Emilia Clarke and Victoria Pedretti Head Into the Abyss With Horror Film WHEN DARKNESS LOVES US
There’s a new horror project on the horizon that sounds equal parts unsettling and fascinating, and it’s bringing together a great cast.
When Darkness Loves Us is the latest film from James Ashcroft (The Rule of Jenny Pen), and it has locked in Emilia Clarke and Victoria Pedretti for a story that digs deep into psychological and physical darkness.
Clarke leads the film as a woman who emerges after surviving 15 years trapped inside an underground cave system. But getting out isn’t the end of her nightmare.
She’s determined to reclaim the family she believes belongs to her, no matter how disturbing the consequences might be. It’s a premise that leans hard into obsession, identity, and the terrifying lengths someone will go to hold onto both.
Pedretti joins the cast alongside Marlon Williams and Natascha McElhone, rounding out a lineup that already feels like a perfect match for this kind of eerie, character-driven horror story.
The film is based on Elizabeth Engstrom’s 1985 novella, with Ashcroft co-writing the script alongside Hayley Sproull and Eli Kent. If you’ve seen The Rule of Jenny Pen, you already know Ashcroft has a knack for crafting deeply uncomfortable narratives that stick with you, and this sounds like it’s pushing even further into that territory.
Ashcroft shared his connection to the source material, saying: “My passion for Elizabeth Engstrom’s story remains boundless; what an absolute gift it has been bringing this work to the screen.
“With When Darkness Loves Us, Liz never lets us forget that the actions of her characters are by turns both tragic and monstrous — no matter how sympathetic they may be. But it’s their indelible humanity that can’t be so easily shaken off afterwards, and that’s when we find ourselves at home in the darkness with them.”
I like the idea of sympathy colliding with something monstrous.
Bleecker Street has picked up the movie for a 2027 theatrical release in the U.S., and based on what they’re saying, this isn’t going to be your typical cave horror story. CEO Kent Sanderson teased just how immersive things get:
“The term ‘world-building’ is wildly overused, but the degree to which James and team have built a subterranean universe cannot be understated. This film is a true journey into the darkness, literally and figuratively, and we can’t wait to shock audiences worldwide with James’ singular vision.”
Production on the film recently wrapped in New Zealand, and It’ll be interesting to see how the film turns out.