THE FILM
KINDLING is a four-segment anthology feature film connected by the story of Johnny (Mike Manning) who brings his girlfriend home to meet his family one year after the death of his father.
SEGMENT 1: THE CAMPFIRE
One year after his brother Mitchell was brutally murdered, Marcus Carver has brought his brother’s adult children home to their rural farm to carry out the family tradition- telling scary stories around the campfire. This night, however, a stranger has entered the dimly-lit circle and their tales take on a darker tone as the night grows long. As the stranger will soon learn, the telling of these secrets come with a dangerous price.
SEGMENT 2: THE WENDIGO
When a group of frontier men in the 1700s go missing after a hunt, the wives and mothers from the village bravely follow their trails deep into the woods. What they discover during their journey is nothing less than monstrous, and the women must fight for their lives against a flesh-eating beast called the Wendigo.
SEGMENT 3: GEORGE WIXOM'S WIFE
Dr. Wixom’s wife is young and beautiful, and is having a torrid affair with Benjamin, her husband’s laboratory assistant. Dr. Wixom, however, is working on a top-secret experiment within their Victorian mansion and has his own plans of exacting revenge on both his wife and her lover. The results of the experiment enough to drive a person out of her head.
SEGMENT 4: THE LOVERS
Just as the Carvers are a family full of secrets, the Flanagan family has plenty of their own. For generations, the Morris clan has passed down their methods of tracking and killing cryptids, who have lived among humans since the dawn of time. Over the years, the Morris’ numbers have dwindled to very few, and it seems that this current day, tight-knit family might be on their last leg. They only need to find and kill one more group of cryptids before they can rest easy and move on to a normal life, but will they be able to muster the strength? Or will this final battle slaughter the remaining cryptid hunters, leaving no one to stop the monsters?
"I LOVE MONSTER STORIES...
...especially when there are generations of stories passed down about them. As children, many of us have shared these tales around a campfire to try to scare one another- stories about Bigfoot, Chupacabra, the Loch Ness Monster or the Mothman. These creatures are called “cryptids,”- legendary monsters that people want to believe in. Of course, we all know humans are often the real monsters, and a horror story that meshes these ideas is an exciting one!
Over the last few years, horror anthology films (i.e. Creepshow, V/H/S, Trick ‘r Treat) have gained in popularity due to their ability to draw in audiences with a wide variety of horror tastes. Some of these films have no specific “glue” to hold the individual stories together, but the very best ones do, making them incredibly powerful. That is why I’m so passionate about Kindling- not only are the three stories within the film scary, bloody, monstrous fun, but the main story- the glue that binds them together- is compelling and mysterious and leads to a shocking ending with a great payoff.
As a horror fan and aficionado, I'm excited to capture the unique flow and imagery of this anthology, and I can't wait to showcase the spooky, gothic, woodsy vibes of Michigan to the film. Additionally, Kindling is a story weaved together by its small, strong ensemble casts peppered throughout the short anthology pieces, and I am thrilled to work with a cast of horror legends and up-and-comers to make that magic leap (or crawl) off the screen!"
– Erynn Dalton
