Horror Highlights: FOR SALE BY EXORCIST, THE PARENTING, WAKE UP

FOR SALE BY EXORCIST: “Think the current housing market is a nightmare? Wait ’til you take a tour of the demonic dwellings in For Sale By Exorcist, a new horror comedy released through LA.-based Epic Pictures’ horror label, DREAD. Available for rent or purchase on video-on-demand beginning March 11, 2025, the film will also be screening at the Nevermore Film Festival in Durham, North Carolina on February 28th and March 1st with director Melissa LaMartina in attendance.

Executive produced by Ed Sanchez, the director of The Blair Witch Project; directed by Melissa LaMartina, the writer of the hit horror video game, Amanda the Adventurer; and co-written by Chris LaMartina of WNUF Halloween Special fame and Rob Walker of the satire site The Hard Times; For Sale By Exorcist is a morbid mockumentary that blends gasps and giggles.

For Sale By Exorcist follows Susan Price, a savvy realtor and certified exorcist who’s spent years flipping haunted houses across the country. From bleeding walls to glowing eyes, every listing is to die for! But as Susan hunts for her own forever home, the ghosts she’s evicted return for revenge. Will Susan settle with these vengeful spirits…or could she lose her life along with her down payment?

Director Melissa LaMartina says, “For a movie with a groin-grabbing succubus and death-metal necromancers, For Sale By Exorcist has a surprising amount of heart. At its core, the story is about creating community and finding a place for everyone in it — living or otherwise.”

Epic Pictures CEO Patrick Ewald thinks this movie will turn heads: “For Sale By Exorcist isn’t just a horror-comedy—it’s a no-holds-barred, ghostly mockumentary that twists the genre in wildly unexpected ways. Working with the incredibly talented Chris LaMartina, who wrote and produced the film, and the visionary Melissa LaMartina, who directed and produced, was an absolute thrill. Their passion and creativity shine in every eerie, hilarious, and chaotic moment. This film is packed with surprises, scares, and laughs, and we had an absolute blast bringing it to life. I can’t wait for audiences to experience the madness, the mystery, and the mayhem that For Sale By Exorcist delivers!””

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THE PARENTING: “A hilariously terrifying comedy, THE PARENTING follows young couple Rohan and Josh as they plan a perfect weekend getaway in the country to introduce their parents. As tensions begin to flare between the more traditional Sharon and Frank and the laid-back Liddy and Cliff, the families soon realize that their rental – managed by eccentric local Brenda – is haunted by the presence of a 400-year-old poltergeist. When one parent becomes thoroughly possessed, it’s up to the young couple and their meddlesome BFF Sara to unite the families and stop the evil entity once and for all.”

• Cast: Nik Dodani (Rohan), Brandon Flynn (Josh), Brian Cox (Frank), Edie Falco (Sharon), Lisa Kudrow (Liddy), Dean Norris (Cliff), Parker Posey (Brenda), Vivian Bang (Sara), and others.
• Credits: Directed by Craig Johnson; written by Kent Sublette; produced by Chris Bender and Jake Weiner; executive producers Richard Brener, Chris Pan, David Neustadter, and Jared Ian Goldman.

Debuts THURSDAY, MARCH 13 on Max

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WAKE UP: “Blue Fox Entertainment is excited to share the trailer and announce we will be releasing the critically-acclaimed festival-hit horror thriller WAKE UP, directed by siblings Anouk Whissell and Yoannn-Karl Whissell of the directing team RKSS (TURBO KID, SUMMER OF 84), in theaters nationwide in the U.S. and Canada on April 4, 2025. 

WAKE UP, which has received critical acclaim since its world premiere at Austin’s Fantastic Fest, stars Turlough Convery (Netflix’s Black Mirror), Benny O.Arthur (Sky and Canal +’s Django), Alessia Yoko Fontana (Sky’s Iris), Jacqueline Moré (THE ANARCHIST’S DREAM), Kyle Scudder (Netflix’s In Love All Over Again), Thomas Gould, Charlotte Stoiber (Downfall) and Aidan O’Hare (MY SAILOR MY LOVE). It was produced by Laurent Baudens (WE ARE ZOMBIES) and Gaël Nouaille (SPOILED BRATS) for Borsalino Productions. The screenplay was written by Alberto Marini (RETRIBUTION).

In WAKE UP, a group of young activists set out to make an environmental statement by vandalizing a home superstore but must fight for their lives in a night of terror after getting trapped inside with a deranged security guard.”