‘Clifton Park’ Brings Method Acting Horror to Screamfest LA 2025

Emerging filmmaker Maren Lavelle will bring her unsettling new short film Clifton Park to the big screen for its world premiere at this year’s Screamfest LA, running from 7 to 16 October at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres in Hollywood. The psychological horror, produced by One-Eyed Rabbit, Uncultured Swine and Red Flight Pictures, explores the dangerous intersection between ambition, manipulation and artistic devotion within the world of method acting.

Set during a weekend retreat in upstate New York, Clifton Park follows Mari, an ambitious college actor invited to join a revered theatre collective called The Ambassadors. As the troupe begins to devise a play about a notorious sex cult, Mari finds herself increasingly caught between reality and performance. What begins as an opportunity to advance her craft turns into a nightmarish examination of power, control and belief.

The film stars Natalie Cabo as Mari, Hayley Griffith as Claire, and co-writer Matt Steiner as Sam. Lavelle, previously named one of Shoot Online’s New Directors of the Year, co-wrote the project with Steiner, whose credits include The Blacklist and Own Kind. The film’s visual design and sound are led by an experienced creative team including cinematographer Rick Cook, production designer Beatriz Naranjo and composer Lillie Rebecca McDonough, with additional music by Brooklyn indie outfit Ok Cowgirl.

Lavelle, whose earlier short films Wendy, Keeper and Maya explored themes of female identity and personal autonomy, has described Clifton Park as a work rooted in both personal reflection and collective trauma. In a director’s statement accompanying the release, she noted that while the story is fictional, its themes mirror real experiences of coercion and abuse within creative environments.

Screamfest, now entering its 24th year, has become a significant launchpad for independent horror filmmakers, with previous premieres including Paranormal Activity and The Wretched. The festival’s recognition of Clifton Park positions Lavelle among the genre’s promising new voices.

Following its Los Angeles premiere, the film will continue its festival circuit before an online release in early 2026. A feature-length adaptation is currently in development, with a targeted 2027 production.

Clifton Park premieres at Screamfest LA 2025 this October at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres in Hollywood.

Clifton Park trailer