When Darkness Loves Us, the new horror film from New Zealand director James Ashcroft (The Rule of Jenny Pen), will kick off international sales at the upcoming Cannes Film Market.
Cornerstone has taken on international sales outside of Australia and New Zealand for the title, which stars Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones), Victoria Pedretti (You, Forbidden Fruits), Marlon Williams (Sweet Tooth) and Natascha McElhone (The Truman Show). Cornerstone will rep sales on behalf of Bleecker Street. Principal photography has recently wrapped in New Zealand, and a U.S. release is planned for 2027. Umbrella Entertainment will distribute the film in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.
The chiller is adapted from Elizabeth Engstrom’s cult 1980s novella of the same name. Clarke stars as a women who, according to the official plot summary, “has survived 15 years trapped in an underground cave system, and returns to the surface to reclaim the family she believes is hers, no matter the monstrous cost.”
“We are thrilled to be partnering with our friends at Bleecker on James Ashcroft’s bold vision that elevates the genre, and with Emilia Clarke leading an exceptional cast, we believe this film will strongly resonate with international audiences,” Cornerstone’s Alison Thompson and Mark Gooder said in a statement.
Ashcroft co-wrote the film’s screenplay with Hayley Sproull and Eli Kent. Desray Armstrong is producing with executive producers including Ant Timpson, Ashcroft, Clarke, Katherine Bridle, Bleecker Street’s Kent Sanderson and Tyler DiNapoli, and Umbrella Entertainment’s Ari Harrison and Jasmin McSweeney. Nicola Smith and Bleecker Street’s Miranda King serve as associate producers.
Ashcroft’s next feature, the psychological thriller The Whisper Man, starring Robert De Niro and Michelle Monaghan, drops on Netflix later this year.
The Cannes Film Market runs May 12-20.