Summit

Five college friends hit the road for a ski trip. When they end up at the wrong location and can't backtrack because of the intense cold and secluded surroundings, they decide to take shelter in an abandoned house overnight. When they wake in the morning, things are not quite what they seemed and it's too late to turn back.

  • Christina Raia
    Director
    Kelsey, the webseries (Indiewire's Critic's Pick)
  • Christina Raia
    Writer
  • Christina Raia
    Producer
  • Lauren A. Kennedy
    Key Cast
    1971 (2014 Tribeca Premiere, PBS & limited theatrical release), Kelsey, the webseries (Indiewire's Critic's Pick)
  • Emma Barrett
    Key Cast
  • Rob Ceriello
    Key Cast
  • Ricardo Manigat
    Key Cast
  • Ryan Kramer
    Key Cast
  • John L Murphy
    Cinematographer
    Dangerous Grounds (DP for Travel Channel series)
  • Matthew Gershowitz
    Editor
  • Charlotte E Simpson
    Gaffer
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Genres:
    Horror, Drama, Comedy
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 19 minutes 5 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    November 1, 2014
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    HD - Canon C300
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • 2015 Manhattan Film Festival

    World Premiere
    Best Horror Film
  • 2015 Rhode Island International Film Festival (Vortex Genre Film Fest)

    Rhode Island Premiere
    Best Director
  • 2015 Scare-A-Con (Film Festival)
  • 2015 Unreal Film Festival

    Tennessee Premiere
  • 2016 Macabre Faire Film Festival

    Winner Best Sound, Nominated Best Feature, Best Director, Best Lead Actor
Director Biography - Christina Raia

A New York City based Writer/Director and the Founder of CongestedCat Productions, LLC. She wrapped production on her first feature film, SUMMIT, a Horror-Drama, in February of 2013, and it premiered at the 2015 Manhattan Film Festival and took home the award for Best Horror Film. Shortly after wrapping SUMMIT, she directed and produced the comedic web series Kelsey, which premiered on blip.tv in September 2013 to rave reviews and consistent press coverage, including as a Critic’s Pick and named one of the 19 Best Comedy Web Series of 2013 by Indiewire.com. It has over a quarter million hits online.

Christina's work often has a focus on character exploration. She has an affinity for ensemble pieces and quick-witted dialogue. Her other credits as Writer, Director include multiple independently produced narrative short films that have made official selection at film festivals across the country. Her latest short "We Had Plans" premiered at the 2015 NYC PictureStart Film Festival.

In addition to Indiewire, her work and approach as a filmmaker have been covered in mainstream and film media, including the Examiner, AfterEllen and BuzzFeed. She also turned her desire to foster collaboration and engagement in the local film community into IndieWorks, a monthly film screening series showcasing and supporting the work of other independent filmmakers in New York. http://christinaraia.com/

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Director Statement

Growing up as a huge horror film fan, I wanted to set my stamp on the genre. Slashers of the 70s, notably work by John Carpenter, initially caught my attention, but Suspense from the likes of Hitchcock and the writers/directors behind the best of The Twilight Zone won my heart and turned my visceral interest into a creative aspiration. The Twilight Zone’s influence is undeniably evident on SUMMIT, in that you can see it as my attempt at a “bottle episode” in the form of a feature slasher film. It is also heavily influenced by the setting and themes conveyed in Carpenter’s The Thing; while its cinematography of the first half, particularly the use of Wide shots and Foreground versus Background, is influenced by his Halloween.

When conceiving the idea behind SUMMIT, it merely started with a friend suggesting I make a horror film because I love the classics so much and often complain about contemporary attempts. I had felt that the genre had been stale for a long time: nothing but unnecessary gore and regurgitated formulas and character tropes. I wanted to play with that formula, comment on it and particularly the character tropes within it, and bring something new to it at the same time. When the same friend suggested the idea of a killer that lures his or her victims to a house by way of a hacked GPS, I was inspired to use that set-up, but ultimately veer away from the gimmick into more of a character study. With my truly indie spirit, unique perspective, and affinity for characters, dialogue and subtext, I felt that I could bring not only a fresh style that plays with tension and slow-pacing, but also an emotional depth that could reach viewers beyond the confines of the genre.