We’re so excited to have finished shooting our new feature film Behold!  We have a stellar looking first cut thanks to the combined efforts of an incredible cast and crew along with our small but mighty production company, Cult Cinema. We just need the finishing funds!

Rebecca and her husband, Reverend Peter, have been separated for months following a tragic event. Alone in their stately home, Rebecca has become a shell of her former self. She suffers from severe depression, drinks too much, and can’t seem to get her life together. She believes fixing the marriage is the solution.

Everything changes when Peter shows up with divorce papers, setting off an emotional explosion that gets interrupted by the appearance of a foreboding, otherworldly presence. Disturbing secrets and lies from the past are brought to light as Rebecca and Peter attempt to confront the mysterious presence from beyond.

Behold! is our 3rd feature film. Our previous release, a Blair Witch style found footage horror film, Curse of Aurore [2020] had a successful run in Canadian theaters and reached the top 5 at the box office. Shortly thereafter, we accepted a domestic and international distribution deal from Freestyle Digital Media. Curse has since won numerous awards at film festivals and garnered an unexpected cult following within the found footage horror fan community. 

Witnessing the success of Curse of Aurore inspired us to take a deeper, more complicated plunge: make a sleek, artistic looking film with a focus on story and high quality production value with a VERY limited budget.

To afford shooting Behold! we dug deep into our own pockets. We utilized every connection and location we had access to. We brought friends and family onboard. We made our own props, costumes, sets, and practical effects rigs. We are scrappy AF! Then we shamelessly asked our friends and family for money. Incredibly, we received JUST enough to shoot a gorgeous film. We just need a bit more to finish it. That’s where we need your help.

In order to complete post-production and get this film ready for the world we need the following:

Visual FX: While we accomplished a number of spooky practical effects successfully during production, the film is still in need of a Visual Effects pass. Things like blood, smoke, and environmental effects will be crucial to selling the story. 

Color Grading: This is a key element in achieving high production value. Our Cinematographer did an incredible job capturing vivid, beautiful footage, but that final color grading step will elevate the quality and viewing experience substantially.

Final Audio Pass: While we have an in-house sound designer & composer, we still need to hire a company to do the final mixing and mastering on our audio. For horror films, this is one of the most important finishing touches. We want our viewers to feel Behold! rumbling through their bodies!

Every penny helps! Below is a list of perks available to our amazing contributors.

$5 – Personal Shout Out on Social Media 

$10 – Personalized, Mailed Thank You Card from Cult Cinema Productions 

$25 – Digital Behold! Poster 

$50 – Special Thanks Credit

$100 – Behold! T-Shirt 

$250 – Autographed Behold! Poster 

$300 – Behold! Original Screen Used Art (Small)

$350 – Behold! Original Screen Used Art (Large)

$500 – Autographed DVD of the Film & Autographed Hard Copy of Behold! Script!

$1000 – Associate Producer Credit & 2 VIP Tickets to Behold! Screening and Wrap Party! 

$5000 – Executive Producer Credit, 4 VIP Tickets to Behold! Screening and Wrap Party, AND a Personalized Thank You Video from a Cast Member 

If you would like to contribute a sum not listed above or discuss investment options, please reach out directly to cultcinemallc@gmail.com 

On the surface Behold! is a horror film, but at its core is an intense relationship drama. A looming, monstrous presence hovers over Rebecca and Peter as they attempt to navigate through the grief of their failed marriage. 

The film takes its time exploring the opposing perspectives between our two main characters. If we’ve learned anything from the past 8 years, it’s that people can look at the same thing very differently. We hope our film encourages its audience to think and have conversations about that.

Thematically, Behold! touches on a number of challenging topics: patriarchy, religious trauma, LGBTQ issues within religion, and politics, though they are all gently hidden within the context of our characters’ concerns. At the root of it all, this is a story about a woman who must find the strength and confidence in herself to save the day.

Co-writer, Llana Barron, who stars as Rebecca, is very passionate about religious trauma awareness as one who has dealt with it first hand. Her unique experience has brought a level of passion and gravity to Behold! that shines through the beautiful noir footage we captured.

