Current:Home > FinanceWhy is 'Brightwood' going viral now? Here's what's behind the horror sensation -Capitatum
Why is 'Brightwood' going viral now? Here's what's behind the horror sensation
SignalHub Quantitative Think Tank Center View
Date:2025-04-07 02:13:27
It's blowing up! It's going viral! Noooooooooo! Popularity, in the age of social media, can sound like a horror movie. Though possibly a cruder one than "Brightwood," a COVID-era, Jersey-set indie thriller that has suddenly − and thrillingly − gained traction on TikTok and Instagram. "What's happened is a kind of dream-come-true scenario for a filmmaker," says director-writer Dane Elcar, 40, who shot his $14,000 movie during one month in the 2021 pandemic, released it to the festival circuit in 2022 and 2023, and is only now seeing it inexplicably take off online. "Somebody on TikTok, some random person, started sharing 90-second clips of the film, and they all started taking off," Elcar says. That was on July 11. A few of the posts now have more than a million views. Join our Watch Party!Sign up to receive USA TODAY's movie and TV recommendations right in your inbox Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle. "My distributor (Cinephobia Releasing) sent me an email saying, whatever you're doing, keep doing it, because the numbers are going up," he says. So Elcar took the same clips and re-shared them on Instagram − and they went viral all over again. "People are talking about the movie again," he says. "What you clearly want, as a storyteller, is you want your story to resonate with people. I'm just very excited to see all of that happen." What is it about "Brightwood," shot largely in Rockaway, Morris County, N.J., that seems to have touched a nerve? Possibly, it's the cleverness of the premise − clever both as an idea, and as a money-saving maneuver. "Brightwood" is a two-person film. The two people are a young husband (Max Woertendyke, also the producer) and wife (Dana Berger, of "Orange Is the New Black") who go for an ordinary jog around an ordinary pond. Only − as Rod Serling would say − they're jogging straight into the Twilight Zone. "As they run around, they find themselves trapped in a loop," Elcar says. "They literally can't find their way out of the trail. So what this does, as the movie unfolds and it becomes crazier, it forces these characters who are already in a kind of bad place, a rut, in their relationship, to deal with each other." And that, Elcar says, may be why viewers connect to this film. The stuck-in-a-loop fantasy is actually a metaphor about relationships. The kind we all have, sooner or later. "We all know what that feels like," he says. "If you've been in a long relationship, that's not a very healthy one, you simply feel like you're stuck doing the same things over and over. Much as those 'Twilight Zone' episodes are sometimes these simple stories that are open to a grand metaphor, I thought there was potential for something like that here. It becomes a metaphor for the cycles in a relationship." There's more to the film than that − but we won't spoil it except to say that there may be other people on that jogging path. For the record, Elcar is in a very happy relationship with his own wife, Karen. They have a 7-year-old daughter, Ibelia, and have been together for almost 18 years. His wife, he says, loves the film. "She thinks it's funny," he says. "If you've been with someone a long time, a lot of things happen, and you go through a lot of ups and downs," Elcar says "One of the things you can do as a writer, you can take that all up to 11. You can ratchet it up. Whatever you're feeling, you can cathartically get it out on the page." The film had a nice jog around the indie circuit in 2023, including the Big Apple Film Festival, the Salem Horror Fest in Massachusetts, the Another Hole in the Head Festival in San Francisco, and the Other Worlds Film Festival in Austin, where it had its U.S. premiere. But the internet has given "Brightwood" a second wind. And Elcar is certain it's the idea behind the idea that has made audiences run with it. "It's almost borderline absurd," he says. "A couple getting stuck in a loop. Well, maybe there's more to it. Maybe that's why, even with that small budget, it's found such a large audience." See it free with ads on Tubi. Or rent it ad-free on Amazon.The popularity of 'Brightwood' explained
See the trailer for surprise horror hit 'Brightwood'
How to watch the movie 'Brightwood' on streaming
veryGood! (343)
Related
- 'As foretold in the prophecy': Elon Musk and internet react as Tesla stock hits $420 all
- Apple iPhone users, time to update your iOS software again. This time to fix unspecified bugs
- No. 1 picks Victor Wembanyama and Connor Bedard meet: The long and short of it
- Black barbershops are creating a buzz − over books. So young readers can just 'be boys.'
- USA men's volleyball mourns chance at gold after losing 5-set thriller, will go for bronze
- ICHCOIN Trading Center: Bitcoin's Boundless Potential in Specific Sectors
- 3 Washington state police officers found not guilty in 2020 death of Black man who said 'I can't breathe'
- TikToker Madeleine White Engaged to DJ Andrew Fedyk
- Hidden Home Gems From Kohl's That Will Give Your Space a Stylish Refresh for Less
- AP Week in Pictures: Asia
Ranking
- Police remove gator from pool in North Carolina town: Watch video of 'arrest'
- Oregon State, Washington State agree to revenue distribution deal with departing Pac-12 schools
- Albania’s parliament lifts the legal immunity of former prime minister Sali Berisha
- US land managers plan to round up thousands of wild horses across Nevada
- A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
- Democrats in Congress call for action on flaws in terrorist watchlist
- AP Week in Pictures: Global | Dec.15-Dec.21, 2023
- Want to try Donna Kelce's cookies? You can at the Chiefs' and Eagles' games on Christmas
Recommendation
Retirement planning: 3 crucial moves everyone should make before 2025
The Dutch government has taken another step toward donating 18 F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine
Vin Diesel accused of sexual battery by former assistant in civil lawsuit
More Brazilians declared themselves as being biracial, country’s statistics agency says
The 'Rebel Ridge' trailer is here: Get an exclusive first look at Netflix movie
Biden is pardoning thousands convicted of marijuana charges on federal lands and in Washington
AP Week in Pictures: Europe and Africa
2 boys were killed and 4 other people were injured after a car fleeing police crashed in Wisconsin