Smith brings decades of obsession with slasher horror films to deliver a darkly funny story full of twists, turns, and satire instead of "message"
LOS ANGELES, CA, March 16, 2025 /24-7PressRelease/ -- In December 2023, friends and collaborators Robert Christopher Smith and Rob Banks.joined forces officially to form their own entertainment company Roberts Next Door LLC to develop and produce a variety of film and episodic entertainment, along with their own comic book publishing imprint. Having recently celebrated the first anniversary of the company's foundation, they now find themselves overjoyed to deliver their first true collaboration "SPREAD: Pigs to Slaughter", a slasher/thriller with a darkly comedic backbone. Smith co-wrote the story and screenplay with artist Kurt Belcher, following their teaming up to deliver the comic book story "Vengeance Turns: Explosions of Truth" that acts as a bridge from "Vengeance Turns: Volume One" and "Volume Two" to any future stories.
Smith and Banks love sharing the story of how the two began working together. "Essentially", Smith explains, "Rob and I were in acting class – he was literally my first scene partner – and discovered quickly that we worked really well together and shared a lot of similar opinions on creativity and on the entertainment business. One day as I was leaving class, I asked Rob if he would be OK with helping me shoot some weird video stuff that was going to support a feature I was planning and he agreed immediately. He didn't ask anything about getting paid or what the hell I wanted him to do. He just said he would be there." Smith laughs. "So, we met up at a local coffee shop and freaked people out as I made him yell at me as I chased him around the parking lot with my cellphone!" That was the beginning of their now years-long collaboration and the very first footage ever shot for what would go on to become "SPREAD: Pigs to Slaughter", the first official release from their nascent company.
While written and filmed two years ago directly following the COVID-crisis lockdown, some of the thematic parallels between the ethos expressed in the film and those expressed in our current political climate are eerily on the nose. Smith reveals that he and Belcher were among many who were frustrated with the years directly preceding the Biden Presidency, and even more so with the social slide into darkness, chaos and even the sickeningly open acceptance and seeming embrace of fascism by far too many. Part of that frustration is in the way that too many on the political fringe feel compelled to hijack ideas, concepts and even words themselves. The cartoon character "Pepe the Frog" was co-opted by the fringe and eventually was actually added to the International Hate Symbol Database by the Anti-Defamation League, which led the writers of SPREAD to create "Hamson: The Curious Pig" and after that Smith says all the pieces fell into place. "Hamson is critical to this story in every way. Once we nailed him down, we really knew we had something. The killers in the film wear pig masks, there are tattoos, and a lot more. There are a lot of twists in this film, and Hamson is at the core of the whole thing!" They enjoyed creating him so much that they continue producing comic strips together with artist Michael Spivey, and are releasing a flip-comic containing over 50 comic strips along with 4 new dramatic Hamson origin stories.
Even though the film very clearly leans hard into our current political climate since the graceful exit of Biden as President, there is a very conscious choice made to never mention any of the politicians or villains who are busily dismantling and isolating our country by any character in the film. "Hamson, on the other hand…" Smith trails off, smiling deviously. "I really think this is a film for anyone who likes slasher films or thrillers. When I describe 'SPREAD: Pigs to Slaughter' to my friends, I always say they should imagine 'The Big Chill' meets 'Scream'. "
ABOUT "SPREAD: Pigs to Slaughter"
"SPREAD: Pigs to Slaughter" is the third feature film from writer/director Robert Christopher Smith. The film is a slasher/thriller with a darkly comedic socio-political backbone. In it, a group of twenty-somethings decide to get away from the city after the COVID lockdown is lifted. Unfortunately and unknown to the group, one among them is planning to kill the entire group. "SPREAD: Pigs to Slaughter" was co-written by Smith with Kurt Belcher, and is the first official release from Roberts Next Door LLC, the film production company co-owned by Smith with film costar Rob Banks.
Contact: Rob Banks
Phone: 330-352-5856
Email: robertsnextdoor@gmail.com
Visit www.robertsnextdoor.com for more information.
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