Emerging out of FantasticFest with a ton of buzz from the genre crowd, Andrew Cumming’s directorial debut Out of Darkness arrives early next year from Bleecker Street. The prehistoric survival thriller, previously-titled The Origin, has an impressive 94% currently on Rotten Tomatoes. While it’s tough to put a lot of stock in reviews from the festival circuit, based on this footage from the debut trailer, the positive response appears justified.
Starring Safia Oakley-Green, Kit Young, Chuku Modu, Iola Evans, Arno Lüning, and Luna Mwezi, the film is set 45,000 years ago as a group of six people try to find a new home in an inhospitable landscape. Meanwhile, at night they are stalked by a dangerous enemy.
The film marks the feature directing debut by Cumming, as well as the first script from screenwriter Ruth Greenberg.
Here’s the synopsis: A small boat reaches the shores of a raw and desolate landscape. A group of six have struggled across the narrow sea to find a new home. They are starving, desperate, and living 45,000 years ago. First they must find shelter, and they strike out across the tundra wastes towards the distant mountains that promise the abundant caves they need to survive. But when night falls, anticipation turns to fear and doubt as they realize they are not alone. Terrifying sounds suggest something monstrous at large in this landscape, something that could kill or steal them away. As relationships in the group fracture, the determination of one young woman reveals the terrible actions taken to survive.
Out of Darkness opens in theaters on February 9th 2024.
