MOONCASTLE
FILMS
elevating the narrative
horror
CENTERING WOMEN AND UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS
IN STORY, CAST, AND CREW
mission
Mooncastle Films is committed to creating the next wave in genre film. Our projects have all the attributes of mainstream, blockbuster-worthy horror films that audiences crave, but with a fresh and unique approach.
We are tapping into a whole world of possibilities by elevating new perspectives in the industry.
values
We are committed to hiring talented women, people of color, and LGBTQIA+ into creative leadership roles to elevate unique, engaging voices in the industry.
Our latest film had 65% women and/or underrepresented groups behind the camera, above- and below-the-line. 50% of our production crew identified as women.
FILMS
ABIGAIL
Abigail starring Warner Bros. Lights Out star Ava Cantrell, Karimah Westbrook of CW's All American, and Gene Farber of Captain America, was directed by Melissa Vitello. COMING SOON.
Post Production
WILD CRY HA
Wild Cry Ha is a thriller/action on human trafficking. We are partnered with producers Allison Rose Carter and Jon Read, of Everything, Everywhere, All At Once. Their last 4 movies went to Sundance. Shakira Berrera from Netflix’s GLOW is attached as the lead, she was just cast as a series regular on Marvel's new series Iron Heart.
In Development
WEEKEND AWAY
Weekend Away is a horror/comedy co-written and directed by Brea Grant, who recently directed Blumhouse movie Torn Hearts. Brea Grant is a festival darling whose work has premiered at TIFF, Tribeca, and SXSW.
In Development
SUSPENSION
Suspension is our big, palm-sweating franchise film. Two other scripts in that world are being written and we are in development for VR gaming opportunities.
In Development
_edited.jpg)
HOUSESITTER
Intimate ghost story with a twist. When Nina signs up for a housesitting gig, she becomes embroiled in the bad blood between the inhabitants of the house. Both the living... and the dead.
In Development
women in horror
THe global film audience is 51% female, but the global horror audience is 60% female.
who we are
award-winning female producers
melissa vitello
Melissa Vitello is an award-winning producer and director who has over 15 years of experience in the film industry. She has produced 8 feature films, with distribution on Amazon Prime, Vudu, and Tubi.
Melissa produced and directed her most recent horror film Abigail, starring Warner Bros. Lights Out star Ava Cantrell, Karimah Westbrook of CW's All American, and Gene Farber of Captain America.
In recent years, Melissa served as Head of Production for Dream Reach Media, a short-form content studio. During her time there, the studio was mentored by producer Larry Kasanoff (Terminator 2, Platoon, and Mortal Kombat). Melissa managed and strategized the organization, production, and policies of the company, onboarded a robust team, and designed the program for developing actors' portfolio reels. Her efforts raised revenue by over 600% and brought the company to the point of producing a feature film’s worth of content each month.
stacy
snyder
Stacy Snyder is an award-winning actress and producer known for Heartless, Feeding Time, and The Sound of Settling. Her work has been picked up for worldwide distribution after being showcased in over 75 horror film festivals, with 47 award nominations and 20 wins. Feeding Time has 1.2M views on the Screamfest streaming platform.
My Left Arm, produced by Stacy, premiered at Dances with Films 2022 and was recently nominated for Best Horror at Pasadena International Film Festival.
Pioneering high-quality film productions, Stacy expertly navigates the balance between creative and stakeholder needs. Stacy is a Chapman University alum with extensive experience in scaling multi-million dollar start-ups. The marriage of her film know-how with her business, finance, and operations experience makes Stacy an exceptionally adept producer.
Stacy is the producer for the BRIC Foundation Annual Entertainment Industry Summit, working closely alongside top professionals at Netflix, Sony, Warner Bros. Discovery, and more to create equitable pathways for women and underrepresented groups.
horror box office performance
Horror films made $2B in wW gross yearly from 2017-2019.
Despite the pandemic, horror films still made $400 M in ww gross.
