LAZARETH Trailer (2024) Ashley Judd

LAZARETH Trailer (2024) Ashley Judd

LAZARETH Trailer (2024) Ashley Judd
© 2024 - Vertical

"Lazareth must be protected at any cost." Vertical has revealed an official trailer for an indie thriller titled Lazareth, from a filmmaker named Alec Tibaldi. This is set to debut to watch in May - both in theaters and on VOD if anyone wants to give it a look. Lee protects her orphaned nieces Imogen and Maeve from a self-destructing world, raising them in isolation for 10 years until an outsider threatens their peaceful existence. Ashley Judd stars an aunt whose life mission is to protect her orphaned nieces, Imogen and Maeve, from the harsh world outside their isolated life. Their sanctuary is known as "Lazareth." In addition to Judd, the cast includes Sarah Pidgeon, Katie Douglas, Edward Balaban, and Asher Angel. This is such an old concept that has been done so many times before in so many other movies - just watch Z for Zachariah instead. This time they're using the Covid pandemic as context, which just doesn't sit right and makes it all the more dubious in my opinion. Judd also looks pretty bad in here, along with all the cast. Tread carefully.

Here's the first official trailer for Alec Tibaldi's Lazareth, direct from Vertical's YouTube:

Lazareth Film

Ashley Judd stars as Lee, an aunt who has raised her nieces Imogen (Katie Douglas) and Maeve (Sarah Pidgeon) in an isolated cabin in the woods for over a decade after their parents died and she adopted them — all while a deadly pandemic rages on. For over 10 years, the girls are raised to never leave the woods, avoid any and all interaction with outsiders, and ultimately to rely on Lee as their only connection to the outside world. Lee has convinced the girls this is the key to survival in what is now an infectious and violent world. But when Imogen and Maeve discover an injured man (Asher Angel) in the nearby woods, Lee's absolute control begins to disintegrate as their faith in her, and everything else they've ever known, begins to unravel. Lazareth is written and directed by Australian writer / filmmaker Alec Tibaldi, director of the films Spiral Farm and The Daphne Project previously, plus a few other shorts. Produced by Robert Ogden Barnum and Eric Binns. This hasn't premiered at any fests or elsewhere, as far as we know. Vertical debuts Tibaldi's Lazareth in select US theaters + on VOD starting May 10th, 2024 coming soon. Anyone?
Ashley Judd plays a fiercely protective aunt in Lazareth.

PEOPLE has the exclusive first trailer for the thriller, in which Judd, 55, plays Lee, an aunt who has raised her nieces Imogen (Katie Douglas) and Maeve (Sarah Pidgeon) in an isolated cabin in the woods for over a decade after their parents died and she adopted them — all while a "deadly pandemic rages on."

"For over 10 years, the girls are raised to never leave the woods, avoid any and all interaction with outsiders, and ultimately rely on Lee as their only connection to the outside world," according to a synopsis.

"Lee has convinced the girls this is the key to survival in what is now an infectious and violent world. But," the synopsis adds, "when Imogen and Maeve discover an injured man (Asher Angel) in the nearby woods, Lee’s absolute control begins to disintegrate as their faith in her, and everything they’ve ever known, begins to unravel."
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In an Instagram post announcing that she'd finished filming Lazareth in May 2023, Judd said working on her latest project reminded her of making the 1993 film Ruby in Paradise because of its "purity and simplicity."

"Night scenes lit by candles. Living in the woods near set," she wrote of her experience at the time. She also praised the "gorgeous acting" of her fellow cast members.

Lazareth movie
Asher Angel. COURTESY OF VERTICAL
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Lazareth Ashley Judd movie
Ashley Judd in "Lazareth". COURTESY OF VERTICAL
Judd said the film's director Alec Tibaldi "invited me to be so free" while doing her work. "I am grateful for this pristine experience and all the running charades we played!" she concluded.

Lazareth is on demand and in select theaters May 10.

EXCLUSIVE: Ashley Judd (She Said) has wrapped production in Oregon on Lazareth, a new thriller written and directed by Alec Tibaldi that she stars in for Vertical, TPC and SSS Entertainment. Others rounding out the cast include Katie Douglas (Ginny & Georgia), Sarah Pidgeon (Tiny Beautiful Things), Asher Angel (Shazam!) and newcomer Edward Balaban.

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The film to be distributed in North America by Vertical follows Lee (Judd), who protects her orphaned nieces, Imogen (Douglas) and Maeve (Pidgeon), from a self-destructing world and raises them in isolation until an outsider (Angel) arrives threatening their peaceful existence.

Pic is part of Vertical and TPC’s new sustainable corporate financing model geared toward long-term growth and a symmetry of art and commerce that the companies debuted with Spencer Squire’s 2022 horror Abandoned. Vertical comes to the project after collaborating with Shaun Sanghani’s SSS Entertainment on such releases as Gone in the Night starring Winona Ryder and Dermot Mulroney, and Last Survivors starring Alicia Silverstone, Drew Van Acker and Stephen Moyer.

Lazareth is produced by Robert Ogden Barnum and Eric Binns through The Barnum Picture Company, which has partnered with Vertical on such releases as Collide, starring Ryan Phillippe, Kat Graham and Jim Gaffigan; Abandoned, starring Emma Roberts, John Gallagher Jr. and Michael Shannon; and The Tutor, starring Garrett Hedlund, Noah Schnapp and Victoria Justice.

Exec producers include Vertical’s Peter Jarowey, Rich Goldberg and Kristin Harris, TPC’s David Gendron, Ali Jazayeri, Viviana Zarragoitia and John Bails, and The Syndicate’s Michael Lurie and Jeffrey Giles. Andrew Davies Gans serves as co-producer and Vertical’s Sammi Farber is associate producer. The Syndicate will rep international sales for Vertical and SSS, presenting the film at Cannes this month.

“We are thrilled to be partnered with Vertical again on a fantastic production,” said producer Barnum. “With Alec’s great script, direction and experience in this genre, coupled with the incomparable Ashley Judd leading the cast to bring his words to life, we fully expect audiences to embrace the film when it is released to market.”

Added Vertical Partner Jarowey, “Rob Barnum came to us early with Alec’s impressive script and we jumped at the chance to work together again on such an edge-of-your-seat thriller. We are incredibly proud of the progress of our partnerships thus far in creating a streamlined process for fully financing projects.”

Judd recently appeared as herself in Universal’s #MeToo drama She Said, recreating the moment in which she came forward to New York Times reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey about the sexual harassment to which she’d been subjected by Harvey Weinstein. The Independent Spirit Award winner who has also been recognized over the course of her career with two noms at both the Emmys and the Golden Globes, has also previously appeared in films including A Dog’s Way Home, the Divergent franchise, Olympus Has Fallen, Frida and Heat, among others. She’s also been seen on series like Berlin Station, Twin Peaks and Missing, to name a few.

Jarowey and SVP of Production & Development Harris negotiated the deal for Lazareth on behalf of Vertical, with Lurie and Giles on behalf of The Syndicate, and Barnum and Carissa Knol of Knol Law on behalf of the filmmakers.

Judd is repped by WME, Anonymous Content and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole; Douglas by Innovative Artists, Noble Caplan Abrams and Skrzyniarz & Mallean; Pidgeon by Gersh, Anonymous Content and Jackoway Austen Tyerman; and Angel by UTA, Atlas Artists and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman.