Hands down, it was the cult hit, Versus, that drew me to director Kitamura Ryuhei close to fifteen years ago. He’s been less prolific in recent memory whilst maintaining his career path between Japan and the U.S. and his latest contained suspense thriller, Downrange, continues forward this year in bolstering his international profile.
The movie is now set to open exclusively on OTT VoD service, Shudder beginning April 26 per reports over at Quiet Earth and Horror Society. Joey O’Bryan (Fulltime Killer) pens the script that sees Kelly Connaire, Stephanie Pearson, Rod Hernandez-Farella, Anthony Kirlew, Alexa Yeames and Jason Tobias headline the harrowing tale of cross-country college carpoolers crippled by a flat tire on a middle-of-nowhere road, and incidentally trapped in the crosshairs of a deranged sniper with no way out.
Kitamura has at least one other in the pipeline while I still remain hopelessly patient for a Versus sequel of some kind or a similar project that fully fleshes him out on a greater stage. I can definitely see him at the helm for greater prospects in film and I certainly hope he doesn’t lose his momentum here.
Check out the poster below and I’ll be sure to update with a new trailer should one arise, although the one circulating as of last year prior to TIFF is still a nice little appetizer.
