A Killer Email Gets Its World Premiere

A mysterious email turns a group of scientists into psychopathic killers in a horror film ten years in the making by Huntington native Nick Fiore, who is preparing to unleash his creation on audiences for the first time.

The 82-minute film, “email.hell,” will premiere November 13 at the Shock-A-Go-Go Film Festival in Brooklyn, marking Fiore’s feature-length directorial debut.

“We came up with this original idea of a group of scientists who are at a research residency in a remote setting in Long Island,” Fiore explained. A bizarre email attachment takes control of their minds, turning the isolated facility into a killing ground.

“Everything goes to hell and it turns into pure chaos,” he said.

Fiore and longtime friend Michael Russulo began writing the screenplay in 2016, originally envisioning a short internet video. The project grew into an ensemble production featuring friends, local actors and actress Kathryn Palmer of MTV’s “Are You the One?”

“We certainly didn't think it would be a 10-year commitment. We thought it would be maybe two years at most of work,” Fiore said.

The filmmakers handled editing, visual effects and sound design themselves, with Russulo composing the original score.

Fiore, an Emerson College film graduate who works as a video producer at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, said the institution's secluded setting provided some inspiration, although the fictional story has no connection to the laboratory.

“I have always loved horror movies, but I had never actually made one,” he said.

Following numerous festival rejections, the film finally secured its first acceptance.

“Our movie is very wild, it's very fun, it's very experimental at times,” Fiore said. “We think it has just enough of a special quality to it that could make it stand out.”

Fiore already has a sequel in mind. “We'll have to see how this first one is received by the public,” he said.

The premiere is scheduled for Friday the 13th at 10 p.m. at Pine Box Rock Shop in Bushwick, followed by a filmmaker question-and-answer session. Shock-A-Go-Go Film Festival tickets are available through Eventbrite.