PENANCE: Crime Thriller Teaser Trailer Debuts Ahead Of Fantastic Fest World Premiere

What began as a seven-page proof of concept with a logline now stands to get a spot at one of the biggest film festivals in North America with industry stunt professional Nikolas Pelekai’s feature directing debut, Penance. Pelekai, whose stunt career dates back to 2012, directs from a script he wrote with fellow stunt colleague Jacob Stauff, for a cast that lists Travis Gomez, Stephano Rodriguez, Bobby Hernandez, KC Coy, Chelsea Goldsmith, Juan Flaco Reyes, Steven Rodriguez, and Alan Ulises Silva Garcia.

In the seedy underworld of a city ruled by blood and power, two men wage war against a monstrous trafficking cartel family: The Santiagos.

Trav, an ex-mercenary, has spent years trying to outrun the nightmares of his past. But when his younger sister is kidnapped and trafficked by a powerful cartel, he and his foster brother Stephano kick down the gates of hell to get her back.

Their rescue mission explodes into a massacre—ending in the unthinkable. Sofia is murdered in front of them, and Trav left silent, disfigured, and teetering on the edge of sanity.

Now, driven by rage and haunted by grief, Trav begins to unravel, dragging Stephano into a relentless campaign of vengeance that tears through Santiago’s criminal empire one brutal piece at a time. As they torture, hunt, and destroy their way up the food chain, the lines between vengeance and madness blur.

But they’re not alone. Two homicide detectives—sharp, stubborn, and truth driven—are following the trail of bodies left in the brothers’ wake. And the closer they get, the more twisted the truth becomes.

A gritty, unflinching descent into violence and moral ruin, PENANCE is a blood-soaked tale of brotherhood, retribution, and how far you’re willing to go when you’ve already lost everything. The climax escalates into full-blown torture, psychological breakdowns, and escalating collateral damage—all leading to a brutal reckoning.

Pelekai and Stauff collaborated on the script during the film’s earlier days, while balancing their own rigorous work schedules, and consulting with Cleopatra Entertainment and with executive producer James Cullen Bressack (Darkness Of Man, Hot Seat) in the process. After fully fleshing-out a seventy-page screenplay, the indepdently-produced thriller filmed for two-and-a-half months on a budget of roughly $7,000 before wrapping principal photography by mid-July, while coping with several multiple hurdles that slowed down production for a month.

The result of Pelekai and his team’s tenacity can now be sampled in the film’s official teaser trailer which debuted on Thursday. It’s dark, gritty, and full of edgy, brooding allure that culminate much of Pelekai’s own inspiration a la F. Gary Gray, David Fincher, and Kim Jee-woon. The action looks about as brutal as you can hope, and what’s more is that 99% of the cast is comprised of Pelekai’s own stunt industry colleagues. I’d say this makes for a helluva package to pitch to the masses some.

In addition to Bressack, Penance is also exec produced by Brian Perera and Yvonne Perera, and co-produced by Tim Yasui, and is produced by Myles Humphus and Jewelianna Ramos. The film makes its World Premiere at the twentieth edition of Fantastic Fest which kicks off next month.

Cleopatra Entertainment is currently handling the film’s release TBA.

Check out the teaser trailer below along with a trio of exclusive stills!