Blumhouse Television and Amazon Studios are teaming up for one more spherical of “Welcome to the Blumhouse,” bringing 4 new horror movies to streaming this fall. io9 is thrilled to have the unique first have a look at one of many movies: vampire story Black as Night, written by Sherman Payne (Legacies, Scream: The TV Series, Shameless) and directed by Maritte Lee Go, making her function movie debut. Today, we’ve bought the primary picture from the movie and an interview with Lee Go that explains extra about what Black as Night is all about.

First, right here’s the official synopsis: “A resourceful teenage girl leaves childhood behind when she battles a group of deadly vampires in Black as Night, an action-horror hybrid with a strong social conscience and a biting sense of humor. Fifteen years after Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans, a new threat leaves its mark on the Big Easy in the form of puncture wounds on the throats of the city’s vulnerable displaced population. When her drug-addicted mom becomes the latest victim of the undead, 15-year old Shawna (Asjha Cooper) vows to even the score. Along with three trusted friends, Shawna hatches a bold plan to infiltrate the vampire’s mansion in the historic French Quarter, destroy their leader, and turn his fanged disciples back to their human form. But killing monsters is no easy task, and soon Shawna and her crew find themselves caught in a centuries-old conflict between warring vampire factions, each fighting to claim New Orleans as their permanent home.”

Here’s a greater have a look at the very first picture from Black as Night.

Finally, right here’s our chat with director Maritte Lee Go, who explains extra concerning the movie (together with what’s happening in that picture!), with an emphasis on all of the issues that set Black as Night aside from different vampire tales.

Cheryl Eddy, io9: Was Black as Night all the time a part of the “Welcome to the Blumhouse” sequence? How did you get entangled?

Maritte Lee Go: I feel it was all the time a part of the sequence, however I really pitched for it and they also despatched my brokers the script. I learn it, I liked it, fell in love with it instantly. I’m obsessive about horror movies, vampires, so to lastly learn a film that had a lady of shade because the lead, kicking ass, I used to be like, “Yes! Sign me up immediately!”

io9: What’s your background as a filmmaker and, as you simply talked about, a horror fan?  

Lee Go: I grew up as an actress, really. I did theater after which I did a tv present as a child, and I got here out to LA with massive goals of continuous my performing profession. But then I began getting typecast in roles similar to “the geisha” or “the nail technician,” and I used to be like, “What is this?” I’d spent my complete life coaching to be a severe actress and I needed to, you realize, be a protagonist! I might solely get these bit roles the place I might solely communicate with an accent, and I used to be like, “This is not a great representation of who I am.” I knew that to make that kind of change I wanted to turn out to be a director, a author, a producer.

So I made a decision to go to USC, and from there it’s all the time been my purpose to write down, direct, and produce motion pictures and TV with folks like me who haven’t had the chance to be the protagonist of their very own tales. So after I learn the [Black as Night] script, it was not solely groundbreaking as a result of there’s nothing prefer it that I had learn earlier than, but it surely spoke to a lot of my life goal and what I need to do in media and tv and movie—actually simply open up the eyes of individuals to sympathize, empathize, and to know that there are extra tales with folks of all completely different colours who’ve bought hopes and goals and fears. So that’s how I bought into the filmmaking a part of it and why the story’s so essential to me as a filmmaker.

In phrases of horror, I grew up in a extremely, extremely extremist Catholic family the place my mother believed in, like, the top of the world and stuff like that. So she would inform me all these bedtime tales of, like, “In the year 2000, when the Earth will end, there’s going to be a huge apocalypse and there’s gonna be demons.” And I believed that for a very long time! In a bizarre means it was like essentially the most terrifying factor ever, but it surely additionally ignited my creativeness for demons and monsters throughout us. And I sort of bought obsessive about that idea and began watching horror movies at a really, very early age. Then it grew to become extra of “How did they make this? How did they create that? How can you suspend reality and push the limits to discover what our fears are, and express that through monsters or ghosts or things like that?” My love for it simply sort of grew and grew, and I’ve been fortunate sufficient to push by that and understand that dream.

io9: io9 is debuting the primary picture from the movie—it’s a gaggle of teenagers trying deeply frightened, holding flashlights. Could you contextualize what we’re seeing right here, and possibly give us a fast rundown of the story and the principle characters?

Lee Go: For certain! Black as Night is a few Black teenage woman who’s pushed by revenge when her mom’s killed by vampires. Alongside her trusted buddies, she spends her summer season battling these vampires who’re terrorizing her metropolis of New Orleans. So in that image, she’s looking for the vampires who’re liable for the homicide of her mom. It takes place in part of New Orleans the place the housing is being closed down—all these individuals who had suffered from Hurricane Katrina had been sort of pushed into these housing developments with nothing, and they’re very poor, and her mom ended up there. So that’s the place she is in search of these vampires.

io9: Why do you suppose New Orleans is such a favourite location for vampire tales?

