1 THIEF, 2 KIDS, 3 WITCHES, NO MERCEY
Roller Disco Massacre & Jeffrey Reddick Present… The Night Sitter
Roller Disco Massacre presents THE NIGHT SITTER, a gleefully gory horror comedy with a unforgettable psychedelic giallo style! A petty thief looking for a score (Elyse DuFour, AMC’s The Walking Dead) poses as innocent babysitter “Amber” and books a dream job at the mansion of Ted Hooper, an aspiring Paranormal Investigator with a reclusive son named Kevin and a mysterious office that is strictly off-limits. Soon “Amber”’s partners-in-crime arrive to clean out the house, leaving Kevin to sneak into his father’s office…and learn first-hand just why it’s off-limits! It seems Ted Hooper’s unusual collection of paranormal artifacts contains a book printed in the ashes of The Three Mothers, who were tortured and executed in during the famed Salem Witch Trials.
Their tormented souls have rested in the book for hundreds of years, just waiting for the right curious child to usher them back into the land of the living…but they didn’t count on “Amber” being there to protect him. Set inside a labyrinthine home and soaked in a vivid color palette, THE NIGHT SITTER offers HOME ALONE by way of SUSPIRIA, as a trio of witches with a taste for children’s blood and a twisted sense of mischief terrorize the unsuspecting thieves while saving Kevin for last! What follows is a limb-snapping, throat-slashing, blood-drenched journey into madness with an ensemble of hilarious characters along for the ride!
Produced by horror collective Roller Disco Massacre with the finest cast and crew the booming Atlanta film scene has to offer, THE NIGHT SITTER is the first feature from writing/directing duo John Rocco and Abiel Bruhn after a slew of festival-favorite short films established their offbeat style and taste for visceral kills – here provided by Emmy-winning Makeup FX Aritst and KNB alum Ben Rittenhouse (The Pacific). It’s a fever-dream vision of throwback horror that comes from a lifetime of all-night movie marathons; a genre treat made by horror freaks, for horror freaks – with blood, sweat and tears in every candy colored frame on screen and every chilling chord in the propulsive, synth-driven original score.
Shot in Nashville in co-director John Rocco’s family home with crowd-sourced funding from Roller Disco Massacre’s fan base, THE NIGHT SITTER’s production took a page from the legendary behind-the-scenes story of Sam Raimi’s 1981 classic THE EVIL DEAD. The cast and crew lived in the house for the entire 21-day shoot, shooting all night and sleeping during the day. The pool house became a communal trailer away from the madness of the main house, home to cast members on their off days and the ever-busy catering team. The bond between the cast and crew translates to the screen, creating an irresistible charm that helps set THE NIGHT SITTER apart from the crowd.
Jack Champion (Avatar 2), Jermaine Rivers (The Gifted), Amber Neukum, J. Benedict Larmore, Joe Walz, Ben Barlow, Bailey Campbell and Deanna Meske also star. Cristian Quintero and John Rocco produced alongside executive producer Jeffrey Reddick (Final Destination, Dead Awake).
SPECIAL EFFECTS MAKE-UP: After 20 years as a makeup effects artist in Los Angeles, Emmy Award-winning Ben Rittenhouse (The Pacific, 2010) relocated to Nashville, Tennessee where he now teaches at the Academy of Makeup Arts. A quick glance at his IMBD profile is impressive, with films like Men in Black and Kill Bill: Vol. 1 & 2. With such a successful resume, what’s behind the move to Tennessee?
“I was working out of town a lot,” said Rittenhouse, “when my sons Lucas and Issac were born. I really loved what I was doing, but being a Dad and being there for them was more important.” He went on to explain how teaching came in to the picture. “I started teaching night classes in LA and really fell in love with it. I really enjoy the aspect of sharing. That’s how makeup effects even became an industry. People like Dick Smith and Rick Baker openly shared their techniques. I want to take part in that. The theory of open sharing and helping a new generation of makeup artists.”
Ben also has thoughts on where this new generation of artists should go. With production tax incentives offered in other states, fewer films are being shot in Southern California. “In my career, probably a good half of everything we built in LA was shot in the Southeast. I see the need for training locals in this industry as the demand here in the South grows. It’s a huge step for an 18-year-old or even a 28-year-old to move their life to Los Angeles. Nashville is a valid alternative,” he says regarding the decisions young artists must make. “Nashville is a smaller city. It’s very friendly here. And that’s also the life I wanted for my boys. I grew up in a small town.”
Ben is now both a full-time makeup effects teacher, as well as a full-time dad.
ROLLER DISCO MASSACRE: Roller Disco Massacre was founded in 2011 to create horror content that reflected the odd dynamic suggested by our name – something fun mixed with something terrifying. We always aim to shock and entertain, providing visceral entertainment for die-hard genre fans who grew up watching the same classic films we did. The Roller Disco Massacre slate shares the polished presentation and tightly-paced storytelling of the crowd-pleasing horror films selling out theaters every year, but we gravitate towards the bizarre at every turn – the colors bleed off the screen like an Italian giallo, black comedy twists through the narrative, and the blood arrives in buckets.
THE NIGHT SITTER is our first feature, and our evolution now allows us to operate as a full-service creative team. With all departments covered (writing, directing, cinematography, editing, producing, sound design, music composition, visual effects, coloring), Roller Disco Massacre is a one-stop shop for all phases of physical and post-production. In an industry where projects big and small all-too-often fall apart due to “creative differences”, we pride ourselves on half a decade of close collaboration that has resulted in a truly independent feature film that represents the style and themes we’ve been exploring over the course of our careers.
