HAUNTOLOGY Trailer (2024) Jaidyn Triplett, Samantha Russell

HAUNTOLOGY Trailer (2024) Jaidyn Triplett, Samantha Russell

HAUNTOLOGY Trailer (2024) Jaidyn Triplett, Samantha Russell, Thriller Movie
© 2024 - Gravitas Ventures
"I can't stay here." "There's no reason to be afraid." Gravitas Ventures has unveiled an official trailer for a film called Hauntology, an indie horror project originally pitched as a "Queer Horror Road Trip Movie." It's an anthology feature with various horror segments - an older sister takes her fearless runaway sibling Venus on a road trip, to share the most chilling tales surrounding their hometown. Jazmin takes Venus on a journey around Ohio, where Jazmin tells supernatural tales featuring characters have more in common with Venus than they first realize. Hauntology features four ghostly vignettes and another wrap-around story - a series of ghost stories taking them to four very haunted places. The movie stars Jaidyn Triplett as Venus Price, Samantha Russell as Jazmin, and Naomi Grossman as Annalisa, with Zoey Luna, Samantha Robinson, Nancy Loomis, Kurt Oberhaus, among others. An original feature made with crowdfunding, this queer horror film will be debuting on VOD in the fall to watch. "Some things you can't run away from."

Here's the two official trailers (+ poster) for Parker Brennon's film Hauntology, direct from YouTube:

Hauntology Poster

Hauntology is a feature-length horror anthology, with a story that follows 11-year-old Venus (they/them) and their older sister Jazmin (she/her). Jazmin sees Venus wheeling a suitcase on the sidewalk and stops to make Venus a deal. If Venus will listen to all of Jazmin's ghost stories, and still wants to run away after, Jazmin won't stop them. However, if Venus gets scared, they have to go back home. A horror road trip begins, as Jazmin takes Venus to four very haunted places. Each spot they visit has its own ghost story and unique queer perspective. What Venus doesn't know is Jazmin has an agenda of her own for the night. The two will ultimately find themselves face-to-face with the most notorious ghost in town. Hauntology is written and directed by genre filmmaker Parker Brennon, making their feature directorial debut after a number of other short films previously. Produced by Robert Jarosinski, Victoria McDevitt, Ryan Satre, and Parker Brennon. With crowdfunding from Kickstarter. This first premiered at the 2024 Dances With Films Festival earlier this year. Gravitas will debut Hauntology direct-to-VOD starting September 17th, 2024.
Rising star Jaidyn Triplett is having a great year in 2024. Not only did the iCarly star release her bangin’ debut album, Young Girl With a Big Dream, earlier this summer, but the multi-hyphenate talent can next be seen leading Gravitas Ventures’ new horror/thriller Hauntology.

PopWire recently connected with the young starlet where she previewed the anthology film, the importance of representation, and more.

When it comes to horror movies in general, it is very rare that a young Black woman is seen in a leading role. The Afro-Latina actress says that it’s a “huge” deal for representation and visibility for her community.

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“Growing up I didn’t see a lot of people that look like me on the screen,” Triplett tells us. “Nowadays, shows and movies and music and pretty much all the industries you can see lots of diversity. I’m glad that for at least some of my fans, I can be the one that they look up to as the Afro-Latina role model, and I want to continue being that for people.”

The story of Hauntology follows Venus Price (Triplett) who flees their family home looking to start over. Along the way, they run into their sister, Jazmin (Samantha Russell), where she tries to convince them to stay.

“I think that for Venus, their relationship with their family is very rocky,” she says. “I can tell based off of how I created the character and how it was written, that they really truly love their sister and the bond between them, you can’t miss it on screen. They have a trust.

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“Me and Samantha definitely wanted to create that bond together off screen, that way it would appear more natural in the movie,” Triplett continues. “I’m really glad that it did show through for the parts that we were in. I really tried to paint the character when I was on screen so that people could get insight into why she is the way she is.”

During the course of Hauntology, Jazmin shares spooky, but “true” tales to her younger sibling. These short stories that make up the anthology include “Witchcraft Becomes Her,” “Paint & Black Lace,” and “The Old Dark Cashel House.” Out of all five stories, there was one that stood out for the actress that turned out to be her favorite.

