Fresh off a Best Feature win at the 2025 Crypticon Seattle Film Festival, Joe Sherlock’s THE HAUNTING OF HEATHER BLACK is out on a packed blu-ray with a special collector box case edition available from Makeflix.com. Standard blu-ray is available from countless online retailers, releasing on July 29, 2025.
Inspired by 1970s made-for-TV horror features, Sherlock conceived of the supernatural thriller early last year, and enlisted a small cast of reliable actors to shoot on a short schedule in the fall of 2024 in his native Pacific Northwest.
“I’ve had a variation of part of this script for years actually,” says Sherlock, “but it was a new location and working with some new actors recently and also watching several early 70s made-for-tv horror movies that really made it all gel and then we all just jumped into it!” Sherlock clarifies that the movie is set in modern day but that, “the inspiration, vibe, setting and pace all call back to those tv flicks.”
Kate Schmidt plays Heather, alongside Ian McCready, Connor Sherlock, Elizabeth Ming and Stephanie Marie, all of whom bonded on Sherlock’s A KNIFE IN THE DARK in 2023 with Skullface Astronaut (Sherlock’s production shingle) regulars like Donna Rooney, Tiffany Beall and John Bowker.
Sherlock and his son Connor composed the score together, a collection of cuts that range from of haunting and creepy to downright rocking. “I also documented the whole movie process from before I even had a script written, all the way through prep, production, editing and music,” adds Sherlock, “and the result is a great 44-minute documentary that is included on the disc.”
Sherlock handled all the art for the release as well, including the limited edition “Collector Box Case” that MakeFlix has released several Sterling titles in. “I really leaned into the 70s vibe by researching TV guide ads from the time, making note of their common features and then creating a poster for screenings and the collector box case to mimic that look,” explains Sherlock, “Even the back of the box echoes an old TV guide cover and interior page.”
The Collector Box Case edition is available at https://makeflix.com/
The standard blu-ray is available directly from Sterling Entertainment at https://tinyurl.com/39mek4t7 or from a variety of online retailers with a July 29, 2025 street date.
