February 11, 2025

MANIA Picking Up Steam – and Some Familiar Faces

Last month, we announced Jessica Cameron and  Jonathan Scott Higgins’s newest project where they’re teaming up for a triple feature horror extravaganza.  And we’re back today with more news on the MANIA front.

MANIA poster Risk - Church

MEM FERDA, TRISTAN RISK, & ELLIE CHURCH JOIN MANIA

Jessica Cameron’s Cross-Country Horror Project Adds Some Familiar Faces

Jessica Cameron and Jonathan Scott Higgins have re-teamed with their Truth or Dare producer Mem Ferda on their next 3 films. Ferda will serve as the sole producer on all three movies. They have cast actress Tristan Risk of the Soska Sister’s American Mary in the feature film MANIA. Actress Ellie Church of the grindhouse film, Time to Kill has also joined the production. Risk will play the role of Brooke and Church will play the role of Mel.

MANIA is one of three features in Jessica Cameron’s triple feature cross-country extravaganza. In it, Risk will play the crazed lesbian lover of Church’s character Mel. It will mark her 2nd feature as a director from a script Higgins wrote. Desolation will be the 2nd feature film and directed by Ryan M. Andrews from a script he wrote. Risk has also signed on to star as the villain in Andrews’ movie. A feature length documentary titled Kill the Production Assitant, will chronicle the making of this very ambitious project.

On Truth or Dare, Cameron and Higgins were met with difficulties trying to secure a director who could handle the gory script until Cameron finally decided to pull up her sleeves and do it herself. They, along with Ferda, met a new challenge with casting the female leads in MANIA.

Principal photography begins on November 3rd and they will be filming all three films while traveling cross-country in an RV! The filmmakers had a campaign on their website where fans helped decide which states to film in. The top states with the most pre-orders came down to California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Ohio, and Alabama.  The map can be seen on the website here: www.killtheproductionassistant.com.

Here is what producer Mem Ferda had to say about the project:

“Storming on with many new exciting projects I will be producing. With Jessica Cameron and Jonathan Higgins as Executive Producers we are set to be a force to be reckoned with, aiming to deliver exactly what modern horror audiences crave.”

Tristan Risk has this to say about MANIA:

“As someone who self-identifies as queer, I’m also happy to have a story where the two protagonists are two women in love, and the struggles they try to overcome together. It’s a beautiful and dark story.”

You can find out more about each individual project below:

ManiaMANIA

Directed by: Jessica Cameron

Written by: Jonathan Scott Higgins

Starring: Heather Dorff

Tagline: A f@cked up lesbian love story

Synopsis: Two lesbian lovers are forced to flee cross-country after a brutal murder changes their lives forever.

Social Media:

DesolationDesolation

Directed by: Ryan M. Andrews

Written by: Ryan M. Andrews

Starring: Jessica Cameron & Heather Dorff
Tagline: She’s been waiting for you
Synopsis: Along the back roads of America, a hitchhiker is waiting.Gorgeous, mysterious and full of sadistic rage, what chances do an unsuspecting couple have against her?
Social Media:

Kill The Production AssistantKill the Production Assistant

Directed by: Aaron Lane
Synopsis: A feature-length making-of documentary, chronicling the travels and filming of MANIA and Desolation. This is a chance for audiences to see a grassroots approach to independent filmmaking.
Social Media:

Check out all of these great films as they make their way across the country, follow them on Twitter, “like” them on Facebook and tell em ScareTissue sent you!

Chewie

I've been a fan of horror and slasher movies for as long as I can remember. I consider the original Halloween to be the best horror movie of all time and my guilty pleasure horror flick would be The Exorcist III. You can find me on X at @406Northlane or TikTok @406Northlane where I'm sure I'll offend you at least once a day.

View all posts by Chewie →
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