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“I think ‘The Day Mabel Came Out of the Grave’ [would be my favorite]. That one actually freaked me out. When I was in the theater watching it for the first time at the premiere — you know before I went to the first premiere, all I had ever seen was my parts when I was filming — I think that in the theaters, I was like, oh, this is actually scary. what’s going on?'”

Out of all the stories, however, it is the main one in between the shorts, the one with Venus and their sister, that had us most invested in and wanting to see more of their relationship and dynamic. For Jaidyn, hair is her crown, and something she is infinitely proud of when it comes to self-expression. That crown did go through a lot, though, when it came to an unexpected scene with the two siblings, which finds them completely drenched in blood.

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“It’s a really funny story,” Triplett says of filming the bloodbath. “At the time I had these long braids the entire movie. I had braids and a weave. It’s not all my real hair and the problem with weave is it holds moisture and water like crazy. Anything that goes into your hair will be there until you take the braids out. It’s like 2-3 in the morning and we’re being just sprayed down with this red stuff and then they’re like, alright, CUT — you can go to sleep now.

“I go upstairs and I’m beat; I’m so exhausted,” she adds. “So then I go to try and wash out in the shower and I turn my head and my braids swaying against the side of the shower, and you just see red splattered across. I was like, oh no! So then I’m trying desperately to get all the blood out within 15 minutes because I’m so tired. I wrap my hair up in a towel, a WHITE TOWEL, and my hoodie, and I go to sleep on this white mattress and white bedsheets and I wake up and there’s blood all over my bed. It was a nightmare because there was no way to get this out and it didn’t come out until I got my braids out.”

After it all, Jaidyn Triplett is proud of the project that is Hauntology and encourages everyone to check it out.

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“It had me on the edge of my seat, and I’m not just saying that because I’m in it and I want you to see it,” she says. “I’m saying that because it was truly a passion project from all of us and we definitely all put our heart into it and the final product was incredible. I’ve become close friends with everyone and I think that you can truly see that bond on screen.

“Honestly, it’s just a great thriller overall. I love horror movies and I love thriller movies and I think that it would be one that I would definitely watch again even if I wasn’t in it. I think that it’s a great experience.”

Jaidyn Triplett’s debut album Young Girl With a Big Dream is now available where ever you buy or stream your music, and Hauntology will be available on select cable and streaming-on-demand platforms in the US and Canada on September 17th.
As the spooky season descends upon us, you may find yourself digging through your horror collection to find your favorite Halloween anthologies. But if you’re looking for a new anthology to add to the yearly rotation, why not check out writer/director Parker Brennon’s new film Hauntology?

In the film,
An older sister takes her runaway sibling on a road trip, to share the most chilling tales surrounding their hometown.

In our exclusive clip, an unsuspecting man working at a front desk is in for one bad shift when a stranger comes to visit.

Watch now!

Jaidyn Triplett, Samantha Robinson, Naomi Grossman, Zoey Luna, Nancy Loomis, Abigail Esmena, Samantha Russell, Gil Zabarsky, Gavin Herscher, Rosemary Ace Rosas, Aubree Boweron, Jacinda Forbes, Aaron Turnbull, Kurt Oberhaus, Kim Lea Mays, Noah Bunch, Lindsey McDowell, Annie Fitzpatrick, and James DeForest Parker star in the film.

Hauntology comes to digital and cable VOD on September 17, 2024.
Coinciding with its international premiere at FrightFest, Gravitas Ventures has shared a poster and trailer for the anthology horror Hauntology, which is written and directed by Parker Brennon and follows two siblings as they recount four chilling tales surrounding their hometown.

Featuring in the cast are Naomi Grossman (American Horror Story), Samantha Robinson (The Love Witch), Zoey Luna (The Craft Legacy) and Nancy Loomis (Halloween) along with Jaidyn Triplett, Abigail Esmena, Samantha Russell, Gil Zabarsky, Gavin Herscher, Rosemary Ace Rosas, Aubree Boweron, Jacinda Forbes, Aaron Turnbull, Kurt Oberhaus, Kim Lea Mays, Noah Bunch, Lindsey McDowell, Annie Fitzpatrick, James DeForest Parker. Watch the trailer below…

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HAUNTOLOGY is a horror anthology following Venus, who decides to run away from home, but their journey is cut short when their older sister, Jazmin, spots them wheeling a suitcase down the sidewalk. Jazmin then takes Venus on a journey around town, where she tells supernatural tales in which the characters have more in common with Venus than they first realize.

