Electroshock therapy for your sins? We made a movie about religious lunatics, and we can’t wait to show it to you.

In GOD COUNTRY, a financially tapped-out and mentally worn-down Ben Marsh travels with his partner, Sam, to the town of White Hope to sort out an inheritance left by his mother. What should be a quick, awkward family errand turns into something else entirely thanks to a local televangelist and his flock — known as the Church of the 2nd Jerusalem — who have been waiting for Ben like he’s the second coming. The film is bloody, scrappy, and very much the type of movie held together by adoration for the genre. We set out to make something small and direct that still feels real, even when things get pushed a bit over the edge.

“We set out to make something small and direct that still feels real, even when things get pushed a bit over the edge.”

I’ve spent years going to horror festivals and covering the work of other filmmakers, so sharing a film that actually comes from inside the Modern Horrors family is a strange shift — in a good way. GOD COUNTRY took us years to shoot, re-shoot, edit, and then convince ourselves that we were actually done. Getting to finally sit with audiences at places like the 2025 HorrorHound premiere in Cincinnati, the Ethereal Horror Film Festival in Austin, or most recently at the New York Horror Film Festival — and hearing people genuinely respond to it — has already been an unbelievable experience for all of us.

While we wish we had a wider release announcement to share, that will have to wait a while longer. That said, we’ll have more festival dates to announce early next year for those that are able to attend. Until then, you can check out the new trailer, below.

GOD COUNTRY stars James David West, J.K. Robbins, Bob Daniel, Dale J. Gordon, and longtime professional wrestler James Storm. The film was produced by myself, written by Matthew Thomas Laughter, and co-directed by Matthew Thomas Laughter and Jake Parker.

Plot Synopsis

Returning to his hometown to claim an inheritance from his estranged mother, Ben Marsh and his partner, Sam, find themselves entangled in the mad prophecies of the town’s Charismatic leader, Pastor Deenan.

The post ‘GOD COUNTRY’ celebrates first festival screenings with a sweaty new trailer appeared first on Modern Horrors.

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