Biters & Bleeders
A film by CHARLIE CARSON MONROE
Itās time for Penelope to purge herselfā¦..
Beneath the thin veneer of their marriage lies a rotting core of regret, frustration, and contempt. Tad and Penelope have fallen on hard times. When Tadās mother unexpectedly dies and Tad comes into possession of his stately family home, he believes it will be the key to solving everything. But what awaits them in that house is not salvation. What awaits them is the final push that will finally send them toppling over that razor-thin edge into the unknown. An infestation of monstrous bed bugs eat through the home and Penelopeās psyche. She becomes increasingly desperate for any escape from the countless new bites, the constant feeling of something crawling across her skin, the punishing summer heat, her husband. Itās time for Penelope to purge herself.
A Short Southern Gothic Horror
Beneath the thin veneer of their marriage lies a rotting core of regret, frustration, and contempt. Tad and Penelope have fallen on hard times. When Tadās mother unexpectedly dies and Tad comes into possession of his stately family home, he believes it will be the key to solving everything. But what awaits them in that house is not salvation. What awaits them is the final push that will finally send them toppling over that razor-thin edge into the unknown. An infestation of monstrous bed bugs eat through the home and Penelopeās psyche. She becomes increasingly desperate for any escape from the countless new bites, the constant feeling of something crawling across her skin, the punishing summer heat, her husband. Itās time for Penelope to purge herself.
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STATUS: Currently in festival submission |
WRITTEN BY: Charlie Carson Monroe |
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FESTIVAL CUT RUNTIME: 22 minutes |
STARRING: Raven Angeline Whisnant, Christopher Malcolm,
Joyce Woods |
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DIRECTORIAL CUT RUNTIME: 36 minutes |
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About the Writer
Charlie Monroe
Charlie Monroe (they/she) is a writer, actor, podcaster, and improviser who has worked a variety of odd jobs across the Southeast. Professional appearances include the series finale of CBSās MacGyver (2021), as well as stage performances in the 2018 Atlanta Fringe Festival. As an improviser, she has performed several improv comedy shows with Amanda Roundtree and Friends. In 2021, Charlie moved back to her hometown of Chapel Hill to work with her father and longtime friends and collaborators Peter Zale and Raven Whisnant to launch New 32. Alongside her childhood friend Ari Noble, Charlie is currently running a podcast called Yes, Androgynyāwhich uses improv comedy as a way to talk about the experience of coming out as transgender. Charlie is currently studying literature and creative writing in college. Their ultimate goal is to combine their passion for academic analysis and media criticism with their love of performance to create online projects (both creative and commentative) that feed their obsession with storytelling. A longtime fan of horror, Charlie is very excited to be working on several horror screenplays for New 32, including the upcoming short film Biters & Bleeders.
The Directorial Duo
Charlie & raven
Charlie and Raven have been collaborating on plays, films, scripts, and all manor of art projects since they were little kids at summer camp: who pinky-promised to grow up and make movies together. Combining Charlieās incredible talent for creating emotionally engaging storytelling (both on the page and in the performances), and Ravens abilities to translate narrative vision into captivating visuals, Biters is their greatest collaboration yet.
About the Writer
Charlie Monroe
Charlie Monroe (they/she) is a writer, actor, podcaster, and improviser who has worked a variety of odd jobs across the Southeast. Professional appearances include the series finale of CBSās MacGyver (2021), as well as stage performances in the 2018 Atlanta Fringe Festival. As an improviser, she has performed several improv comedy shows with Amanda Roundtree and Friends. In 2021, Charlie moved back to her hometown of Chapel Hill to work with her father and longtime friends and collaborators Peter Zale and Raven Whisnant to launch New 32. Alongside her childhood friend Ari Noble, Charlie is currently running a podcast called Yes, Androgynyāwhich uses improv comedy as a way to talk about the experience of coming out as transgender. Charlie is currently studying literature and creative writing in college. Their ultimate goal is to combine their passion for academic analysis and media criticism with their love of performance to create online projects (both creative and commentative) that feed their obsession with storytelling. A longtime fan of horror, Charlie is very excited to be working on several horror screenplays for New 32, including the upcoming short film Biters & Bleeders.
The Directorial Duo
Charlie & raven
Charlie and Raven have been collaborating on plays, films, scripts, and all manor of art projects since they were little kids at summer camp: who pinky-promised to grow up and make movies together. Combining Charlieās incredible talent for creating emotionally engaging storytelling (both on the page and in the performances), and Ravens abilities to translate narrative vision into captivating visuals, Biters is their greatest collaboration yet.
The Future
Is horror better in small bites?
The hopes for Biters and Bleeders is to expand it into a full feature film. When we began this process, truth be told, we didnāt have much interest in exploring the story beyond what we had already developed-but, as the script took shape, the crew became family, the performances came to life, we sat in the editing bay and new one thing for sure: we werenāt done yet. The production team at New 32 has all agreed that we have something too special here to let it go without fulfilling its full potential.Ā
We are currently fundraising to make this feature film a reality. Click here to learn more about the campaign and how you can help be a part of this process!
VFX
One of the most thrilling parts of this project has been the opportunity to attempt special effects on this level. Havenāt seen it yet? Weāre talking about giant monstrous bed bugs, biting, scuttling, andā¦ wellā¦ even more gross things that we wonāt dare to mention on this page. We were incredibly lucky and excited to have CoSa VFX team collaborate on this project and breathe life into our not-so-little monsters. One of the most magical parts of film is always the process of seeing an image in your mind and bringing it to life, so the process of imagining a completely fictional creature and seeing it come to life was exceptionally cool. The work CoSa did was astounding, and we are honored to share it with you all. (We do apologize if they keep you up at night!)
The Crew
We have worked with a lot of crews, on a lot of special projects, but everyone at our company agrees (and frequently talks about) the Biters team as being exceptional. We always believe a supportive community is essential when creating, but particularly, if this was the story Monroe was going to tell? She needed to be surrounded by friends. The Biters and Bleeders crew has been the loveliest group of people we have worked with in over a decade of filmmaking. The fun, support, and excitement they brought to set made it possible to tell this story. Their attention to detail and their commitment to making the film look as gorgeous as it does is something I will always be grateful for. Frankly, a large part of our desire to expand this project into a feature simply stems from our desire to get this team back together.
Blood
If youāre an indie horror lover, we know your bar is high when it comes to blood and guts, and we wonāt disappoint. All Iāll say is: not only were we cleaning blood off the walls, at one point, we were cleaning blood off the ceiling. The incredibly talented Sally (special effects makeup) made this the bloodiest set weāve ever run, with Thomas (Minor VFX editor) has somehow added even more in post. Thereās animated blood, thereās fake blood, and who is to say thereās not even a little bit of real blood in there? We didnāt call it Biters and BLEEDERS for nothing. So if youāre an indie horror fan, and youāre looking to bring your blood and gore experience to the next level, weāve got you coveredā¦ so to speak.
Behind the Scenes
While we always aim to create behind the scenes content that is entertaining, and sincere, we also believe its important to create candidly because there is value in the journey (the good, the bad, and sometimes even the slightly embarrassing.) We believe that education is the catalyst for growth, and by opening the curtains on our creative journey, we aspire to impart invaluable insights to aspiring filmmakers and experienced creators alike. We are driven to dismantle the illusion that a colossal crew is the sole gateway to cinematic excellence. In sharing our journey honestly we aim to forge a community where creation knows no bounds and the art of filmmaking becomes a world of possibility.