Saban Films has just released the first trailer for Diego Hallivis’ (Game Time, Curvature) latest feature film, the twisted thriller-comedy American Carnage which releases in theaters, on VOD and digital this July 15, 2022.
Directed by Hallivis, from a screenplay he co-wrote with his brother Julio, American Carnage stars Jorge Lendeborg Jr. (Bumblebee, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Love, Simon), Jenna Ortega (X, Scream), Allen Maldonado (“The Wonder Years,” “Black-ish”), Bella Ortiz (“Chicago Med”) and Eric Dane (“Euphoria,” “Grey’s Anatomy”).
The film sees a governor issue an executive order to arrest the children of undocumented immigrants but the newly detained youth are then offered an opportunity to have their charges dropped by volunteering to provide care to the elderly. Once inside the eldercare facility, the volunteers discover the governor and the facility’s supervisor have cooked up a horrifyingly depraved conspiracy that endangers the young and the old.
Commenting on the project, Diego Hallivis said, “As a Mexican American living in the United States, I have been inspired to tell a story and make sure the cruel separation camps we currently have in the US are not forgotten. This is a conversation that cannot fade into the background, as so many important topics often do. I wanted to tell a story that used horror as a metaphor to reflect the reality that many Latinos get put into a system where they are treated less than human and this is not by accident, this is by design. It was clear that the best way to tell a story as powerful as this, while still making it fun, was by using genre. I wanted to push the limits of what to show on the screen while also finding moments of levity to keep the audience in a constant state of tension and release, mixing horror and comedy. For me, American Carnage is a way to bring light to a harsh reality in a form of uplifting escapism.”
To whet your appetite ahead of the July 15 release date, we’ll leave you with the first trailer below.
