About the Film

**The photos above are publicity photos, not actual film stills.

A Fetish of Flesh is a horror film that blends traditional feature elements with a touch of found footage. The storyline revolves around a group of young filmmakers who venture into a home inherited by one of them in a rural town that they hope to use as a setting for their thesis project. As they explore their new surroundings, they encounter terrifying and unexpected events that push their limits beyond imagination. Inspired by The Keddie Cabin Murders, A Fetish of Flesh promises to be a twisted venture into the annal of a genre that has been manipulated into something unrecognizable.

A Fetish of Flesh is the horror film that we hope will help return the genre to a time when the frights would keep you up at night. We want to return to a time when horror movies were at the zenith of their popularity, roughly around the late-seventies and early-eighties. We want to pay homage to the greats that came before us. But be warned, this film is not going to be for the weak of heart or the easily offended. We were inspired to write the film after seeing the 1981 film JUST BEFORE DAWN, a wonderful gem of a horror film that doesn’t get the recognition it deserves.

As stated above, we were also heavily inspired by the real-life tragedy of the Keddie Cabin Murders, as well the Scottish legend of Sawney Beane.

The Keddie murders are an unsolved quadruple homicide that occurred over the night of April 11–12, 1981 in Keddie, California, United States. The victims were Glenna Susan "Sue" Sharp (née Davis; born March 29, 1945), daughter Tina Louise Sharp (born July 22, 1968), son John Steven Sharp (born November 16, 1965) and John's friend Dana Hall Wingate (born February 8, 1964). The murders took place in house No. 28 of the Keddie Resort. The bodies of Wingate, Sue and John Sharp were found on the morning of April 12 by Sue's 14-year-old daughter Sheila, who had been sleeping at a friend's house. Sue's two younger sons, Rick and Greg, as well as their friend Justin Smartt, were also in the house but were unharmed. Tina was missing from the scene. Tina remained a missing person until April 1984, when her skull and several other bones were recovered at Camp 18, California, near Feather Falls in Butte County. Multiple leads and suspects were examined in the intervening years, but no charges were filed. Several new leads were announced in the 21st century, including the discovery of a hammer in a pond in 2016 and the discovery of new DNA evidence.

Alexander "Sawney" Bean is a legendary figure, said to have been the head of a 45-member clan in Scotland in the 16th century that murdered and cannibalized over 1,000 people in 25 years. According to the legend, Bean and his clan members were eventually caught by a search party sent by King James VI and executed for their heinous crimes.

Risks on the Set

Risks and challenges

1. Tripping Over: During the scenes in the forest, in the darkness, there will be a lot of running by the actors where they are startled and panicking. In order to keep the authenticity and realism of these scenes, the running will have to be random and confusing, however, safety is the priority and therefore a ‘planned’ circuit of running will be mapped out and other members of the crew will be on hand to guide and make sure there are no unnecessary injuries.   

2. Wildlife: When filming in the woods, portions will be in the darkness during the evening. This arises the question of wildlife being disturbed, in the forest we will be filming in there are no dangerous animals of note. When we are planning the filming area we will be checking for any signs of habitat for animals or nests, attempting to disrupt the environment as little as possible.

3. Falling Branches/ Trees: There is only one planned scene for a falling branch at the beginning during the daytime, which will not be shown on camera. Therefore this scene can easily be produced and safely conducted, simply by taking the audio from a cut down branch or falling branch where there is no risk to any crew – and adding this audio to the film during the editing process. Obviously during filming any falling branches are going to random and unplanned, but we will be cautious and careful.

4. Abandoned Objects: Simply put, abandoned objects could include any harmful or hazardous substances, disposed waste or discarded furniture. We will avoid these objects and choose a different location within the forest if any of these hazards are present.

5. Weather (Rain or Thunder, etc.): There are no plans for adverse weather during filming, any weather other than overcast or clear skies will not be filmed and we’ll wait for another day. Wet ground will also not be considered, slipping and tripping then become a greater hazard and are not necessary.

6. Dropping to the Ground: At the beginning, where a minor character is struck down by the “falling branch” – the actor will have to drop to the ground with the camera in hand (or just falling out of hand). In order to do this safely, we have a choice of including a safety mat under the actor (which will be very difficult to put in front of the actor out of camera shot), or concealing some jumpers and jackets below the leaves which the actor can fall onto in a controlled style.

Casting A Fetish of Flesh

Casting is not set to begin until August of 2024. Major and minor roles will be casted first, then extras. If you are interested in joining the cast please email your headshot, resume, reels, and/or audition tape to the link below. Keep in mind that no resume or credits is no problem. We do not base our decisions on past projects, but what you can bring to the project. If you would rather be a member of the crew, the link below works the same way. But you will be asked different questions for crew applications than for Casting Auditions. Keep in mind that this project is likely to be unpaid but everyone who participates will get back end pay for the finished project and whatever it makes. As this is our first project, we will also be providing equity stake in Demented Media as a payment, as well. This equity will be for those who work on A Fetish of Flesh ONLY.

Current Crew

Freddie Meade - Director/writer/editor/Co-Creator

Timothy MacDonald - Music Supervisor//Co-Creator

Gabrielle Snider - Set Photographer 1

Angela Vaughn - Set Photographer 2

Vicktoria Forgrave - Original Music

Drea Nicole - SFX and Makeup

Current Cast

Kickstarter campaign

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/demented-media/production-funds-for-a-fetish-of-flesh

To Read The Opening Scenes Click the link below