Yesterday the Frightfest team revealed the seventy-eight movies that will form this August’s Arrow Video Frightfest; today we can share the first poster and trailer for one of those films. Stairs is directed by Tom Paton, a young director that the Frightfest team have supported since his debut feature Redwood, which played the festival in 2017. 2018 saw his follow-up Black Site play, and now he completes the hat-trick with Stairs.
Paton teased some information during October’s Frightfest panel at MCM London, but we now have a few more details. First, we have confirmation on who the cast comprises of, and it includes former X-Factor winner / Coronation Street star Shayne Ward. In his feature film debut, he’s joined by Toby Osmond (Game of Thrones), Sophie Austin (Call The Midwife), Alana Wallace (Black Site), Samantha Schnitzler & Bentley Kalu (Wonder Woman).
The plot synopsis has also been revealed:
A group of mercenaries are sent into Eastern Europe in the middle of a civil war to retrieve intel, but shortly after the mission the unit find themselves trapped on a never-ending stairwell; forced to climb or die. To survive, they must revisit their past sins if they ever want to get off.
The film blurs the lines of action and horror, creating a visually unique movie that deals with time travel, and the repercussions of violence and consequence. Rife with practical effects, bone crunching fight sequences, and existential dread, it’s underpinned by a villain with a real purpose. Guaranteed to thrill audiences, “Stairs” marks Tom Paton’s third time premiering at the London event.
Check out the trailer and poster below:
Stairs will debut at Arrow Video Frightfest on Monday 26th August 2019. Tickets for the Arrow Video Frightfest event go on sale on Saturday 6th July at 12pm.
Kat Hughes is a UK born film critic and interviewer who has a passion for horror films. An editor for THN, Kat is also a Rotten Tomatoes Approved Critic. She has bylines with Ghouls Magazine, Arrow Video, Film Stories, Certified Forgotten and FILMHOUNDS and has had essays published in home entertainment releases by Vinegar Syndrome and Second Sight. When not writing about horror, Kat hosts micro podcast Movies with Mummy along with her five-year-old daughter.