RLJE Films has unleashed the first trailer for Descendent, the feature debut from Peter Cilella which promises a potent cocktail of psychological unease and extraterrestrial dread.
Written and directed by Cilella, Descendent centers on Sean Bruner (Ross Marquand, “The Walking Dead,” “Invincible”), a weary elementary school security guard trying to outrun his own demons while preparing for the birth of his first child. But when a blinding beam of light sears across the school grounds during a graveyard shift, Sean’s already fragile grip on reality begins to dissolve. Hallucinations of otherworldly visitors and sun-scorched deserts creep into every corner of his life, blurring the lines between nightmare and waking life.
Sarah Bolger (A Good Woman Is Hard to Find, “Mayans M.C.”), Charlene Amoia (“How I Met Your Mother”), Brandon Scott (“Dead to Me”), and Alexandra Barreto (“Mayans M.C.”) join the cast alongside Marquand.
The film was financed by Highland Film Group and produced by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, together with David Lawson Jr. and Caleb Ward of Rustic Films.
RLJE Films picked up Descendent for U.S. distribution ahead of its world premiere at the 2025 South by Southwest Film & TV Festival on March 10. The film will open in limited theaters on August 8 before expanding nationwide and arriving on VOD on August 15.
