Into the foray of digital content producers comes Red Tower, a new media house specializing in short form horror, emphasizing high quality and low cost. Their initial release, Esther, a creature feature, is reviewed elsewhere on CultureCatch.
Red Tower is the brainchild of filmmakers Brian Levin (Union Bridge) and D. M. Cunningham (The Spore, 3 Demons). Their mission is to serve genre fans and connoisseurs of contemporary horror in quick narrative bursts. "Having started in 2005 with one of the first online shows and later been involved in legacy television and film, I feel that the moment has truly arrived where old and new Hollywood have merged," said CEO Brian Levin. "The opportunity to bring the best artists in the world into a direct relationship with audiences at a global reach is a century in the making."
Mr. Levin began his career creating content for digital networks Turner's SuperDeluxe and 60Frames. After that, he worked closely with Brian Robbins producing and writing for projects at Comedy Central and Spike as well as AwesomenessTV. In 2016 he wrote and produced the comedy Flock of Dudes, distributed by Hulu and Starz, and in 2020 the film Union Bridge by Breaking Glass Pictures. While he began his career on the creative side of filmmaking, Mr. Levin now involves himself on the business side as well, acting as a producer and executive.
"We are thrilled to get Red Tower off the ground with our exciting first short, Esther, which will set the tone and voice of our digital network," said Mr. Levin.
Directed by D. M. Cunningham and starring Haley Heslip (Void, Case 137), Esther is the story of Katy, a young woman who has moved back to her childhood home for an undisclosed reason. She's in contact with her shrink on FaceTime and her brother. Katy's nightly sleep is disrupted by what she thinks is a faulty smoke alarm, but she soon learns the alarm is not faulty and is actually a ploy by an imaginary friend who has returned from the past to play.
The digital paradigm requires quality and quantity, of course, especially when entries like Esther run a scant 10-minutes. To meet that demand, Red Tower is currently in production on a slate of short form horror titles and is set to release new content weekly on their current digital channels including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. A case in point is a kinky horror/humor series that begins with Motherhood Bites. The company expects to entice high level established creators into the new media ecosystem. Red Tower envisions a "deep network" of the best filmmakers in the business they can host online and bring to genre lovers everywhere.
"With the right talent and smart distribution, you can essentially build your own network that can connect to people across many screens and especially of interest-connected television sets. This is a new era where 'Creator Networks' will begin to compete with Broadcast and Cable networks," said Brian Levin. "Red Tower will lead the way with the attitude and the artistry to back it up. Transmission begins now."
Our review of Esther, Red Tower's first feature, can be found here.