He's Out There
He's Out There is a 2018 American horror film directed by Quinn Lasher and written by Mike Scannell. The film stars Yvonne Strahovski, Anna Pniowsky, Abigail Pniowsky, Ryan McDonald, and Justin Bruening. It was released on September 14, 2018, by Vertical Entertainment.
| He's Out There | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Quinn Lasher |
| Produced by | Adrienne Biddle |
| Written by | Mike Scannell |
| Starring |
|
| Music by | Nathan Whitehead |
| Cinematography | Ed Wild |
| Edited by | Rick Shaine |
Production company | Unbroken Pictures |
| Distributed by | Vertical Entertainment |
Release date |
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Running time | 89 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Plot
With her husband Shawn planning to arrive later, Laura takes her two young daughters, Kayla and Maddie, to a remote lake house for their annual family getaway. When they arrive, area resident Owen mentions that the family who previously lived in the house had a son named John who went missing. Meanwhile, at a gas station, Shawn buys the girls a music box.
While playing outside, Kayla and Maddie follow a long red string, which leads to a tea party set up in the middle of the forest, where there are two cupcakes on the table. Maddie eats one, but Kayla saves hers to give to Shawn. In the night, Maddie gets sick and vomits up a small piece of ribbon with the word "hello" written on it. Kayla tells Laura about the cupcakes and, in the cupcake Kayla saved, Laura finds another ribbon inside with the word "goodbye" on it.
Laura tries to call 911 but the landline is down. After hearing unsettling noises from upstairs, Laura goes out to her car to search for her cellphone, and finds a strange doll in the backseat. Laura leaves the house with the girls but as she drives away, two wheels fall off the car and crashes.
Back in the house, Laura finds a family photo with everyone's faces scratched out, except for hers. They also see a masked man, revealed to be John, standing outside, just as Shawn arrives. He calls Laura's cellphone and hears John breathing heavily on the other end. Shawn then follows a red string into the forest where mannequins are positioned like a family in effigy around the tea party. John appears and kills Shawn with an axe.
More strange noises are heard inside the house. John uses a recording of Shawn's voice to lure Laura outside. Shawn's dead body suddenly drops from the roof with his eyes gouged out. When the lights in the house go out, Laura hides the girls in a closet upstairs while she recovers Shawn's car keys from his body. Owen arrives at the house to investigate the commotion, but John kills him.
Downstairs, Laura finds the doll in the kitchen, along with a storybook altered with handmade pages depicting John's plan to kill everyone. As they prepare to leave again, John unexpectedly breaks through the front door and captures Laura. He then plays a children's song to lure Kayla and Maddie outside to Shawn's car. They find their mother bound and gagged in the trunk. John swings his axe into Laura's side before chasing the girls back to the house.
John finds Kayla and Maddie hiding under a bed. He explains to them that he grew up in the house and has been stalking Laura's family during each of their annual trips. John speaks cryptically about the storybook's significance before flipping the bed and capturing both girls.
By morning, John brings the unconscious sisters to his effigy collection in the forest where he plans to rebuild the mannequins from their body parts. Having recovered, Laura distracts John with the music box then attacks him with his axe, and he collapses to the ground. Kayla and Maddie reunite with their mother. She gets the girls in Shawn's car and as she drives away. The engine stalls, but Laura manages to re-start it. As they look back and see, John's body has disappeared.
Cast
- Yvonne Strahovski[1] as Laura
- Anna Pniowsky[2] as Kayla
- Abigail Pniowsky[2] as Maddie
- Justin Bruening[2] as Shawn
- Julian Bailey[2] as Owen
- Ryan McDonald[2] as John, the masked man
- Stephanie Costa as store clerk
Production
On March 11, 2016, Screen Gems hired Dennis Iliadis to direct a horror thriller film He's Out There, from a script by Mike Scannell, which would be produced by Bryan Bertino and Adrienne Biddle of Unbroken Pictures.[3] On June 22, 2016, Yvonne Strahovski was cast in the film to play a mother of two daughters who has to fight for her own and her daughters' life.[1]
Principal photography on the film began on July 29, 2016, in the Laurentides region of Montreal, Québec, Canada.[2]
Release
Screen Gems initially had distribution rights to the film, but dropped the film and was later acquired by Vertical Entertainment.[4] It was released on September 14, 2018.[5]
References
- Jr, Mike Fleming (June 22, 2016). "Yvonne Strahovski Lands Lead In Screen Gems Thriller 'He's Out There'". Deadline. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
- "Dennis Iliadis' Suspense Thriller He's Out There Starts Filming". ComingSoon.net. July 29, 2016. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
- Jr, Mike Fleming (March 11, 2016). "Dennis Iliadis Set To Direct 'He's Out There' For Screen Gems". Deadline. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
- Miska, Brad (July 19, 2018). "MOVIESTrailer for Slasher 'He's Out There' Draws Out Fear". Bloody-Disgusting.com. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
- "He's Out There". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved September 7, 2018.