‘Blood Shine’ Brings Folk Horror to Cinemas This August

Faith and fanaticism collide in Blood Shine, the latest feature from filmmaking duo Emily Bennett and Justin Brooks, with a newly released trailer offering a first look at the unsettling folk horror ahead of its theatrical and digital release next month. Following a successful festival run, the film arrives from Dark Sky Films on 21 August.

Set against the isolated landscape of upstate New York, Blood Shine stars Bennett as Clara, a deeply religious zealot whose solitary devotion centres on the worship of light. Her carefully ordered rituals are disrupted by the arrival of Brighton West, a troubled horror filmmaker played by David Call, who retreats to the countryside hoping to complete the screenplay for his next project.

What begins as a chance meeting soon develops into something far more disturbing. Clara gradually draws Brighton into increasingly extreme spiritual ceremonies, convinced they will elevate him beyond humanity. According to the official synopsis, he becomes trapped within a hallucinatory world where faith, flesh and obsession begin to blur, forcing him to confront experiences that challenge both his beliefs and his grasp on reality.

Brendan Sexton III, Larry Fessenden and Toby Poser round out the principal cast, with Fessenden and Bennett singled out by early critical reactions following the film’s festival screenings. The project blends psychological horror with folk traditions, placing religious conviction at the centre of its escalating tension rather than relying on more conventional genre threats.

For Bennett and Brooks, Blood Shine continues a creative partnership that has steadily gathered momentum. Their debut feature, Alone With You, earned a FANGORIA Chainsaw Award after premiering on the festival circuit, while Bennett has since expanded her profile as both a filmmaker and performer through her role in Chris Stuckmann’s Shelby Oaks. Brooks, meanwhile, has balanced independent features with documentary and television work, including projects for HBO Max, History, A&E, Vice and Vox.

The film has already travelled an extensive festival route, screening at events including FrightFest, Brooklyn Horror Film Festival and Sitges before being acquired for distribution by Dark Sky Films. That journey perhaps says as much about the project as the trailer itself. Festival audiences have already had an opportunity to discover it, while the upcoming release opens the door to a much wider audience.

Blood Shine opens in cinemas and arrives on VOD and digital platforms through Dark Sky Films on 21 August 2026.

Blood Shine trailer