Christopher Backus (HBO’s “Big Little Lies”, Netflix’s “Mindhunter”, Apple TV+’s “Truth be Told”) and Skye P. Marshall (Netflix’s “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina”, NBC’s “This is Us”, “Black Lightning) will star in Daft State, co-written by Sam Harter and director Chad Bishoff. Cameras are set to roll on the new psychological thriller on location in Omaha, Nebraska from Monday, August 9, 2021.
This relentlessly gripping thriller, molded in the vein of classic Hitchcockian suspense masterworks, charts the mysterious psychological destruction of central character Easton (Backus), who is driven to the edge of sanity, and possible self-harm, by those that love him most – his wife (Marshall) and daughter. Will Easton succumb to their increasingly traumatizing pressure, or will he conquer the dark forces at play in his addled psyche?
Inny Clemons (Straight Outta Compton, Next Day Air, Netflix’s Sneakerheads, A Lot of Nothing), Lisa Crnic (Paramount’s Clifford the Big Red Dog), Brett Cullen (Joker, The Dark Knight Rises, HBO’s “True Detective”), and Jonas Roeser (It Snows All the Time).
Hailing from Syncretic Entertainment, Daft State is produced by Erich Hover and frequent collaborator Bishoff; their previous projects include Lionsgate’s The Turkey Bowl, M.F.A., and the upcoming It Snows All the Time starring Cullen and Taryn Manning.
Bishoff commented, “I’ve always been inspired by great psychological thrillers. Mental health is also a central figure in our film, and with everything that’s happening in the world right now, we have to shed light on this important topic. I’m grateful for our creative team and our amazing actors who will bring this story to life. It’s so important.”
Industry favorite for playing hard hitting roles, Backus was also nominated for Best Actor at the Madrid International Film Festival for his role in “Domino Falling” and at the Seattle Film Festival for his role in “Three Days Gone: Based on the Life of Lucas Snow”. Marshall, well known to audiences for her portrayal of powerful Haitian Voodoo Priestess, Mambo Marie on Netflix’s, “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” among others, will be starring next year as a series regular on CBS’s newest medical drama, “Good Sam”, alongside Sophia Bush and Jason Isaacs, as well as upcoming dark comedy thriller A Lot of Nothing from director Mo McRae.
Backus is repped by Kris Heller at APA and Colton Gramm at Brillstein Entertainment Partners. Marshall is repped by Affirmative Entertainment and Meyer & Downs.