‘Echo Valley’ By Michael Pearce.
In March 2023, Variety reported that, Apple Original Films have set up a new American thriller titled “Echo Valley”. From an original script that was written by “Mare of Easttown” creator Brad Ingelsby. BAFTA Award winner Michael Pearce will direct the film. Sydney Sweeney and Julian Moore will star in the lead. Ridley Scott’s Scott Free Films and The Walsh Company will produce the pic.
Apple have splashed out on the star cast. along with Julian Moore (May December) and Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria, Reality), In April 2023, Domhnall Gleeson (Star Wars, Ex Machina) was added to the cast. Then, in May 2024, Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks), Fiona Shaw (Harry Potter) and Edmund Donovan (Civil War) were announced to have joined the cast. later, Rebecca Creskoff, Audrey Grace Marshall and Stella Chives were added to round up the cast.
Synopsis: The pic will star Moore as ‘Kate Garrett’, who is reeling from a personal tragedy and spends her days boarding and training horses at Echo Valley Farm, twenty-two secluded, picturesque acres in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Late one night, her wayward daughter, ‘Claire’ (Sweeney), arrives at her doorstep, frightened, trembling and covered in someone else’s blood. From that simple premise, “Echo Valley” becomes a heart-pounding thriller about just how far a mother will go to save her child.
Ingelsby (Mare of Easttown, The Way Back) and Michael Pruss developed the script together. Director Michael Pearce is best known for his 2017 mystery drama “Beast” starring Jessie Buckley.
Deadline revealed some more details about the characters; Domhnall Gleeson is playing the role of a local criminal who forces himself into Kate’s life, disrupting her quiet existence with secrets about her family.
MacLachlan plays Kate’s ex-husband, Richard Garrett, a successful attorney from an old-money Main Line family. He has a new family and regards his drug-addicted daughter Claire as a self-destructive money pit.
Fiona Shaw portrays Jessie Oliver, a tough-as-nails horse trainer and Kate’s lifelong friend who is steadfast source of emotional support.
Donovan is Ryan, a hapless young addict with no impulse control and no moral compass. He and Claire become involved in a network of lies that quickly ensnares Claire’s financially-strapped mother.
Principal photography commenced in New Jersey in May 2023, under the title “Wildvale”, and filming concluded in late June. Locations include Hunterdon County and Morris County.
The cinematographer is Benjamin Kracun, who has worked with Peace on “Beast”. he was also DP on “The Substance”. the well acclaimed body-horror which was released this month.
