Paramount Home Entertainment has announced the release of Yoko Okumura‘s (“The Bold Type”) forthcoming fast-paced survival thriller Unseen, part of the Blumhouse Television and MGM+ deal to produce eight original films together.
Building on Blumhouse Television’s success with the Welcome to the Blumhouse movies slate for Amazon and Into the Dark anthology series for Hulu, the deal is the first-of-its-kind for MGM+, which is adding films to its growing slate of premium original content.
Directed by Okumura, from a script penned by Salvatore Cardoni (Gnomes & Trolls: The Secret Chamber) and Brian Rawlins, and starring an ensemble cast of Midori Francis (“Grey’s Anatomy”), Jolene Purdy (“Orange is the New Black”), Missi Pyle (Gone Girl) and Michael Patrick Lane (“Dynasty”), Unseen sees two women form an unlikely connection when depressed gas station clerk Sam (Purdy), receives a call from Emily (Francis), a nearly blind woman who is running from her murderous ex in the woods. Emily must survive the ordeal with Sam being her eyes from afar using video call.
The film was executive produced by Alexander Kruener, Jeremy Gold, Chris McCumber and Jason Blum.
Commenting on the her directorial debut feature, Okumura said, “I was drawn to Unseen as a director because at the core of a fast-paced survival thriller, there was a story about an unlikely friendship between two women that ends up saving both of their lives … Blumhouse was so supportive in letting me infuse the film with my personal style as a director … I gratefully lay offerings at the feet of the movie gods (and of course our incredible casting director John McAlary) for bringing my two incredible leads Jolene Purdy and Midori Francis to this film. Both of them are 100% superstars that everyone in the entertainment business must be paying attention to.
As a Japanese American girl who grew up in the Midwest never seeing herself represented in North American media, I am floored that for my directorial debut feature I got to have not only one, but two Japanese American women as my leads! The fact we got to come together to be this trifecta and create a film about women coming together and fighting back, is a dream come true.
I am eternally grateful to Blumhouse, MGM+ and Paramount for the support they gave us to be our authentic selves and am so pumped to continue to create color packed, femme powered genre films for the world to enjoy.”
Unseen releases on Digital and On Demand on March 7, 2023 and on MGM+ on May 2023. In the meantime, we’ll leave you with the trailer that promises a genius blend of nerve-wracking tension and off-the-wall humour.