Hauntology arrives on digital platforms on September 17th.

Filed Under: Amie Cranswick, Movies, News, Trailers
Tagged With: Aaron Turnbull, Abigail Esmena, Annie Fitzpatrick, Aubree Boweron, Gavin Herscher, Gil Zabarsky, Hauntology, Jacinda Forbes, Jaidyn Triplett, James DeForest Parker, Kim Lea Mays, Kurt Oberhaus, Lindsey McDowell, Nancy Loomis, Naomi Grossman, Noah Bunch, Parker Brennon, Rosemary Ace Rosas, Samantha Robinson, Samantha Russell, Zoey Luna

About Amie Cranswick
Amie Cranswick has been part of Flickering Myth’s editorial and management team for over a decade. She has a background in publishing and copyediting and has served as Editor-in-Chief of FlickeringMyth.com since 2023.

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The anthology has become a staple, not only of the horror genre, but of Pigeon Shrine FrightFest. Each year the festival sneaks at least one or two into the programme and this year’s offering is Parker Brennon’s Hauntology.

Whereas most anthology based films see several filmmakers come together to create a series of spooky shorts, Hauntology is Brennon’s vision alone. The use of one singular voice worked for The Mortuary Collection and Hauntology shares some similar vibes. Whilst The Mortuary Collection was very stylised and Gothic in presentation, Hauntology keeps its appearance more naturalistic. The approach helps sell the feeling of friends, or in this case, sisters, telling ghost stories. Rather than make everything deliberately creepy, Brennan allows the tales to speak for themselves, enabling the ideas to seep under your skin. Whilst this move results in a lack of immediate scares, it ensures some food for thought later.

A common issue within anthology stories is that the connective tissue is weak. Finding a reason to transition from story to story often troubles filmmakers, but Brennon’s approach is simple and effective. Hauntology begins with Jazmin (Samantha Russell) tracking down her younger sister, Venus (Jaidyn Triplett). Venus is determined to run away from their awful parents, but Jazmin implores her to take a trip around their small Ohio town before committing to her decision. At each stop across town, Jazmin shares some troubling history. Each story interconnecting in some capacity to the sister’s lineage means that the climax of their section also works as a cohesive completion of each of Jazmin’s stories. This approach works far better than those seen in most anthology films.

In terms of the stories told, Hauntology forgoes the idea of throwing a million different styles of horror onto the screen. Anthology films often try to cover as many sub-genres of horror as possible in order to please a wider section of the audience. The hook of Hauntology’s macabre tales are not their different genre styles, but instead the inclusion of a different strand of queer cinema. Paranormal elements are brought into each segment, but the visual presentation remains essentially the same from story to story. This inevitably means however, that should the viewer not get on with the opening story, it’s likely that Hauntology isn’t for them. Nonetheless, anthologies should not have to rely on cheap tactics to trick viewers into watching. Less often provides more, and Hauntology is a great example of this.

Although Jazmin’s tales all have a similar feel to them, the stories are varied enough to keep the viewer entertained. They cover a trans woman’s spell coming with unexpected side effects, a married couple torn apart by a ghost, bloody revenge from beyond the grave, and the creepy happenings of a haunted house. Each is different enough to draw the viewer in, the connective tissue between them all slowly being revealed. As the stories progress these threads bind more tightly and it becomes fun for the viewer to try and piece together exactly what the full story will be once all the elements have been fully woven together.

Unlike other anthologies, Hauntology retains the same level of quality throughout. Most other films within the subgenre have one or two sections that standout over the others. In Hauntology a case can be made for all of them as none are trying to outshine the others. Those expecting a bloody affair should be forewarned that Hauntology relies more on the weight of the stories it presents to impact the viewer. As such, Hauntology ends up feeling like a more grown-up and queer variation of 90s television shows Eerie, Indiana and Are You Afraid of the Dark? The likeness of Hauntology to these existing properties is so striking that it is sure to be a hit for anyone who grew up on a healthy diet of gentle scares.