While blabbing on a recent episode of CinemaSins SinCast, Jacob and I were challenged to create a horror movie setting that made use of our surroundings, and growing up as a stereotypical skater kid, my brain immediately went to the ridiculously diverse skateboarding community. The problem is, I couldn’t really think of how to integrate it into a horror film. Luckily, someone far wiser than I is already on the case. When we reached out to artist/filmmaker Johnny Vitale, he did an excellent job of setting the tone of his upcoming flick:

Our team is turning out to be a really rad collection of innovative Indy film and music video makers. Check out mangchi.com and vincentdale.com. These guys are our story writers and editors. Our movie will have a soundtrack of trap music, punk, and other shit I can’t even explain…

Director Johnny Vitale says his film, MINI LIGHTS, will revolve around Native myth, African folklore, and modern-day urban legend while breaking typical horror movie character convention in the process. The legend of the Mini Lights themselves reportedly revolves around short, green creatures that live with a witch whom “come out to get you” if you say “Mini Lights, Mini Lights, come out tonight” three times in a row. It’s not unlike the legends of Bloody Mary or Candyman, but what makes the Mini Lights so interesting is that there are still dozens of people to this day that swear they’ve come face to face with them–though eyewitness accounts vary wildly as you might expect.

Hard at work on the concept set of Mini Lights.

Still; though, marrying that urban legend with other cultural mythology in a melting pot for a backdrop as diverse as skateboarding really gets me going. And to make matters even more interesting, Vitale and his equally diverse and talented crew has already put together a proof-of-concept trailer that looks downright gorgeous. Ready for the kicker?

The crew is set to pitch the film to the Duplass brothers in a matter of days in hopes of securing them as executive producers. That’s a lot of really cool people doing really cool shit, so check out the image gallery, concept trailer, and official plot synopsis below. We’ll have more details as they become available, so stay tuned.

Skater Horror Film, let that sink in. A group of skaters figuring out life; building friendships drop, flip, and push in St. Petersburg Fl. It’s under the bridges where they can be themselves, and where something watches them, waiting. Something sad and old haunts the city eager for revenge.