Director Daric Gates discusses his film ‘The Appearing’ the cast and his love of thrillers
Early screenings through Tugg.com of The Appearing are occurring across the country. Director Daric Gates took time away from his Illinois showing to speak with The Global Dispatch about the film.
“The theme of the film stems from James 1 which talks about human beings being lured and enticed by our own desires. So we kind of examined the human psyche and our temptations and how we open up ourselves to spiritual welfare and demonic attacks as scripture portrays it in the Bible,” Gates explains.
“Most exorcism movies I’ve seen kind of just show an innocent victim who gets possessed and we tried to put a new twist on this story. To me this film is an homage to good old fashion storytelling movies of the 60’s and 70’s.”
Check out the trailer and full synopsis below.
Gates is a vocal fan of Hitchcock and wanted to present a thriller and pushes the envelope a bit for Christian movies, but is “not about the blood and guts” of standard Hollywood horror films.
Will Wallace, Dean Cain, Quinton Aaron, Don Swayze all bring star power to the film and Gates was thrilled to such a talented cast, even having Cain as “Superman on my trapper keeper and folders in school.”
“Just an incredible, incredible cast,” he says before discussing the lead actress, Emily Brooks, who gets “possessed” in the film.
“Incredible, incredible actress…this was like her first film ever and she came in and auditioned. (She) knocked us off our feet…phenomenal actress to work with.”
NOTE: IMDB doesn’t have the facts 100% correct. Gates confirmed to The Dispatch that the film will be distributed by Lionsgate and released in February 2014 with a PG-13 rating.
Listen to the full interview below.
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Official synopsis: Based on true events, The Appearing is a thrilling supernatural horror film in the vein of Hollywood blockbusters like The Possession and Fallen.
City detective Michael (Will Wallace, The Tree of Life, The New World) relocates to a quaint, small town with his wife Rachel (Emily Brooks, The Eugenist), following her emotional breakdown after the sudden death of their young daughter. Michael takes a job in the sheriff’s office, thinking not much will happen in such a quiet town. However, on his first day of duty, Michael is asked to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a teenage girl.Michael teams up with Sheriff Hendricks (Don Swayze, Heathens and Thieves, The Visitation) to unlock the mystery.
As their investigation deepens, they discover the missing girl’s boyfriend is locked up in a mental institution. They meet with his doctor, Dr. Shaw (Dean Cain, TV’s Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Out of Time), who explains they may be dealing with a dark supernatural entity, much to Michael’s disbelief.Meanwhile, Michael isn’t the only one encountering an evil force– Rachel is being terrorized with constant nightmares and visions of a bloodied girl. Even though the dreams torment her, they end up leading her to the location of the missing teenage girl.
But the case is far from being over, as the evil entity now possesses Rachel and Sheriff Hendricks has a dark secret of his own. Michael will have to summon up all his courage and faith to fight the evil forces in The Appearing.
[…] Described by her director as “incredible,” Brooks discusses working with co-star Will Wallace and Gates to bring the film to life. […]