With the ever-evolving social media landscape, online toxicity is on the rise, affecting culture, politics, and even our entertainment.

In the horror film community and fandom, a debate persists between traditional horror storytelling and innovative, experimental plots that have never been seen before. The new indie horror film The Red Mask explores our horror cultural subject in numerous ways, both traditionally and with fresh twists.

The film stars Helena Howard (Madeline’s Madeline, The Wilds), Inanna Sarkis (After We Collided, Séance), Jake Abel (The Lovely Bones, Percy Jackson, Love and Mercy), and Kelli Garner (The Aviator, Lars, the Real Girl, Godzilla: King of the Monsters).

Ritesh Gupta directed the film written by Samantha Gurash and Patrick Robert Young.

Here is the synopsis of The Red Mask:

When Allina Green, a hotshot indie screenwriter, is hired to revive a cult slasher franchise, she and her fiancée Deetz retreat to a remote rental to ‘method-write’ a fresh take. But as Allina’s script begins to rewrite itself and two unsettling strangers show up claiming to have booked the same cabin, her weekend writing retreat becomes a terrifying descent into fandom, identity, and the legacy she never asked to inherit.

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LRM Online’s Gig Patta chatted with director Ritesh Gupta about the message behind The Red Mask, being meta, small cast, horror films, community, and the cabin in the woods.

Ritesh Gupta makes his debut as a director of narrative feature films with The Red Mask. He is a nine-time Cannes Lion winner, four-time Webby Award recipient, and a 27-time Clio Award winner. As a segment producer for Diary of Pakistan, he earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Documentary Special, and he directed the documentary The Last Prisoner Project “The Pen to Right History,” which won a Cannes Lion.

The Red Mask made its debut at the FrightFest 2025 in the United Kingdom in late August.

Watch the exclusive interview with Ritesh Gupta below. Let us know what you think of the interview.

For news and interviews, contact Gig Patta at [email protected]. Follow https://x.com/GigPatta, https://www.facebook.com/OfficialGigPatta, https://www.instagram.com/gigpatta, or https://www.tiktok.com/gigpatta for all his postings and musings in entertainment.

Source: LRM Online Exclusive, Create Entertainment, Intrinsic Value Films