Back in 2022, William Higo’s The Group formed part of Pigeon Shrine FrightFest’s First Blood strand. The First Blood selection of programming sits within the main line-up and champions voices new to the UK genre scene. We at THN were instantly taken with The Group’s ability to generate tension and intrigue with its taut tale of addiction, mistakes and secrets. After two years of work behind the scenes, The Group has been picked up for distribution by Reel2Reel and is available to own on digital now.
In The Group, recovering heroin addict Kara (Evangelina Burton) has a relapse, and after six months away, makes the brave decision to return to Addicts Anonymous Together in an attempt to make amends for a past tragedy. There, she joins the circle for a session of healing with Seth who claims to be clean and sober (Luke Dayhill), self-help sceptic Henry (Tom Coulston), two-years-sober Charley (Jennifer Aries), still-using Eddy (Nobuse ‘Jnr’ Uwaifo), and ex-copper Dave (Mike Kelson), all under the guidance of supportive counsellor Ellen (Alicia Novak). However, when newcomer Jack (Dylan Baldwin) arrives, their safe space is violently shattered. Armed with a loaded gun and a personal vendetta, Jack is hellbent on redemption – whatever the cost. As secrets unravel, the group is forced to confront long-buried wrongs… Can they make peace with their past or will they face the ultimate reckoning?
Having already spoken to The Group’s writer and director, William Higo, ahead of its FrightFest premiere in 2022, THN were thrilled to get to talk to more of the talent involved, prior to the digital release. We sat down for a Zoom call with leads Evangelina Burton and Dylan Baldwin as they reminisced about their time creating The Group, the challenges of night shoots, and how Dylan found the transition from the intimate setting of The Group to the huge stage of Dune: Part Two.
The Group is out on digital now via Reel2Reel.
