A young woman obsessed with horror, subjects herself to twelve hours of grueling torment in an attempt to confront her own fears and conquer the tragic past which haunts her.
“Extreme haunts”—immersive horrific attractions that submit patrons to emotional and physical assaults—have become all the rage among fright fans and thrill-seekers. But what happens when the experience crosses the line? Prepare to find out in Extremity, the new screen shocker from Canada’s Dark Elegy Films, which today releases a new set of photos offering glimpses of the terror to come.
The first feature produced by Dark Elegy, headed by Corinne Ferguson (Cut Bank, Freezer) and David Bond (Boogeyman, Cookers), Extremity was directed by Anthony DiBlasi (Clive Barker’s Dread, The Last Shift). Bond also wrote the screenplay with Scott Swan (Masters of Horror, The Profane Exhibit). The film stars Dana Christina as Allison, a young woman with a severely troubled past who signs up for an extreme haunt called Perdition. She believes that putting herself through Perdition’s nightmarish trials will help her exorcise her internal traumas, but has no way of knowing just how shocking her ordeal will be—or what dark secrets buried in her psyche will emerge.
Extremity also stars Chad Rook (War for the Planet of the Apes), Ashley Smith (international Playboy and Sports Illustrated cover model in her first feature), J. LaRose (the Insidious and Saw franchises), Japanese actress Ami Tomite (Antiporno, Meatball Machine Kodoku) and international cult director Yoshihiro Nishimura (Tokyo Gore Police, Helldriver). In addition, Nishimura created the film’s graphically gory makeup effects, while the eerie masks worn by Perdition’s denizens were designed by Simon Sayce, who was responsible for the Lament Configuration, the puzzlebox that summoned the Cenobites in the classic Hellraiser films.
DiBlasi believes there are layers to the horrors of Extremity that elevate it above typical horror fare. “It confronts very dark issues head-on,” he says. “Like the extreme haunts, this film is meant to push those buttons, and if you peel back the layers of entertainment, it will also speak to people about their own self-destructive natures. A lot of us have been guilty of those at one time or another, and some people self-sabotage their own happiness. What’s that little voice that pushes us to do the thing we know is the worst for us? We inherently want to push ourselves to our limits, both physically and psychologically, and to get as close to death as possible and know where that line is.
“That’s what Extremity is all about,” he continues. “I believe it’s the most stylized film I’ve ever made, which in some ways makes the harshness more accessible. The visuals lure you in, and that makes the impact all the stronger.”
The director is thrilled to be bringing this dark, disturbing vision to audiences as the first of many frightening features from Dark Elegy. “They have a great creative plan and some very cool projects,” he says, “and are talking to some smart filmmakers about helming them. It’s awesome that I get to be the first out of the gate for Dark Elegy.” Updates on Extremity will be regularly posted at the company’s Facebook page (@darkelegyfilms).