Dekkoo Films announces their partnership with independent production labels Lonely Spectre Productions (The Jessica Cabin, House of Ka) and June Gloom Productions (There’s A Zombie Outside, The Latent Image) on the upcoming LGBTQ+ horror feature-film SCORCH MARKS, written and directed by Brendan Haley.
Waking to find scorched skies and apocalyptic dread looming on the horizon, Beckett now grapples with the chilling reality that he could be the lone survivor of a global catastrophe. Isolated to a coastal rental, Beckett’s grip on his surroundings begins to unravel, leaving him vulnerable to a vicious haunting at the hands of his abusive ex-husband, Joel. Together, the couple must navigate their toxic past in high-society in order to survive the imminent dangers of their present, spectral omens, and the arrival of a primordial force from somewhere beyond the scorch marks.
Leading the cast are Brandon Shypkowski (29 Palms) and Chris Salvatore (Eating Out) as the contentious couple at the center of the story, Beckett and Joel. They are also joined by cult-film icons Tiffany Shepis (Star Trek: Picard) and Peter Stickles (Shortbus), and the first-ever winner of The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula, Vander Von Odd.
Writer/Director Brendan Haley commented,
“At its core, Scorch Marks is a meditation on the destructive nature of heteronormative culture, and how those who find themselves incompatible with it can often become lost in the storm. As a filmmaker, Scorch Marks is my love letter to the lofty and impactful works of Clive Barker and Samuel Beckett, while on a personal note, the film harbors many of my frustrations with the state of LGBTQ+ representation in entertainment and how authentic queer stories, and challenging queer stories in particular, rarely get their proper bells and whistles. With our basic human rights once again under attack, I find it imperative to make art that has the power to lift up the community as well as confront its deep scars, especially when those scars are at the hands of a society that deems us unnatural, terrorists, and/or second-hand citizens. I am thrilled to bring this project to life after many years, and that I get to mark it as my directorial debut. I owe my gratitude to Brian, Derek, and the entire Dekkoo team for running with this unique vision, one of grief and nihilism, but also one of great hope.”.
The project is currently in production and is set for release in 2026.
Bloody Flicks 