This short horror film was colour graded by Angela Cerasi of Peachy Keen Colour. The Hitchhiker was originally developed as a proof of concept short for a feature film. It was the fifth project selected for Angela’s 2018 free grading initiative to support emerging female directors. The application won Angela over on “an all-girl vampire road trip comedy (think Buffy meets Bridesmaids)”. Writer/ Director Adele Vuko, Producer Johanna Somerville and DOP Dan Freene all attended the grade at ZIGZAG Post in Sydney. Adele Vuko is an Australian actress, writer, director and producer. She is one third of the comedy trio Skit Box, who have achieved over 100 million hits online for viral videos.
The Hitchhiker is a dark comedy that sees three women driving through the night to a music festival. One of them, Jade, played by Liv Hewson, pre-Yellowjackets fame, is hiding a secret – a terminal diagnosis. Among a series of questionable decisions on the road trip, the women decide to pick up a hitchhiker (played by the excellent Claudia Pickering) and soon discover she’s even stranger then she seems. Jade must decide: is it is worth risking all their lives to save her own? The Hitchhiker is ultimately a story about making the choice between fighting or running away from your problems. The result is a bonkers, fun story with quick-witted dialogue and a tinge of the supernatural.
Angela loved grading the beautifully shot images from DOP Dan Freene, including the pops of neon red amongst the shadows and lurid glow-sticks.
The film was well received at the Saskatoon Fantastic Film Festival in 2019 and at Flickerfest in 2020.
To see another short horror film colour graded by Angela Cerasi, check out the trailer for Over the Edge, directed by Enzo Tedeschi.
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