When aspiring horror filmmakers post an online casting call looking for “real life” monsters to interview for their upcoming documentary called, The Monster Project, they find three individuals claiming to be a skin-walker, a vampire, and a demon. Meeting these monsters at a remote mansion in the woods on the night of a total lunar eclipse, the filmmakers invite the three subjects to share their haunting, personal experiences. Working on the crew is a recovering drug addict who suffers withdrawal and paranoia. As a person of faith, he fears his friends underestimate the dark powers they are summoning. When the interviews turn deadly, he must battle the demons, inside and out, to escape the house and defeat the rise of evil incarnate.

A stranger in the increasingly strange city of San Francisco, Japanese crime novelist Aki is unsure of precisely what role she has to play in a real-life murder mystery involving ambiguous MacGuffins and amorphous identities. Unfolding in lonely places such as bookshops and hotel bars, Dave Boyle’s moody thriller uncovers exhilarating new takes on genre conventions. Consequently, it’s an alluring l’homme fatal who supplies Aki with the breadcrumb trail of clues that entices her into a labyrinthine plot of sinister dealings. In turn, the aging sheriff (veteran character actor Pepe Serna, fantastic in a rare leading role), who should rightfully be riding to her rescue, proves to be equally out of his depth. The game is afoot, the chase is exhilarating and the stakes are perilously high in this inspired neo-noir.