FrightFest 25' “The Rows” Sets Its Sights on FrightFest with Retro Survival Horror

Seven-year-old Lucy fights for her life in the eerie corn-stalk hellscape of The Rows, premiering at FrightFest 2025.

HMU Article – International Premiere Spotlight

“Lost in the Corn: Seth Daly’s The Rows Heads to FrightFest 2025”

FrightFest is about to get a lot more twisted, thanks to the haunting, grainy suspense of The Rows, the debut feature from writer-director Seth Daly. Set to make its International Premiere on August 25th, The Rows is a retro-fueled 35mm horror-thriller that drops audiences deep into an eerie Midwestern cornfield—where a little girl’s survival becomes the stuff of nightmares.

Shot entirely in Ohio on a micro-budget and dripping in vintage aesthetic, The Rows stars Brindisi Dupree, Lara Pictet, Marcus Woods, and Daly himself. It’s a sparse, 98-minute slow-burn with minimal dialogue, channeling the tension of No Country for Old Men, the masked menace of The Strangers, and the folklore dread of The Town That Dreaded Sundown.

The plot? Brutal in its simplicity.

Seven-year-old Lucy wakes up bleeding and alone in a cornfield with no memory of how she got there. Nearby lies a corpse—and a gun. What follows is a vicious game of cat and mouse as she’s pursued by three masked killers. But Lucy isn’t entirely alone. She’s aided by her loyal dog—and a bizarre, golden creature lurking among the stalks. What is it? Where did it come from? That’s part of the mystery hiding in The Rows.

Daly shared his excitement about the premiere, saying:

“The Rows was made for FrightFest and the cinematic aesthetic it celebrates. From the celluloid photography to the killer soundtrack, everything was crafted with the theatrical experience in mind. The audience will have a blast.”

With its bold 35mm visuals and throwback grindhouse sensibility, The Rows looks primed to be a FrightFest sleeper hit—a nightmarish rural survival story that feels both timeless and unshakably strange.

So lace up your boots, and don’t get lost in the rows.

The Rows premieres August 25th at FrightFest 2025.

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