Dacre Montgomery and Vicky Krieps in Went Up the Hill. Photo by Kirsty Griffin.

Vendetta Films has today released the official trailer for Samuel Van Grinsven’s modern ghost story Went Up the Hill, ahead of its cinema release on September 11.

Directed by Samuel Van Grinsven (award-winning Sequin in a Blue Room), Went Up the Hill stars Vicky Krieps (Phantom Thread, Corsage) Australian Dacre Montgomery (Stranger Things, Elvis) and Sarah Peirse (Heavenly Creatures, Sweet Tooth). The critically acclaimed film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last year to rave reviews and had sold out screenings at this year’s Sydney Film Festival. It will also screen at this year’s Melbourne International Film Festival.

Abandoned as a child, Jack travels to remote New Zealand to attend the funeral of his estranged mother Elizabeth. There he meets her widow, Jill, who has questions of her own. Over the nights that follow, Elizabeth returns and possesses Jack and Jill, using each of their bodies to speak to the other. Jill faces Elizabeth’s suicide, while Jack confronts his abandonment. As they learn she is trapped in limbo, Jack begins to doubt Elizabeth’s reason for returning. Caught in a life-threatening nocturnal dance, Jack and Jill must find a way to let go of Elizabeth’s hold before she pushes them to the edge.

Went Up the Hill was developed by Sydney-based Van Grinsven with his long-time writing partner Australian Jory Anast under the Causeway Films banner, with principal production investment from the New Zealand Film Commission and Screen Australia.

Filmed on location in New Zealand’s South Island, Went Up the Hill was shot at Flockhill Lodge in Lake Pearson and is deeply influenced by the landscape’s emotional and physical isolation.

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“Went Up the Hill is an intimate ghost story that dances in the tension between genres to explore the extremities of grief in our pursuit of letting go,” says Samuel Van Grinsven. “It was inspired by nostalgic memories of my childhood in New Zealand’s remote South Island.”

“The film has the very unique idea of a ghost story between three characters, played by only two actors, Krieps and Montgomery. Van Grinsven commented, “both actors are quite fearless in the way they approach character and in what they choose to make as artists.”

Went Up the Hill was written by Samuel Van Grinsven and Jory Anast and produced by Vicky Pope (Pike River, Savage), and legendary Australian elevated genre producers Samantha Jennings and Kristina Ceyton (The Babadook, Talk To Me, Bring Her Back).

This New Zealand and Australian Co-production saw some of the best creative heads from each country come together, including Australian heads of department Director of Photography Tyson Perkins (Mystery Road: Origin, Sunny Nights), Production Designer Sherree Philips (Babyteeth, Dope Girls), Emmy Award nominated Editor Dany Cooper ASE (The Legend of Molly Johnson, Breath) and Academy Award winning Sound Designer Robert Mackenzie (Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Hacksaw Ridge), alongside New Zealand screen production veterans; Costume Designer Kirsty Cameron (The Power of the Dog, Whale Rider, Pike River), Hair & Makeup Designer Stefan Knight (Sweet Tooth, Heart Eyes, M3GAN), Art Director Ben Milsom (Avatar: The Way of Water, King Kong) and composer Hanan Townshend (Knight of Cups).

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