Pandemic horror ‘Hall’ to debut at this years Arrow Video Frightfest

Canadian director and producer Francesco Giannini’s debut pandemic feature Hall is set for a World Premiere presentation as part of this years Frightfest digital event later this month. This highly stylized genre film, blending mystery, suspense, and sci-fi elements, is part of a new horror franchise that Franky Films is developing out of their studio in Montreal, Canada.

Hall tells the story of Naomi, a Japanese runaway wife, and Val, a helpless young mother, both struggling to escape an abusive relationship as well as a hotel hallway, which has been infected by a mysterious airborne virus killing everyone rapidly. In this isolated and despairing space, fear becomes viral as the women run for their lives. In the face of contamination, is there hope at the end of the hall?

Encountering the special circumstances around the pandemic happening in the world right now, Hall coincidentally captures the intrinsic sense of dread that people in society are experiencing yet in an even more visceral manner. Says director Francesco Giannini:

It’s a strange coincidence that our film is coming out at the same time as the devastating Covid-19 crisis. I never thought that the fictional story of virus contagion we’ve created in ‘Hall’ would become a reflection of reality within such a close time frame between the release of the film and the pandemic occurring right now. However, the ideas and themes explored in the movie have been in my thought process for a while due to the previous virus outbreaks I’ve had witnessed.

Starring Japanese star Yumiko Shaku as Naomi, Carolina Bartczak as Val, Mark Gibson as Branden, Julian Richings as Julian and Bailey Thain as Kelly, Hall debuts during this years virtual Frightfest on August 30th at 6pm. CHeck out the trailer and poster below: