Private Project

Carry the Darkness

A troubled metalhead teen is blamed for the atrocities of a malevolent entity as the ‘Satanic Panic’ sweeps through small-town America in the early 90s.

  • Douglas Forrester
    Director
  • Douglas Forrester
    Writer
  • Douglas Forrester
    Producer
  • James Sharpe
    Producer
  • Shanaz Sanjana
    Producer
  • Joel Meyers
    Key Cast
    "Travis Baldwin"
    Harry Potter & The Cursed Child
  • Helen Laser
    Key Cast
    "Stacey Wagner"
  • Jaden Gant
    Key Cast
    "Jordan Conrad"
  • Hollis Fox
    Key Cast
    "Det. Jillian Carter"
  • David James Schultz
    Cinematographer
    The Girl In The Straw Hat
  • Travis Bacon
    Composer
    Space Oddity
  • Brenna Morlock
    Editor
  • Douglas Forrester
    Editor
  • Genres:
    Supernatural Thriller, Coming-of-age
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 36 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    March 1, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    65,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    RED
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.78:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • Nevermore Film Festival
    Durham, NC
    United States
    March 1, 2025
    World Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Panic Film Festival
    Kansas City, MO
    United States
    April 2, 2025
    Official Selection
  • Peekskill Film Festival
    Peekskill, NY
    United States
    June 28, 2025
    New York
    Official Selection
  • SModcastle Film Festival
    Atlantic Highlands, NJ
    United States
    August 9, 2025
    Official Selection
  • Popcorn Frights Film Festival
    Miami, Florida
    United States
    August 14, 2025
    Official Selection
  • SOHO International Film Festival
    New York, NY
    United States
    October 9, 2025
    NYC
    Official Selection
  • Maryland Film Festival
    Baltimore, MD
    United States
    October 23, 2025
    Maryland
    Official Selection
  • Queens World Film Festival
    Queens, NY
    United States
    November 6, 2025
    Official Selection
Distribution Information
  • The Horror Collective
    Distributor
    Country: Worldwide
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Douglas Forrester

A Brooklyn-based filmmaker/film geek from Maryland holding an MFA in Digital Filmmaking from Stony Brook Southampton + Killer Films. His feature-length debut is CARRY THE DARKNESS, a coming-of-age supernatural thriller set in 1993 centered around the satanic panic. For Doug, filmmaking is inherently an exercise in empathy; seeking not just to express himself but to engage with the experiences of others. After all, that's the true magic of movies. If the modern world is where nuance goes to die and cynicism reigns, then film is the most important and universal artistic medium for fighting back.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

How do young people reckon with the labels placed upon them by a society fraught with dogmatic echo chambers? CARRY THE DARKNESS is a coming-of-age supernatural thriller that is as much inspired by the fiction of the 1990s (The X-Files, Twin Peaks, The Fugitive) as it is the nonfiction (Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills).