Jack Kilmer, Paris Jackson & Eric Roberts Set For Indie Horror Thriller ‘Open Wounds’

Matt Grobar
·3 min read
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EXCLUSIVE: Jack Kilmer (Palo Alto), Paris Jackson (Gringo), and Eric Roberts (The Dark Knight) are in production in Atlanta on Open Wounds, an indie horror thriller from director Ronald Krauss (Gimme Shelter). Rounding out the cast of the pic are Lambert Houston (Resurrection Factor), Renata Notni (Zorro), Richie Radichi (My Best Friend’s Dead), and Jay Giannone (American Hustle).

Written by Ryan Leeder, Joshua Courtade, and Krauss, the film centers around a fading indie horror studio, its owner Jefferson (Roberts), and his nephew Caleb (Kilmer), a young horror movie obsessive and aspiring makeup f/x artist, who finally gets his “little break” when Jefferson assigns him to work on a B-list movie about a vampire (Notni). There, he encounters another makeup artist, Ginni (Jackson), with whom he feels he can share his vulnerabilities, as well as an unsupportive rival, Todd (Houston).

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Caleb, insecure of his talent, and desperate to win Jefferson’s approval, struggles with the assignment, until he accidentally witnesses a murder, and seeing that realism is the missing element in his work, bases an effect on what he has witnessed. Suddenly winning approval from Jefferson and praise on the set, Caleb begins prepping his effects by committing his own murders, in the process losing his moral compass and descending into madness. As Caleb’s crimes become more grotesque, his relationship with Ginny develops into an unconventional quest for love.

Hailing from Day 28 Films and Bald Eagle Entertainment, pic’s producers are Krauss and Ira Houston. Chung Dick and Thomas Carroll are exec producing, with Haweni Keskessa and Marvin Cheng co-producing.

Best known for turns in such acclaimed indies as Palo Alto and Lords of Chaos, Kilmer most recently signed on to star opposite Bella Thorne in the fantastical drama The Tower, shot under an interim agreement. He also narrated the documentary Val, spotlighting the remarkable life and career of his father, Val Kilmer.

An actress and musician previously seen on the shows Swarm, American Horror Stories, Scream: The TV Series and Star, Jackson’s feature credits include the romantic dramedy Sex Appeal, the Kelsey Grammer-led The Space Between, and Nash Edgerton’s Gringo starring Joel Edgerton, Charlize Theron, and David Oyelowo.

An Oscar nom most recently set to star in Spyder Dobrofsky’s psychological horror Down Below, Roberts was part of the cast of Damien Chazelle’s Old Hollywood epic Babylon for Paramount Pictures, which scored three Oscar nominations earlier this year. Other feature credits for the actor include Hard Luck Love Song, Head Full of Honey, Inherent Vice, The Expendables, and The Dark Knight, to name just a few.

Krauss’s most recent feature, the indie drama Gimme Shelter starring Vanessa Hudgens, James Earl Jones, Rosario Dawson and more, was released by Roadside Attractions in 2014.

Kilmer is repped by Gersh, Authentic Talent & Literary Management, and Hirsch Wallerstein Hayum; Jackson by CAA and Untitled Entertainment; and Roberts by Sovereign Talent Group.

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