‘We Can’t Leave’ Brings Masked Killers and Chaos to VOD

A low-budget horror audition descends into chaos in We Can’t Leave, the latest independent slasher heading to Digital and VOD platforms on 12 May through Dark Star Pictures.

Written and directed by Mike Lordi, the film centres on a group of aspiring actors who arrive expecting to audition for an independent horror production, only to discover they have become trapped inside a sprawling building filled with endless corridors, locked exits and masked killers stalking them through the darkness.

As panic spreads and bodies begin piling up, the cast members realise the terror unfolding around them is no rehearsal. Survival quickly becomes more important than landing a role.

Lordi, whose previous genre work includes Abandoned in the Dark and Paranormal, described the project as an attempt to combine old-school slasher filmmaking with the realities of independent production culture. Speaking about the film’s origins, the filmmaker said he wanted to take the familiar experience of attending auditions and turn it into “the worst audition night imaginable”, blending violence with dark humour and stripped-back horror storytelling.

The production stars Grace Allison, Julie Tzivas and James Parent, with the confined setting and maze-like structure playing a central role in the film’s tension. We Can’t Leave  focuses on practical suspense, pursuit sequences and claustrophobic environments in keeping with classic independent slashers of the 1980s and early 1990s.

The newly released trailer leans into that approach, teasing masked attackers, improvised escape attempts and blood-soaked confrontations as the trapped actors attempt to navigate the building. The premise also taps into performance anxiety and the precarious nature of independent filmmaking, turning an already stressful environment into a literal fight for survival.

Dark Star Pictures, which specialises in genre and independent cinema releases across North America, is handling distribution. The company has increasingly focused on auteur-driven horror projects and festival discoveries in recent years, particularly within the digital and VOD space.

For Lordi, We Can’t Leave continues a career rooted in independent horror filmmaking. Born in Edison, New Jersey and raised in Sayreville, the filmmaker has spent years working across low-budget genre productions as both a producer and director, developing projects that draw from classic horror formulas while maintaining a DIY aesthetic.

We Can’t Leave is available now on Digital and VOD from Dark Star Pictures.

We Can’t Leave trailer