Chroma has released the official trailer for The Exit State, the tense political horror thriller from director Gabriela Ledesma, ahead of the film’s world premiere at Screamfest Tuesday, October 13. The film will arrive on digital Friday October 23 and is now available to pre-order on Apple TV.
Set in a United States spiraling toward authoritarian collapse, The Exit State follows a group of Americans fleeing south toward Mexico. Taking refuge in what they believe is a safe house in neutral territory, they soon learn the shelter is anything but safe, and that escape will come at a terrifying cost.
The film reunites Weapons cast members Callie Schuttera (Blue, “The Rookie,” “On Call”) and Clayton Farris (MaXXXine, “Grey’s Anatomy”), who are joined by three-time Emmy nominee Sharon Lawrence (“NYPD Blue,” “Shameless”), Josh George (“Mindhunter,” “Danger Force”), Jeremy D. Howard (“The Neighborhood,” “Dr. Odyssey”), Nikki Dixon (Hypnotic, “Snowfall”), Stakiah Lynn Washington (Primo) and Cindy Nguyen (“Shrinking,” “9-1-1”).
The Exit State is written by Schuttera, George and Ledesma, and produced by Poison Pictures, the independent production house founded by Schuttera and Ledesma, with George serving as executive producer. Sam Wilkerson serves as director of photography and Justice Parman as editor. Music executive Trevon Kezios (La La Land, The Hunger Games franchise) oversaw an original soundtrack collaboration between garage punk band The Knitts, 411 Music Group and composer Ilia Grigorenko. SFX makeup was led by Allie Shehorn (Obsession).
“The Exit State was born out of an unsettling moment, one where a political future many of us feared began to arrive,” said Ledesma. “When we wrote the script, we believed it was a cautionary tale. By the time we shot it, just a few months later, it already felt uncomfortably current. We decided the time for veiled metaphor was over. But we also wanted to make a horror movie that was tense, fun and kept you guessing.”
As a part of the film’s world premiere at Screamfest, it will be one of the 12 features competing for the inaugural ScareScore award, which ScareScore bills as the first-ever Biometrically Decided Best Feature. Launching at Screamfest, the ScareScore app uses the smartwatches audience members already wear to track heart rate, movement and other physical reactions during each screening, syncing them to the moments on screen that triggered them. The film that scares Screamfest audiences the most, by the numbers, takes the prize.
The Exit State will have its world premiere at Screamfest Tuesday, October 13 at 7:00pm at the TCL Chinese Theater. Tickets for the premiere are on sale now at: https://2026screamfest.eventive.org/schedule/690d48dfb5ec9dd7435ad018
The film arrives on digital Friday, October 23, and is now available to pre-order on Apple TV: https://geni.us/the-exit-state
