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Cicada: I Was a Teenage Horror Movie!

In 1997, teens filmed a VHS horror epic. Nearly 30 years later, they edited it—as a comedy.

Soak in the gloriously glitchy splendor of this horror-comedy that is at once a bloody twist on vampire lore and an endearing portrait of filmmakers coming of "rage" as they struggle to make an ambitious home movie—playing multiple roles, spilling fake blood, and testing testicular limits with a homemade zip-line. The ultimate party B-movie, it's an endearing romp and oh so fun at a late-night sleepover with your weirdest friends.

Originally beloved at festivals in an earlier short-form, we are excited to announce that an all-new feature version of this film will see distribution in 2026, and we're planning a select festival run ahead of release.

  • Keil Orion Troisi
    Director
    Human Resources, Peace Pipeline, Total Disaster, Adidas Owns the Reality
  • Gabe DiDomenico
    Key Cast
  • Aaron Troisi
    Key Cast
  • Will DiDomenico
    Key Cast
  • Gabe DiDomenico
    Writer
  • Keil Orion Troisi
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Genres:
    Horror, Comedy
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 14 minutes 8 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    July 1, 2026
  • Production Budget:
    0 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    VHS
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • Creature Feature Weekend
    Gettysburg
    United States
  • Splat! International Fantastic Film Festival
    Warsaw
    Poland
    European
  • Terrible Fest
    Toronto
    Canada
  • Skate Or Die Film Festival
    Pottstown, Pennsylvania
    United States
Distribution Information
  • Blood Sick
    Distributor
    Country: United States
    Rights: Video on Demand, Video / Disc
Director Biography - Keil Orion Troisi

Keil's award-winning comedic films have been screened all around the world. Since 2008, he has been an independent story analyst and screenplay consultant on more than 1000 projects ranging from low-budget indies to Hollywood blockbusters. He is a core member of comedy-activism collective The Yes Men, producing, writing, and directing dozens of multimedia performances that amplify urgent social-issue campaigns. He won a NYFA Fellowship in Screenwriting, and his mystery-thriller "Aphids" won Best Overall, Best Drama, and Best Concept awards at Screenplay Summit in 2022.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Growing up, my friends and I made VHS horror movies every weekend. We didn't have any money, but we had a lot of imagination. Nearly 30 years later, I've edited that footage to make it on the one hand a version of a modern vampire/mad-scientist story, and on the other hand a meta-appreciation for its "so bad it's good" ethos.

With distance, I enjoy the manic absurdity and unguarded boldness of what we did, and even though I edited it to accentuate the bad B-movie qualities, I also feel it's very earnest and asks of audiences exactly what we did back then: to suspend disbelief, use your imagination as much as we are, and return to a kind of childish purity.

It is quite fun to watch with an audience. You can read some reviews from a small festival run of an earlier, short test-version here: https://letterboxd.com/film/cicada-i-was-a-teenage-horror-movie/reviews.