M. Seaman
Starring:Mitchell Musolino
Will Stout
Lexi Dripps
Music:Rocky Gray
Cinematography:Zane Hershberger
Editing:Justin M. Seaman
Studio:Nevermore Production Films
Distributor:Scream Team Releasing
Runtime:90 minutes
Country:United States
Language:English

The Barn is a 2016 American horror film written and directed by Justin M. Seaman, and starring Mitchell Musolino, Will Stout, Lexi Dripps, Cortland Woodard, Nikki Howell, Nickolaus Joshua, Linnea Quigley, and Ari Lehman. The film is set on Halloween night 1989 and follows two teenage friends that end up accidentally resurrecting a deadly curse. A sequel, The Barn Part II, was released in 2022.

Plot

All Sam and Josh want to do is have fun on Halloween and raise some mischief before they graduate from high school next year. They decide to go to a concert, only for a detour to result in them discovering a deserted barn. However unbeknownst to them, the barn that they've come across has a deadly curse attached to it and soon the teens find themselves at the mercy of three monsters: The Boogeyman, Hollow Jack, and the Candy Corn Scarecrow.

Cast

Development

Seaman began planning for The Barn over a period of years and based the movie's script on a small book he wrote when he was eight years old.[1] To achieve an atmosphere reminiscent of horror films from the 1980s, the crew attempted to replicate camera and lighting techniques from that decade.[2] They also tried to minimize the number of scenes shot with a handheld camera. The soundtrack for The Barn was composed by Rocky Gray and the crew signed a deal with Lunaris Records to release the soundtrack to vinyl and cassette.

In August 2015, a campaign was created on the crowdfunding website Kickstarter, in order to help fund post-production and merchandising costs. The funding helped enable Seaman to re-add scenes that had previously been cut from the film due to budget issues.[3]

Release

The Barn premiered on March 12, 2016 at the Fright Night Theatre Film Festival in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.[4] It was then screened at various other festivals, including the Crimson Screen Horror Film Fest in North Charleston, South Carolina on May 15, 2016, and at the Idaho Horror Film Festival in Boise, Idaho on October 15, 2016.[5]

Reception

Daniel Kurland of Bloody Disgusting gave the film a mostly positive review, calling it "a love letter to monster movies and the campy decade where they reigned supreme, that's as fun as it is bloody".[6] Matt Boiselle of Dread Central gave the film a rating of 4 out of 5 stars, recommending the film "to everyone looking for a fun, retro trip back to the days of grainy, low-budgeted horror yanked directly off the racks of your local video rental shop – this one will sit firmly entrenched in my top 5 of the best horror films for 2016".[7] Kieran Fisher of Scream magazine wrote that the film "has everything a great hack n' slash should have – a back story, wonderful villains, great kills, effective scares and a ghoulish sense of humour".[8]

Albert Nowicki included the film on his list of "best Halloween movies of all time" for Prime Movies.[9]

Accolades

YearAwardCategoryRecipientsResult.
2016Maverick Movie AwardsBest Original Score: FeatureRocky Gray[10]
Best Picture: FeatureThe Barn
Best Actor: FeatureWill Stout
Best Supporting Actor: FeatureNickolaus Joshua
Best Screenplay: FeatureJustin M. Seaman
Best Editing: FeatureJustin M. Seaman
Best Special FX: FeatureRobert Kuhn, Sara Kuhn, and Dakota Corwin
Idaho Horror Film FestivalAudience Choice Award for Best FilmThe Barn[11]
Crimson Screen Horror Film FestCrimmy Award for Best Feature FilmThe Barn[12]
Crimmy Award for Best Director: FeatureJustin M. Seaman
Crimmy Award for Best Actor: FeatureMitchell Musolino
Crimmy Award for Best Actress: FeatureLexi Dripps
Crimmy Award for Best Cinematography: FeatureZane Hershberger
Crimmy Award for Best Screenplay: FeatureJustin M. Seaman
Crimmy Award for Best Special FX Make-Up: FeatureThe Barn

Video game

A video game adaptation of the film was released to mobile devices on May 3, 2016. The game has an 8-bit animation style and follows the film's protagonists as they try to survive Halloween night.[13] Seaman created a commercial for the game, which was stylized to resemble a video game advertisement from the 1990s.[14]

See also

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Interview: The Cast and Crew of THE BARN!. February 1, 2016. Famous Monsters of Filmland. July 2, 2019.
  2. Web site: Gelmini. David. Interview: Justin M. Seaman – Director of The Barn. July 20, 2015. Dread Central. July 2, 2019.
  3. Web site: Whittaker. Richard. Burning Down The Barn: Director Justin Seaman on the joy of rubber and gore. July 14, 2016. The Austin Chronicle. July 2, 2019.
  4. Web site: Charkot. Richelle. Festival Preview: Fright Night Theatre Film Festival Day Two. March 10, 2016. ComingSoon.Net. July 2, 2019.
  5. Web site: Upcoming Events – Scream Team Releasing. Scream Team Releasing. July 2, 2019.
  6. Web site: Kurland. Daniel. [NYHFF '16 Review] 'The Barn' is a Stunning Portal Into Campy '80s Horror]. November 16, 2016. Bloody Disgusting. December 6, 2016.
  7. Web site: Boiselle. Matt. Barn, The (2016). December 23, 2016. Dread Central. July 2, 2019.
  8. Fisher. Kieran. December 29, 2016. THE BARN: Film Review. Scream. ScreamHorrorMag.com. July 2, 2019.
  9. Web site: Top 10: Best Halloween movies of all time. Prime Movies. Albert. Nowicki. October 28, 2021. October 28, 2021.
  10. Web site: 2016 Maverick Movie Awards & Nominations!. Maverick Movie Awards. July 2, 2019.
  11. Web site: Awards – Scream Team Releasing. Scream Team Releasing. July 2, 2019.
  12. Web site: 2016 Winners. Crimson Screen Film Festival. December 7, 2016.
  13. Web site: Gingold. Michael. Exclusive images: multimedia Halloween horrors await in "THE BARN". October 28, 2014. FangoTV.com. Fangoria. July 2, 2019.
  14. Web site: Hamman. Cody. Cool Horror Videos: '90s-style commercial for The Barn video game. June 7, 2016. JoBlo.com. December 6, 2016.