Bystanders, the directorial debut from Dread Central‘s Mary Beth McAndrews, will hit VOD on January 21 via Dread and Epic Pictures, with Variety debuting the first trailer for the vicious rape-revenge movie yesterday.
Starring stars Brandi Botkin, Bob Wilcox, Garrett Murphy, Chaney Morrow, Hannah Fierman and Jamie Alvey (who also penned the script), Bystanders is coming off an award-winning festival run where it played at both Nightmares Film Festival and HorrorHound Film Festival, was nominated for 11 awards and winning seven at the latter.
In Bystanders:
Clare and Gray are your typical loving millennial couple navigating a jaded world. Abby is a sweet awkward teen. When Abby attends a party held by her crush, a rich frat boy hotshot named Cody, the bash spins out of control when Cody and the boys decide to drug, rape, and hunt several of the girls in attendance. When Abby’s path intersects with Gray and Clare’s path, they form an unlikely alliance during a night of chaos and bloodshed as the trio fight for their lives against the collegiate creeps.
In a statement, McAndrews spoke candidly of her own personal experience with making Bystanders:
’Bystanders’ has been incredibly close to my heart since I first read Jamie Alvey’s script […] As a sexual assault survivor, being able to tell this story in all of its gory glory has been incredibly cathartic and liberating. A film like ‘Bystanders’ is more important now than ever and I’m thrilled that Dread is helping us share it with the world.
Epic Pictures Group CEO Patrick Ewald added his own praise:
Mary Beth McAndrews is a visionary in the world of horror, and Bystanders is a testament to her creativity and fearless storytelling […] This film is not just a chilling experience; it’s a reflection of Mary Beth’s unique perspective and passion for pushing the boundaries of the genre.
Watch the first trailer for Bystanders below and make sure to catch the film on January 21:
