Brain parasites from the deep bring doom to humanity in BLACK WAKE from producer Carlos Keyes!

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Written By

Nick R. Murphy

Cinema Trends

From the depths of the worst Lovecraftian nightmare emerges a creeping black sludge that possesses the mind and controls the body if anyone is exposed to it. This is the horror that sparks the flame that engulfs BLACK WAKE, a modern hybrid of terror from the most classic of influences.

BLACK WAKE is the kind of thriller that unfolds through various visual styles. Part found footage, part traditional horror, featuring a who's who of legendary character actors including Eric Roberts (THE DARK KNIGHT, STAR 80, and THE POPE OF GREENWICH VILLAGE), Tom Sizemore (HEAT, SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, and BLACK HAWK DOWN), Vincent Pastore (THE SOPRANOS, MADE, and GOODFELLAS), Chuck Zito (OZ, SONS OF ANARCHY, and HOMEFRONT), and Jonny Beauchamp (PENNY DREADFUL, NERVE).

The story is told through a collection of classified footage via intercut vignettes of video diaries, interrogation footage, security footage, and home videos. The ensemble is vast, with each character given a chance to shine before being faced with an unspeakable fate at the hands of infected zombie-like monsters who are doing the bidding of a mysterious creature that dwells in the ocean. The film chronicles the months leading up to the rise of this beast, opening the floodgates for a new horror mythology that no doubt carries franchise potential as the world experiences the continued effects of this terrible invasion.

BLACK WAKE was directed by Jeremiah Kipp and written by Kipp, Carlos Keyes, and Jerry Janda. Carlos Keyes had a major hand in producing the picture, as well as his real life wife, Brazilian model and actress Nana Gouvea who stars as the main protagonist, Dr. Luisa Moreira. The film is anchored by Gouvea's haunting performance as a scientist who goes against protocol to investigate the connection amongst a series of deaths all around the Atlantic coastline. At first it appears to be the work of a serial killer, but as she will soon find out, there is something much more apocalyptic at play.

Actor Marvin Martinez

Actor Tom Sizemore and

Actress Nana Gouvea

Actress Nana Geuvea and

Actor Eric Roberts

After receiving a notebook filled with a beach bum's rambling writings, Dr. Moreira makes the connections and finds the key to what's really going on. After the stubborn refusal of her superior (Eric Roberts) to investigate this development further, Moreira takes it upon herself to get to the bottom of this mystery, but little does she know it's already too late.

Despite the assistance of an infected detective (Tom Sizemore) and the written revelations of the crazy beach bum (Jonny Beauchamp), humanity's fate appears to be set in stone and there is no going back once this virus hits the shore. All we can do now is sit back and watch the carnage ensue. The interwoven nonlinear narrative leads to an unexpected twist that brings everything full circle and proves that you can't trust everything you see or even what you believe.

Producer Carlos Keyes has a background in music as a talent agent, but he desired to branch out into film production. He became attached to this particular project after his wife, Nana Gouvea introduced him to Jeremiah Kipp. Kipp had few scripts he was shopping around, but Keyes found himself drawn to the subject matter of BLACK WAKE. The sci-fi elements at play were a major selling point. Kipp and Keyes expanded Jerry Janda's Lovecraftian draft of the script to include traces of more modern sic-fi to give it a more contemporary appeal. This led to shooting the film in a found footage style featuring current innovations such as Google Glass, smartphone cameras, and body cams amongst other sources. The collaboration was so unified that most of the cast and crew have reunited for another project entitled KILLER RESPONSE, a psychological thriller set for release later in 2019.

Producer / Writer, Carlos Keyes with Actor Tom Sizemore.

Actor Eric Roberts with Producer / Writer Carlos Keyes

BLACK WAKE had its world premiere in February 2018 at the Phillip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival, which was fitting due to its artistic inspiration and existential themes. Over the course of 2018, the film garnered a host of accolades including winning Best Feature at the Diabolical Horror Film Festival, and Best Feature Horror/Thriller at the Kapow Intergalactic Film Festival. It was also honored as an official selection at the Long Beach Indie International Music and Film Festival, The Halloween Horror Picture Show Film Festival, and Northeast Film Festival Horror Fest where Gouvea received a nomination for Best Actress.

In the middle of the festival run of BLACK WAKE, it was acquired by Sharry Flaherty of Samera Entertainment for Vision Films and had its VOD release on August 7, 2018. In December, it became available to stream via Amazon Prime, so anyone with a subscription can enter this intense world of stylized camp, and impressively bloody madness.

So if you are looking for a sensational piece of work encompassing a new evolution of horror, be sure to add BLACK WAKE to your watchlist. It's wild ride worth its weight in thrills!