VOD - Shudder Unleashes Jay Baruchel's Stylish Slasher Random acts of Violence

By Mulder, 02 august 2020

“My name is Jay Baruchel, and I directed a movie called “Random Acts of Violence” written by Jesse Chabot and yours truly. This project has been a labour of love for the both of us, having written the first draft of the very first treatment about 7 years ago. We had different opportunities throughout that time to make this film, but have eschewed all of them in favour of waiting for the right set of circumstances and resources. This time allowed us to beat down and then rebuild our script again and again. We have been able to develop this story, and these characters, to a degree of artistic maturity that, frankly, seems uncommon in the horror genre. Jesse and I are perfectionists, and we both know that a movie isn’t truly finished until it comes out, and time and time again, we have gone back to the page to challenge the script to be better. “ - Jay Baruchel

The sophomore feature from Jay Baruchel stars Jesse Williams (Grey's Anatomy, Cabin in the woods), Jordana Brewster (Fast and the furious series, Texas Chainsaw massacre : the beginning), Niamh Wilson (Saw series) and the director himself coming out in the US, UK & Ireland on AMC's horror streaming platform Shudder August 20th .

A cult-hit in the making, Jay Baruchel's long-anticipated Random acts of violence, adapted from the popular 2010 horror graphic novel by the same name, is a force to reckon with. The Canadian filmmaker and actor, best known for his comedic bow in This is the end and as the voice of Hiccup in the How to train your dragons series, has long been committed to bringing Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti's vicious pages to the big screen, and wrote, directed, produced and stars in the upcoming film. Random acts of violence explores ideas of legitimizing cruelty, the responsibility of the artist, and what makes a monster in society. Masterfully lensed by award-winning cinematographer Karim Hussain (Hobo with a shotgun, Brandon Cronenberg's Possessor), the film holds a ferocious mirror up to art, society, and violence. Featuring a knock-out cast, iconic kills, and a pulsating score from celebrated punk all-star Wade MacNeil (Alexisonfire, Black Lungs) and composer Andrew Gordon Macpherson (Vice's Dark Side of The Ring) Random acts of violence makes for a truly subversive sophomore feature from Baruchel, and the slasher film of the Summer.

Synopsis:
What are the real consequences when life begins to imitate art? Comic book creator Todd Walkley (Jesse Williams), his wife Kathy (Jordana Brewster), assistant Aurora (Niamh Wilson) and best friend, Hard Calibre Comics owner Ezra (Baruchel), embark upon a road trip from Toronto to New York Comic Con and bad things start to happen. People start getting killed. It soon becomes clear that a crazed fan is using Todd's "Slasherman" comic as inspiration for the killings and as the bodies pile up, and Todd's friends and family become victims themselves, Todd will be forced to take artistic responsibility.

Random Acts of violence
Directed by Jay Baruchel
Producers: Jay Baruchel, Randy Manis, Noah Segal
Screenplay by Jay Baruchel, Jesse Chabot
Based on Random Acts of Violence by Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti
Starring: Jesse Williams, Jordana Brewster, Jay Baruchel, Niamh Wilson
Music: Wade MacNeil and Andrew Gordon Macpherson
Cinematography : Karim Hussain
Edited by Andrew Gordon Macpherson
Production companies : Elevation Pictures, SND Films,
Distributed by Elevation Pictures (Canada), Shudder (United States)
Release date : September 19, 2019 (Fantastic Fest), July 31, 2020 (Canada), August 20, 2020 (United States)
Running time : 80 minutes

(Spurce : press release)