KINDLING is an anthology horror film starring horror icons Adrienne Barbeau (The Fog, Creepshow) and Jim Beaver (Supernatural, Nightmare Alley), social influencer/celeb Sydney Morgan, and Emmy-winner Mike Manning (Slapface, The Bay). Kindling will be directed by Erynn Dalton (The Gravedigger, Passing Fancy). This film also marks Sydney Morgan’s first time producing a movie!
Check out this ARTICLE from our friends at Fangoria about our film!
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WHY CROWDFUNDING?
We're in love with the idea of crowdfunding our film! We get to own and maintain creative control during the filmmaking process, and we can also use this platform to help support incredible organizations that are doing really great work and making the world a better place (more on that below). We can do all of this and SO much more together if you’re willing to help us get this movie off the ground!
WHAT’S KINDLING ABOUT?
What begins as a night of scary stories around a campfire turns into something far more diabolical when stories of creatures that go bump in the night begin to feel a little too real. The spine-tingling stories involve a flesh-eating monster, a mad scientist, supernaturally scorned lovers and other things that go bump in the night. We hope this is just the beginning of the Kindling universe!
Kindling will follow in the footsteps of other anthology horror films such as the V/H/S franchise, Trick R Treat, Southbound and the recent Shudder film The Mortuary Collection. There are a total of four stories in Kindling, all of which are tightly connected and lead to a surprising and thrilling ending. How? You’ll have to watch to find out…
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OUR VISION FOR KINDLING
Who doesn’t love a good monster story (especially when there are generations of stories passed down about them)? As kids, we shared these tales around a campfire to try to scare one another- stories about Bigfoot, Chupacabra, the Loch Ness Monster or the Mothman. Of course, we all know as grown-ups that humans are often the real monsters, and a horror story that blends these ideas is an exciting one!
To us, the secret sauce to an anthology film is the gooey, bloody center (the wrap-around story) that holds the individual stories together, making them all incredibly powerful in their own way and as a collective. That is why we are so passionate about Kindling- not only are the three tales within the film scary, bloody, monstrous fun, but the main story- the glue that binds them together- is compelling and mysterious and leads to a shocking ending with a great payoff.
Our director, Erynn Dalton, is an unabashed horror fan and creator who we know will capture the unique flow and imagery of this anthology, while blending in the spooky, swampy, gothic vibes of Louisiana. Kindling is a story weaved together by its small, strong ensemble casts peppered throughout the short anthology pieces, and she will be working with a cast of horror legends and up-and-comers to make that monstrous magic leap off the screen!
A FILM WITH A CONSCIENCE- HORROR WITH HEART
We believe that movies can make the world a better place, and want you to be our partners on this journey. Hence, we are including a charitable component in our process by giving a portion of our fundraising proceeds to causes near and dear to our hearts.
The first- a charity close to Sydney Morgan's heart- is the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation. The Crohn's & Colitis Foundation is a volunteer-driven non-profit organization dedicated to finding cures for Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis and improving the quality of life of children and adults affected by these digestive diseases.
Kindling star and celebrity influencer Sydney Morgan, has suffered from Colitis for years and has used her platform to raise awareness of this chronic illness. Therefore, a portion of the money raised in this campaign will immediately be set aside for the above organization and donated to them before the cameras roll. Btw, every time we reach a new goalpost within the campaign, Sydney will create an awesome new video to celebrate! Keep checking back in the Updates section for new goalposts and to see what Sydney comes up with!
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The second charity we have selected is The Trevor Project- a non-profit organization focused on suicide prevention efforts among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning youth. Everyone deserves to live in a welcoming, beautiful world, and The Trevor Project provides much-needed counseling and support services for our LGBTQ friends and family. The Kindling team is proud to help contribute to such a supportive, inclusive organization.
FEMININE FRIGHT
Led by our female director Erynn Dalton, we aim to empower and elevate women who are creators in this industry, starting with hiring strong female department heads and leaders (including celebrity social influencer Sydney Morgan and her manager Temima Shames as two of our producers), proving that women can be cutting-edge horror creators too! We are also thrilled to have Adrienne Barbeau (one of the most recognizable female horror celebrities from the 80s) on board as one of our producers. The Kindling team is committed to putting women in powerful roles both on screen and behind the scenes and providing them an opportunity to work with us.
ABOUT SYDNEY MORGAN
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We are so excited to have Sydney Morgan on board as one of the producers and stars of Kindling! In the film, Sydney and her female co-stars lead the fight against a cannibalistic Wendigo in early American Pioneer times.
Sydney Morgan is making the world a better place. At just 19-years old, she has already well-established herself as an Actress, Model, Make-Up Artist, and Digital Creator. Her vast digital footprint consists of over 8 million TikTok followers, 2.6 million Youtube subscribers, and too many viral videos to count showcasing her outrageous make-up creations. Most importantly though, Sydney is utilizing her platform for good: shining a spotlight on Crohn’s & Colitis and the long-lasting impacts of chronic illnesses.
Sydney has always had a creative soul, but truly fell in love with the art of make-up when she was in high school – while stuck in a hospital bed. In 2018 during Sydney’s junior year of high school, she was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis. The chronic inflammatory bowel disease causes inflammation in the digestive tract. With no true cure for the disease, she spent a year in-and-out of the hospital trying different medications and treatments, but unfortunately nothing seemed to work. In October 2019, Sydney underwent emergency surgery to remove her entire colon (her whole large intestine). The result of the life-saving surgery caused Sydney to require an ostomy bag (a pouch that allows bodily waste to pass through a surgically created stoma on the abdomen). In September 2020, Sydney underwent final reconnection surgery – and is now as close to healed as possible when it comes to Ulcerative Colitis.
ABOUT OUR DIRECTOR
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Erynn Dalton is a seasoned horror producer/director who has been creating original mixed media horror productions at her South Florida theater for over a decade. Over the years, Dalton has built a loyal following for her grisly live productions, and her company - Infinite Abyss Productions - has been dubbed by critics as the “modern Grand Guignol” (a reference to the hugely successful horror theater in Paris that opened in 1897 that was known for it's shocking shows of blood and gore).
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After creating and directing dozens of live shows and shorts, as well as producing two feature films, Dalton made her feature film directorial debut in 2019 with the gothic horror-drama The Gravedigger written by playwright Joseph Zettelmaier. The Gravedigger was met with critical acclaim and had its world premiere at Popcorn Frights Film Festival. The film was featured in The LA Times, NPR and Sun-Sentinel, as well as genre publications such as Rue Morgue and Bloody Disgusting. It has subsequently secured worldwide distribution with Indican Pictures and will be released in theaters worldwide in Autumn 2022.
THE LOCATIONS
Louisiana is home to the most haunted places in the United States! We've scouted tons of locations for Kindling and found the coolest, creepiest ones that we know will do the film justice. We plan to shoot just outside of Baton Rouge in some scarily stunning areas - check out the collage below for some of our faves, and keep following our campaign and social media so we can show off more of our (spooky) set locations!
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CONNECT WITH US!
Besides following us here (which you definitely should because we are going to be posting exclusive content throughout the campaign), below are additional places you can go for more info about Kindling:
And if you don't already follow Sydney Morgan, you can find her here: