Thane of East County

Thane of East County, also known as Blood Will Have Blood, is a 2015 black and white horror drama film written and directed by Jesse Keller in his feature film debut and is adapted from William Shakespeare's play Macbeth. The film won Best Drama at Poppy Jasper International Film Festival and stars Carr Cavender, Molly Beucher, Connor Sullivan and Karl Backus.

Plot
James (Macbeth) and Jen (Lady Macbeth) become intertwined with each other as they rehearse a theatrical production of Macbeth. Duke (also Macbeth) is Jen's husband, Drew (Banquo) is James' best friend and Matt portrays Macduff and Malcolm. Things go awry as the actors begin to carry out the actions of characters they portray.

Cast

 * Carr Cavender as James
 * Molly Beucher as Jen
 * Connor Sullivan as Drew
 * Karl Backus as Duke
 * Joshua Alan Jones as Raymond
 * Ron Christopher Jones as Kip
 * Brian Patrick Butler as Matt
 * Danny Morris as Jonathan
 * Jessica Jerrain as Alex

Production
The film was produced by Folk Process Films. The production team consisted of writer and director Jesse Keller, producers Chris Cashman and Annie Willett Thomas as well as cinematographer Nate Elegino. With a crew of ten, seventeen actors were cast.

The movie is based on Macbeth by William Shakespeare and was shot in black-and-white over sixteen days at the Victory Theatre in San Diego, inside a Fallbrook apartment, and exterior scenes in the desert near Borrego Springs. Films like Double Indemnity, Pi, Stranger Than Paradise and Following were inspiration for the film. A Kickstarter campaign raised $25,000, boosting the overall budget to $65,000. The film is Keller's directorial debut and he submitted it to Sundance Film Festival.

Release
The film screened at Tampa Bay Underground Film Festival on December 6, 2015 and Cinema on the Bayou in Louisiana on January 28, 2017. It was distributed as Blood Will Have Blood by Summer Hill Entertainment in 2017. The film released on video on demand on January 25, 2018.

Critical response
Steven West of Horror Screams Video Vault compared the film to Macbeth calling it a "well-intentioned attempt" but it "downplays the trashier elements that could have made it fun." It is on CinemaBlend's list of 32 Movies You Didn't Know Were Based On Shakespeare Plays.