Last year she took on a different role for Lifetime writing the script for Oscar Pistorius: Blade Runner Killer. The movie looks at the relationship between former Paralympic Champion Oscar Pistorius and model Reeva Steenkamp leading up to the fateful events on Valentine's Day night 2013 when Reeva was tragically shot to death in Pistorius's home.
The movie also examines the trial that gripped South Africa and the world. Oscar was convicted of culpable homicide (manslaughter). Later following an appeal he was retried and convicted of murder an initial six year sentence was increased to 15 years by the South African Supreme Court. Amber did an amazing job of drawing together trial transcripts, interviews, witness accounts etc in creating a script for the movie.
Amber will be using her considerable writing and research talents to pen the script for Terror in the Woods the second feature she has written for the Lifetime Network.
Inspired by true events Terror in the Woods tells the story of Rachel (Ella West Jerrier) and Kaitlyn (SophieGrace McCarthy) 12-year-old best friends living in a small town in Georgia, USA. They both love ghost stories one in particular caught their imagination, the legend of Suzerain a forest dwelling Demon. Their parents believe this is just harmless fun unaware that the friends are convinced the demon is not only real but will killer their families unless he receives a blood sacrifice. Rachel and Kaitlyn make the horrifying decision to sacrifice their friend Emily (Skylar Morgan Jones) thankfully however she survives the attack. The police launch an investigation into how and why this could have happened. Questions are asked about the mental health of Rachel and Kaitlyn while others wonder if the internet itself is to blame.
Terror in the Woods is set for its World Premiere on 14th of October 2018 on Lifetime in the USA at 8 PM (7 PM central). For more information fans living inside the USA can click the link below to the official Lifetime website.
https://www.mylifetime.com/movies/terror-in-the-woods/about
I have tried to access this page myself and I keep being automatically redirected to Lifetime's UK website which at the moment has no information on the movie itself. I have to thank my friend and fellow Amber fan Katie for helping me gather information about the movie. Below you'll find an image from Lifetime’s USA website.
“Terror in the Woods— Inspired by true events, Rachel (Ella West Jerrier) and Kaitlyn (SophieGrace McCarthy) are two quiet, shy 12-year-old best friends in small town Georgia. Like many 12 year-olds, they liked having sleepovers and spent much of their time on the internet often looking up scary stories. Their favorite internet spooky story is that of the Suzerain, a clawed monster who lures children to his palace in the forest. To their parents, it seemed like a harmless ghost story, but in reality, the girls believed the Suzerain was real and that he would hurt their families unless they did what he told them to, which was perform a blood sacrifice. Together, they settle on their friend Emily (Skylar Morgan Jones) as their target, stabbing her with a pair of scissors. Miraculously, Emily survives the brutal attack, and Rachel and Kaitlyn are picked up by the police.
As the investigation begins, bigger questions about use of the internet and the state of the girls mental health come to the forefront. Had Kaitlyn’s parents Dani (Angela Kinsey, The Office) and Nathan (Drew Powell, Gotham), and Rachel’s mom Jackie (Carrie Hood, Devious Maids), been aware of the extent of the girls fascination with the Suzerain? Should the ultimate blame be placed on the dark side of the internet or the deeper issue of mental health? Or was there nothing that could stop the hold that Suzerain had over Rachel and Kaitlyn. Terror in the Woods is produced by Thinkfactory Media in association with Swirl Films for Lifetime Television. Executive producers are Leslie Greif, Christina Ricci, and James Heerdegen. Produced by Eric Tomosunas. D.J. Viola directs from a script written by Amber Benson.”
The full article can be found here: https://deadline.com/2018/08/lifetime-fall-movie-slate-shannen-doherty-mira-sorvino-bella-thorne-cast-the-girl-in-the-bathtub-terror-in-the-woods-1202449403/
The official trailer has also been released which I have embedded below. Thanks again Katie for pointing me in the right direction.
The movie is set to tackle some very difficult subject matter but knowing Amber as I do I'm sure she will deliver an honest and sensitive account of this shocking story. Hopefully I will get a chance to see the movie for myself soon as I always want to support Amber's work.
All of us at AmberBenson.TV would like to congratulate Amber on this project building on her growing body of work writing for television.
Joe
Disclaimer: AmberBenson.TV is not involved in any way with the writing or production of Terror in the Woods nor do we have any connection to the entertainment website deadline.com. This post is for informational purposes only, we are simply trying to spread the word about a brand-new movie written by Amber Benson.