Lee Go: I like, love, love New Orleans. There’s voodoo, there’s previous mansions with haunted tales for days, and there’s nothing that appears like that within the United States moreover New Orleans. And it simply brings a lot richness to the story as a result of it appears like a lot part of historical past. I like New Orleans for that, and the structure round it simply lends itself a lot extra to the story, as a result of inside the film there’s a number of deeper themes. Sherman Payne, who’s the author, actually, actually did an incredible job of scripting this film with deeper themes and horrible issues which have occurred inside historical past and sort of placing it inside a enjoyable story. So sure, you got here for the vampires, the motion, and the enjoyable—however what’s gonna stick with you’re the deeper themes of systemic racism and what that’s finished to our society, and the way that’s enjoying out in the present day.

io9: Could you broaden on that extra, when it comes to themes and different new parts that Black as Night will deliver to the vampire film style?

Lee Go: There’s by no means been a Black teenage lady of shade because the protagonist of a vampire film. [When I am pitching a] film, I often put collectively a reel to indicate folks [the concept], and there was simply nothing to drag from. What made that so thrilling and particular for me was that we had been going to be creating one thing that’s by no means been finished earlier than. So it grew to become a lot greater than that—once more, the film shouldn’t be solely enjoyable, you’re excited about a number of points that we’re coping with in the present day. We shot it at a time in the course of the pandemic when the Black Lives Matter motion was occurring. There was a large upheaval politically and an enormous unrest, and that film was made in that point. So we spanned from the times of slavery—as you’ll see if you watch the film—we bought again into that and the way that systemic racism has affected this woman’s life, to today, and the way it’s persevering with to play out. We’re sort of exploring that by the enjoyable ingredient of vampires. It’s very completely different and enjoyable and it was such a pleasure to make.

Also, there’s a very, actually cool part in it that’s animated. I simply need to shout out David Romero, who animated it body by body, and it sort of provides the backstory of the vampire lore created inside this film. It was one of the thrilling issues for me to create and to sort of incorporate into the story, and I simply hope folks take pleasure in it.

io9: From what I can inform, Black as Night has a principally younger forged. Would you name it a coming-of-age story?

Lee Go: Yes, it’s a coming-of-age story. Shawna [played by Asjha Cooper] is in highschool and she or he’s coping with problems with colorism. She’s a dark-skinned Black teenage woman and within the opening scene she’s speaking about how she doesn’t need to get too darkish within the solar. And it was actually essential to have that theme inside there as a result of what we’re discovering in the present day is the shortage of self-love for girls, particularly ladies of shade who’ve all the time been informed that having darkish pores and skin is ugly and it’s fallacious. I actually associated to that; within the Filipino tradition we’ve bought soaps and we’ve bought bleaching lotions, and it was all the time sort of arrange that in case your pores and skin is simply too darkish you’re generally known as a “worker” or you’re decrease class. I’d all the time been informed rising up, like, don’t be within the solar as a result of your pores and skin’s gonna get ugly. That’s so terrible to listen to that your pure means is ugly, you realize? And what I like about this film is we’re seeing it by Shawna’s viewpoint. She learns to fully and completely love herself, love her pores and skin, love who she is. We see her fall in love for the primary time. We see her finest pal be like, “Stop talking about yourself that way.” To sort of discover that, that basically hasn’t been finished earlier than—and once more, inside a vampire film. So it’s rather more significant than only a common horror movie.

io9: I additionally must ask you about working with Keith David, as a result of I like him. Can you tease his position and what it was like having such a legend as a part of the challenge?

Lee Go: I’m solely gonna discuss working with him as a result of I don’t need to [spoil] what he’s within the story. He’s wonderful. He’s finished a lot, he has such a huge effect in movie and tv. His voice is so intimidating, he’s actually so intimidating. [Laughs] But he is without doubt one of the nicest folks, and gracious, and he works for a motive. He’s fairly Method. He will get so into the position and can stroll across the set precisely the best way his character is. So it’s really fairly terrifying [Laughs]. But I like him and his voice carries all over the place, and all over the place he goes he’s singing. It was such an honor to work with him, and I used to be so excited to forged him.

Black as Night, which additionally stars Fabrizio Guido, Mason Beauchamp, Abbie Gayle, and Craig Tate, arrives on Amazon October 1. The different movies on this 12 months’s “Welcome to the Blumhouse” sequence embody Gigi Saul Guerrero’s Bingo Hell (additionally premiering October 1); Ryan Zaragoza’s Madres (October 8); and Axelle Carolyn’s The Manor (October 8).

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