Dark Sky Films released the trailer and poster for the dystopian thriller Level 16, about a group of teen girls who are trapped in a mysterious and cruel boarding school that hides a dark secret. Level 16 opens in theaters and VOD on March 1, 2019.
In the thematically rich fantasy Level 16, teen-aged Vivien (Emmy-nominated actress Katie Douglas) and Sophia’s (Celina Martin) are locked away in a sterile top secret facility where they’re taught the finer points of “feminine virtues” by Miss Brixil (Sara Canning), a Stepford-like headmistress, and left to question what fate awaits them when they age out of the institution.
Wedding of-the-moment concerns (think The Handmaid’s Tale) to throwback aesthetics (think Joss Whedon’s criminally under-appreciated Dollhouse by way of Argento employing a desaturated palette), writer/director Danishka Esterhazy (Black Field, H&G) crafts a sinister allegory that packs a wicked feminist punch.
Sixteen-year-old Vivien is trapped in The Vestalis Academy, a prison-like boarding school, keeping to herself and sticking her neck out for no one. Until she is reunited with Sophia — the former friend who betrayed her. Together the girls embark on a dangerous search to uncover the horrifying truth behind their imprisonment. Soon running for their lives, the girls must save themselves or die trying.