Vertical has set the date for the North American release of the supernatural horror-mystery Haunting of the Queen Mary from Dracula Untold director Gary Shore. The film, previously titled The Queen Mary, is a psychological horror which explores the mysterious and violent events surrounding one family’s voyage on Halloween night (1938) and their interwoven destiny with another family onboard the infamous ocean liner present day.
Vertical has slated Haunting of the Queen Mary for release on August 18, 2023. The film will be released in select theaters and On Demand the same day.
Haunting of the Queen Mary stars Alice Eve (Star Trek Into Darkness, Belgravia), Joel Fry (Cruella, Game of Thrones), Nell Hudson (Texas Chainsaw Massacre), William Shockley (Death in Texas), and BAFTA award-winner Lenny Rush (Am I Being Unreasonable?).
Stephen Oliver and Tom Vaughan penned the script with revisions by Shore. The film is produced by Brett Matthew Tomberlin (Winchester) of Imagination Design Works; Thorsten Schumacher of Rocket Science; Lars Sylvest; Nigel Sinclair and Nicholas Ferrall of White Horse Pictures (The Woman in Black); and Mali Elfman.
Shooting of the film took place aboard the actual Queen Mary in Long Beach, California. A luxury ocean-liner graced by generations of the rich and famous, HMS Queen Mary is now celebrated - and feared - as “One of the World’s Most Haunted Places” (Time Magazine). In the early twentieth century, shipping lines competed to be the fastest to complete a transatlantic crossing. But among the most famous record-holders was the RMS Queen Mary, which held the record for fourteen years, but now stands encased in concrete at Long Beach, California, where it has been used for many years as a luxury hotel and tourist attraction. The ship has a lengthy history of visitors reporting seeing ghosts and visions in its rooms and on its decks, making it the perfect setting for paranormal goings-on on the big screen.
About Vertical (www.Vert-Ent.com)
Founded in 2012, Vertical has become a leading global independent distributor releasing films across all mediums. Vertical's unique combination of full-service marketing and highly effective sales services provides collaborative solutions for filmmakers, as the company leverages creative and platform relationships to maximize revenue streams from all content providers.
Current and upcoming Vertical releases include 2023 Independent Spirit Award winner Emily the Criminal written & directed by director John Patton Ford starring Aubrey Plaza and Theo Rossi; Sophie Barthes’ The Pod Generation starring Emilia Clarke and Chiwetel Ejiofor which premiered at Sundance 2023; Susie Searches directed by Sophie Kargman and starring Kiersey Clemons, Alex Wolff, and Jim Gaffigan; the Kate Beckinsale and Brian Cox-led thriller Prisoner’s Daughter from director Catherine Hardwicke; Damián Szifron’s To Catch a Killer starring Shailene Woodley and Ben Mendelsohn; Michael Jacobs’ Maybe I Do starring Diane Keaton, Susan Sarandon, Richard Gere, William H. Macy, Emma Roberts and Luke Bracey; 2022 SXSW thriller Gone in the Night directed by Eli Horowitz and starring Winona Ryder and John Gallagher Jr; Krystin Ver Linden’s Alice which premiered at Sundance 2022 and stars Keke Palmer, Common, Gaius Charles and Jonny Lee Miller; John Michael McDonagh’s The Forgiven starring Ralph Fiennes, Jessica Chastain, and Matt Smith which premiered at TIFF 2021; and Rodrigo García’s Four Good Days starring Glenn Close and Mila Kunis and featuring Diane Warren’s Academy Award® nominated original song “Somehow You Do.”
Vertical’s past successes include Reinaldo Marcus Green’s Joe Bell starring Mark Wahlberg, Reid Miller and Connie Britton; Channing Godfrey Peoples’ Miss Juneteenth, starring Nicole Beharie in her Best Actress Gotham Independent Film Award-winning performance and four Independent Spirit Award nominations including Best Female Lead and Best First Feature, and NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Independent Motion Picture; Eytan Rockaway’s Lansky starring Harvey Keitel and Sam Worthington; the Toronto Film Festival Midnight Madness breakout Shadow in the Cloud, directed by Roseanne Liang and starring Chloe Grace Moretz; Robin’s Wish, the revelatory account of iconic comedian Robin Williams' final days, directed by Tylor Norwood; Tate Taylor's Ava with John Malkovich, Geena Davis, Joan Chen, Colin Farrell and Jessica Chastain; and John Pollono’s directorial debut Small Engine Repair starring Jon Bernthal, Shea Whigham, Jordana Spiro and Ciara Bravo. Chris Kelly’s Other People, with Molly Shannon in her Independent Spirit Award-winning performance is also among Vertical’s slate; and Babak Anvari’s BAFTA and British Independent Film Award-winning thriller Under the Shadow.