Ireland has been knocking it out of the park with horror films in the last few years, with Ciaran Foy’s Citadel, Ivan Kavanagh’s The Canal, Brian O’Malley’ Let Us Prey, Corin Hardy’s The Hallow, and Liam Gavin’s A Dark Song among those scaring the bejaysus out of Irish and international audiences. One of 2017’s big-hitters is set to be David Freyne’s feature directorial debut The Third Wave.
The Third Wave, which is written by Freyne, is set following the outbreak of an aggressive virus and sees a young woman wake in a hospital bed. As the horrifying events that led to her being there are revealed, it becomes clear that the cure is just the beginning. Society has divided into those who were once infected and committed terrible violent acts, and those who never contracted the virus. In the backdrop, the rise of a terrorist movement, fuelled by the deep divisions, threatens to plunge the region into chaos again.
Hollywood star Ellen Page stars in the lead role, alongside Sam Keeley (The Other Side of Sleep, Monsters: Dark Continent), Tom Vaughan-Lawlor (Love/Hate, The Secret Scripture), Paula Malcolmson (Ray Donovan, The Hunger Games), and Amy De Bhrún (Gridlock, Jason Bourne).
Tom Vaughan-Lawlor in The Third Wave © Tilted PicturesRachael O’Kane and Rory Dungan produce for Dublin-based Tilted Pictures, with Page producing also. The film is co-produced by Mark Huffam and Aidan Elliot for the UK-based Bounder & Cad, and French-based Bac Films. Financing for the film comes from the Irish Film Board (IFB), Northern Ireland Screen, and Bac Films. Principal photography took place with DoP Piers McGrail in Dublin and Wicklow last November and December. The film is currently in post-production with editor Chris Gill, but scenes will be screened at the European Film Market in Berlin next week.
The film is based on Freyne’s proof-of-concept short The First Wave. Watch that now, and prepare yourself!
Title image via ScreenDaily