Miracle Valley | |
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![]() Theatrical poster | |
Directed by | Greg Sestero |
Written by | Greg Sestero |
Produced by | Tom Franco Iris Torres |
Release date |
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Running time | 90 minutes |
Country | USA |
Language | English |
Miracle Valley is a 2021 horror film written, directed, and produced by Greg Sestero.
An obsessive nature photographer and his girlfriend are invited to a desert getaway where they uncover a sinister cult.
Sestero wrote the screenplay while living in Arizona, where the film was also shot and set, [1] and was inspired by locations in the state including an abandoned church in Cochise County [2] and an abandoned mine house in Patagonia, Arizona. [3] Sestero wanted to write an homage to Slasher cinema and 1970s horror cinema, and also cited The Thing, Don't Breathe, Breakdown, and the works of Alfred Hitchcock including Psycho. [3]
Sestero scouted locations himself for the film, and collaborated with Matthew Halla as director of photography, whom he had met through USC School of Cinematic Arts. [3]
The film was produced by Tom Franco, who also produced The Disaster Artist, the film adaptation of Greg Sestero's book of the same name, and his wife Iris Torres. [1] Torres also worked on the film as assistant director. [3]
The film premiered at the Salem Horror Festival in 2021. [1] It was released on streaming service Tubi on September 16 2022. [4]
Both Sestero and critics compared the film to The Room, a cult film Sestero starred in, which has been called "the best worst movie ever made." [5] Referencing the film, Sestero said, "Hopefully, Miracle Valley ends up as the second best worst movie ever made." [4] while, writing for Sight and Sound, critic Anton Bitel wrote, "Perhaps Sestero’s debut as writer/director seeks to replicate The Room's peculiar effect, leaving the viewer unsure whether its tone-deaf awfulness is a product of unhinged sincerity or knowing irony." [6]