(BLOOMFIELD, NJ) -- Following three years of intense production, New Jersey independent film company Theatre of Terror is back with four all new harrowing tales, making up the sequel to their eponymous anthology feature film.
The Return to The Theatre of Terror Anthology, consisting of the short films “Soothsayer,” “Splinter,” “Haunted,” and “Robot”. Beginning with regular meetings in October of 2019, the team has collaborated to bring you even more of the best in Independent Film.
“We have developed another engaging film, further inspired by our deep passion for old-style Sci-Fi and Horror television shows, such as 'The Twilight Zone', 'The Outer Limits', and 'Tales from the Dark Side.' Each story is highly reflective of a lifelong obsession with these programs, and a fervent desire to pay tribute to the masters who brought them to countless viewers so long ago," said Tom Ryan, Director & Theatre of Terror Founder.
“Soothsayer,” starring Anthony Robert Grasso, Samantha Lacey Johnson, and Dennis Ooi, lensed by Louis Libitz, tells the tale of Dr. Robert Serling, a Scientist who invents a time machine that travels into the future, only to show devastating results. Completed in March 2020, Soothsayer was the flagship story of the Anthology sequel.
“Splinter,” starring Jim Thalman, Kristin Muri, and Quincy Saadeh, lensed by Louis Libitz, finds Scott Willis in a race against time following an infection from stepping on a splinter during the renovation of his childhood home. Completed in November 2020, Splinter has enjoyed a rousing festival run, netting several award nominations, including a Best Actor WIN for Thalman at the Northeast Film Festival Horror fest.
“Haunted,” starring Brett Eidman, Jenn Plotzke, Gareth Tidball and introducing Emma Waldron, lensed by Rigo Diaz, pits ghost hunter Darren McGavin against a very real evil. Completed in August 2022, Haunted was the last film to be finished in the series.
“Robot,” starring Jason John Cicalese, Jeanine Bartel and introducing Jack Ryan, lensed by Christian Santiago, tells the story of a boy who faces a number of lingering troubles after the discovery of a meteor in the woods. Completed in July of 2021, Robot will close out the Theatre of Terror Anthology series.
Theatre of Terror will be unleashing this special Anthology on an unsuspecting audience on January 28th, 2023, at The Cranford Theater (25 North Avenue West) in downtown Cranford, New Jersey.
Theatre of Terror was founded in 2012 by Thomas Ryan, with the mission statement of bringing high quality, low budget horror films to film fans everywhere. Previous productions “Day 9,” “Faces,” “RAPT,” and “The Theatre of Terror” (available on Amazon Prime), have been met with great critical success and won several awards.
Tom Ryan is a writer, director, and producer who was born and raised in Jersey City, New Jersey.
He studied the media arts for two years at New Jersey City University (formally Jersey City State College).
Since his early childhood Tom has had a great passion for genre films, particularly horror. He nurtured that passion by shooting movies on a VHS camera, drawing a slasher-comic series titled “Midnight”, and taking every opportunity he could to escape to the movies.
With a handful of childhood friends that share in his love of terrifying stories, Tom founded an independent production company called “Theatre of Terror”. With a mission to make high-quality, low-budget independent horror, they launched their first short film “Day 9” in January of 2013.
Tom then wrote, produced, directed and starred in his first feature film, “FACES”. Filming began in late 2013 and the production wrapped in August of 2014. The film premiered on October 10th at the Landmark Loews theater in Jersey City to an audience of over 350 people. A successful festival run resulted in an Audience Choice Best Feature, Best Soundtrack, and a Best Actor Award for Tom.
This momentum inspired him to officially create Theatre of Terror LLC. He created a website and social media page to focus his marketing strategy. The production company successfully completed the four-film anthology “The Theatre of Terror” featuring the award-winning shorts: The Gift, The Bookworm, Abducted, and Endangered. The feature received distribution through Bayview Entertainment and led to the development and production of the sequel anthology, “Return to The Theatre of Terror”.
Tom has worked as a director and actor on other productions outside of his own as well. He helmed the 2015 short film “RAPT” and the 2022 feature film “Ramsey”.
In 2020 he launched T.O.T Videography, a subsidiary of Theatre of Terror LLC, to support local small businesses with engaging commercial ads. He also created the YouTube series, “The Chilling Childhood Adventures of Jack & Cody” to distract his children from the pandemic still while making movies. The series has proven to be a favorite among parents wanting to introduce their children to the horror genre.
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