EXCLUSIVE: Don’t Let Go creator Jacob Aaron Estes has enlisted his wife and kids for latest horror thriller He’s Watching. Scroll down for the trailer.
XYZ Films‘ feature, which is written and directed by Estes, features Estes’ musician wife Gretchen Lieberum and their children, Iris Serena Estes and Lucas Steel Estes.
Starting off as a project to stave off the boredom of lockdown, He’s Watching was filmed during the height of COVID-19 and quickly turned into a fully-fledged horror film.
When the happy-go-lucky siblings are left alone while their parents recover from an illness, a series of playful pranks they play on each other escalate when they start receiving unsettling images and videos on their phones. As the incoming messages become increasingly nightmarish, Iris and Lucas realize something sinister has taken root in their home.
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Estes said “After a year in lockdown making a movie with my family on my phone, never knowing if what we were doing night after night was a wonderful family experiment or if it was something audiences would eventually enjoy, it is a pleasure to have discovered the determined, creative and remarkably collaborative partnership we have found with XYZ films.”
XYZ Films’ Executive Vice President of U.S. Distribution James Emanuel Shapiro added: “What Jacob and his family did during lockdown was incredible. They didn’t just make a movie but they made one of the most creative and scary found footage films I’ve ever seen.”
Estes is best known for directing 2019’s Don’t Let Go, which starred David Oyelowo as a homicide detective who receives a phone call from his dead niece following a tragic accident. Past Estes features include 2011’s The Details and 2004’s Mean Creek.
Alongside Saturday Night Live star Maya Rudolph, Lieberum has been a member of Prince cover band Princess.
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