Thane of East County

Thane of East County
Poster
Directed byJesse Keller
Written byJesse Keller
Based onMacbeth by William Shakespeare
Produced by
  • Chris Cashman
  • Jesse Keller
  • Joan Frydenlund Keller
  • Kyle P. Sullivan
  • Phillip Vuchetich
  • Annie Willett
Starring
CinematographyNate Elegino
Edited byJesse Keller
Music bySon of Lone Cat
Production
company
Folk Process Films
Distributed bySummer Hill Entertainment
Release dates
  • December 4, 2015 (2015-12-04) (Tampa Bay Underground Film Festival)
  • January 25, 2018 (2018-01-25) (VOD)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUSA
LanguageEnglish
Budget$65,000

Thane of East County, also known as Blood Will Have Blood, is a 2015 black and white horror drama film written and directed by Jesse Keller in his feature film debut and is adapted from William Shakespeare's play Macbeth. The film won Best Drama at Poppy Jasper International Film Festival and stars Carr Cavender, Molly Beucher, Connor Sullivan and Karl Backus.

Plot

James (Macbeth) and Jen (Lady Macbeth) become intertwined with each other as they rehearse a theatrical production of Macbeth. Duke (also Macbeth) is Jen's husband, Drew (Banquo) is James' best friend and Matt portrays Macduff and Malcolm. Things go awry as the actors begin to carry out the actions of characters they portray.

Cast

Production

The film was produced by Folk Process Films.[1] The production team consisted of writer and director Jesse Keller, producers Chris Cashman and Annie Willett Thomas as well as cinematographer Nate Elegino.[2] With a crew of ten, seventeen actors were cast.[3]

The movie is based on Macbeth by William Shakespeare and was shot in black-and-white[4] over sixteen days at the Victory Theatre in San Diego, inside a Fallbrook apartment, and exterior scenes in the desert near Borrego Springs.[3] Films like Double Indemnity, Pi, Stranger Than Paradise and Following were inspiration for the film.[5] A Kickstarter campaign raised $25,000, boosting the overall budget to $65,000. The film is Keller's directorial debut[5] and he submitted it to Sundance Film Festival.[4]

Release

The film screened at Tampa Bay Underground Film Festival on December 6, 2015[6] and Cinema on the Bayou in Louisiana on January 28, 2017.[7] It was distributed as Blood Will Have Blood by Summer Hill Entertainment in 2017.[8] The film released on video on demand on January 25, 2018.[1]

Reception

Critical response

Steven West of Horror Screams Video Vault compared the film to Macbeth calling it a "well-intentioned attempt" but it "downplays the trashier elements that could have made it fun."[9] It is on CinemaBlend's list of 32 Movies You Didn't Know Were Based On Shakespeare Plays.[10]

Accolades
Festival Year Award Recipient(s) Result Ref.
San Diego Film Awards 2017 Best Narrative Feature Thane of East County Won
Poppy Jasper International Film Festival 2016 Best Drama Thane of East County Won [11]
Blow-Up Chicago International Arthouse Film Festival 2015 John Alcott Award for Best Cinematography Nate Elegino Nominated
Monica Vitti Award for Best Actress Molly Beucher Nominated

References

  1. ^ a b c "Thane of East County - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2023-04-17.
  2. ^ "Project of the Day: 'Thane of East County'". IndieWire. 2014-07-16. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  3. ^ a b Coddon, David L. (2014-08-20). "San Diego filmmakers mine 'Macbeth' for 'Thane of East County'". San Diego CityBeat. Archived from the original on 2014-09-09. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  4. ^ a b McVicker, Nicholas (2014-10-06). "East County Filmmaker Makes Bid For Sundance". KPBS. Archived from the original on 2022-01-11. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  5. ^ a b Voorhees, Deborah (2014-07-14). "Thane of East County, John Lithgow Blogs, King Lear Live Broadcast | Bard in Multimedia". The Shakespeare Standard. Archived from the original on 2014-10-28. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
  6. ^ "Thane of East County". Tampa Bay Underground Film Festival. Archived from the original on 2015-11-15. Retrieved 2022-06-07.
  7. ^ "Schedule of Events". Cinema on the Bayou: 5. 2017-01-28 – via Issuu.
  8. ^ "Blood will have Blood – Summer Hill Films". Summer Hill Entertainment. 2021-04-19. Archived from the original on 2021-04-19. Retrieved 2022-06-07.
  9. ^ West, Steven (2021-07-03). "Film Review: BLOOD WILL HAVE BLOOD (a.k.a. Thane Of East County) (2015)". Horror Screams Video Vault. Archived from the original on 2021-07-28. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  10. ^ Utley, Riley (2024-05-25). "32 Movies You Didn't Know Were Based On Shakespeare Plays". CinemaBlend. Archived from the original on 2024-05-25. Retrieved 2024-05-26.
  11. ^ Airoldi, Robert (2016-04-27). "2016 Poppy Jasper Film Festival Winners Announced". Morgan Hill Life. Archived from the original on 2023-04-17. Retrieved 2023-08-16.