In a year of great horror movies (including the one that unfolded in real life) one 2020 spook-a-thon made a particularly special impact: Host. Directed by Rob Savage and written by Jed Shepherd and Gemma Hurley in the first lockdown, it was a sub-60 minute frightfest that played out entirely as a Zoom-call seance – establishing likeable characters, delivering major frights, and tapping into our pandemic anxieties with flair and precision. Ludicrously entertaining and technically accomplished, it proved a major hit for streaming service Shudder, and got Savage and co a deal to make a feature for Blumhouse – which they also shot last year.
Now, the team’s second feature has been officially unveiled – it’s called DASHCAM, and promises to be another innovatively-shot trip into spooky territory, presumably filmed predominantly through a car-mounted dashboard camera. The news comes as the film’s world premiere has been confirmed to take place at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, screening in the Midnight Madness slot. The brief synopsis reads: “A caustic online streamer’s anarchic behaviour triggers a non-stop nightmare in the latest screenlife frightfest from Rob Savage.” The other bit of enticing info? It’s only 77 minutes long – like Host, this one looks to be lean, mean, and without a second wasted.
Speaking to Empire a few months ago for the British New Wave issue, Savage teased the project that we now know to be DASHCAM. “It was a very low-budget project we wanted to do pre-Host that suddenly we could just go and do," he said. "We were allowed to do what we wanted, and that’s amazing.”
DASHCAM is once again directed by Savage, who also acts as writer and executive producer alongside Shepherd and Hurley. As for when we’ll be able to see it in the UK, that’s unknown for now – here’s hoping it emerges our way near Halloween. Anyone fancy starting a summoning circle to see if it appears? Or… a Zoom seance?