// Synopsis

Madworld is a haunted attraction in South Carolina that has been scaring people for more than 15 years. This doc is the story of Madworld: the people who run it, the actors who come back every October, and what it actually takes to build a nightmare from scratch every single season.

What you're watching here is our 10 minute cut. Think of it as the preview. There's a much bigger film cooking behind the scenes, a feature length documentary, and this cut is the pitch for it. It's the tone, the look, the people, and the reason the full story is worth telling. We're taking it to studios and partners now.

We shot it on RED V-Raptor with Atlas Orion anamorphic lenses over six October nights, plus pickup days in early 2026. The build-out in late summer, rehearsals, opening weekend, the nightly makeup routine, and the rituals after the last guest goes home. We got to be in the middle of all of it, and it's some of my favorite footage we've ever shot.

// Watch

// Director's Note

Most stuff made about haunted houses is all jump scares and spectacle. I wanted the slower version. The one that sits with the same actor putting their face on every night for two months and asks what that does to a person.

It's also about work. Every scream you hear in October got planned in August by people you'll never see on camera, and Madworld has been doing that for more than 15 years. I thought that was worth pointing a camera at. Honestly, 10 minutes only scratches the surface, and that's the whole reason we're chasing the feature.

// Stills