Meet the team that brought Behold! from script to screen!

Mehran C. Torgoley is a Director & Writer, originally from Chicago, Il. After moving to Southern California, Mehran cut his teeth directing a number of short films, music videos and commercial projects, before moving onto feature films, including the horror film Curse of Aurore and the irreverent mockumentary Izzy Lyon: The Unspun Truth.  He has contributed to projects for clients such as Justin Bieber, Fox Studios, Jennifer Lopez, and Image8nineteen. In 2019, he co-founded Cult Cinema, LLC.

Llana Barron is an award winning film actress, producer and screenwriter. She is best known for her work in Curse of Aurore and Izzy Lyon: The Unspun Truth. She has received Best Actress awards for her performances in Curse of Aurore at the Ravenheart Film Festival in Oslo Norway, and for the short film, Committed, at the Boston Film Festival. Llana’s voice has been featured in a number of video games, most notably as the character Elle Holloway in Silent Hill: Homecoming. In addition to acting, Llana is also an award winning composer and sound designer with credits both in film and video games. She is a Co-Founder of Cult Cinema Productions.

Bryan Scamman is a Los Angeles based actor who fell in love with acting in his home town of Boise, ID. Upon moving to LA to pursue the dream, he teamed up with his sister for their hit YouTube Comedy Web series Sibs. Bryan is known for his roles in several films and TV show including Jesse Thunderwake: American Icon and SyFy Channel’s Face Off and Game Face. He also has lent his skills as a skateboarder to several commercials including McDonalds, Mini Cooper and the San Diego Zoo.

Minna Brighton has been working in the entertainment industry, both in front of and behind the camera since the age of 4 when she appeared in her first commercial. She has performed in over 40 musicals, acted in a television series with Ryan Reynolds, directed a short film, and been featured in several film roles. After living and working in Los Angeles for over a decade, she has returned home to Toronto. Producing has become a love of hers, and as a founding member of Cult Cinema, she is able to fulfill that role time and again. 

Kevin Pardo is an award-winning film producer from Lake Forest, CA. While pursuing a business degree from Cal State Fullerton, with an emphasis in Entertainment Management, he got his start by helping produce short films written by the university’s film students. All of his films, both short & feature length, have premiered at film festivals and won multiple awards. When Kevin is not producing, he is a freelance Post Production Supervisor and works for major networks like Netflix, Showtime, etc. His first gig was on the hit Netflix Limited Series Unbelievable, which won the 2019 Peabody Award in Entertainment & “TV Program of the Year” at the AFI Awards. Since then, he’s worked on Season 7 of the Showtime series Ray Donovan, the continuation feature film Ray Donovan: The Movie, and the television adaptation of American Gigolo. Kevin is a proud member of the Producers Guild of America.

Anthony C. Kuhnz enjoys challenging himself to continually experiment and evolve, using cinematography to effectively enhance story, theme and character in the magical way only it can. Anthony earned a BA in Film at Northwestern and an MFA in Film Production from the University of Southern California where he currently teaches cinematography as an adjunct professor. When not shooting or teaching, he likes sharing time with his writer/director wife, Shilpi. They enjoy camping, traveling the world and playing music at home with their cats.

Gregory Michael Barna – Greg has worked in editorial departments for television for 23 years in a wide variety of shows from procedural crime dramas to sketch comedies and a whole lot in between.  Starting in children’s entertainment at Nickelodeon, he moved on to a gripping documentary series covering the prosecutor’s office in San Diego in Crime & Punishment. He created magic for the witches on Charmed, and tackled tough problems on the procedural crime series Numb3rs. From honing comedic timing on shows such as Modern Family and Getting On to forging effect heavy action on MacGyver, and building slow burning tension on dramas like Ray Donovan and American Gigolo, Greg has added his flair to help create compelling TV.  But regardless of the genre, Greg’s love of crafting a satisfying story with relatable characters lies at the heart of every project.

Share this campaign with everyone you know! A film’s success is highly dependent on its audience and fanbase, so your voice matters! Be sure to like and follow @beholdthemovie on Instagram and Facebook and don’t forget to check in regularly for updates!