What matters a phones service if the device is gone? Teens lost in the woods is a wildly familiar image in horror. Teens seeking cell service, even more so. But this disorienting clip from Sunset Edge, a raw, new southern indie from director Daniel Peddle, isolates its young character without even the comfort of a device searching for a signal.
Coming May 29th from CAVU Pictures, Sunset Edge is set on a lazy afternoon, where two tales intertwine in a meditative portrayal of disaffected youth set in a graveyard of abandoned mobile homes known as Sunset Edge. Four suburban teens rummage through the decay completely unaware of the shadowy figure that moves among them – a tormented soul with a horrific past. Day turns to night and people disappear as the secrets of Sunset Edge are revealed in a haunting finale.
Part gothic thriller, part coming-of-age tale, Sunset Edge is described as a Hitchcockian mash-up that upends teenage horror films. Shot entirely on location in North Carolina, the directors Southern roots are the inspiration for the film. In setting his story amidst the rural decay of this pastoral landscape, Peddle captures a poignant snapshot of American culture. He manipulates time and linearity to create a gripping, layered story.
In the below exclusive clip and trailer, Sunset Edge seems to have the bare, evocative quality of something like Toad Road, stripping the sheen and pop from youth-oriented horror. Hopefully it proves affecting and eerie.
Sunset Edge opens May 29th at NYCs Cinema Village and Los Angeles Laemmle Playhouse.
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Sunset Edge (Trailer) from Karim López on Vimeo.
