''Pledge'' is a 2018 American horror film, written by Zack Weiner, directed by Daniel Robbins, and produced by Mark Rapaport and Keaton Heinrichs. The film centers on collegiate hazing taken to extremes. It had its world premiere at the 2018

Fantasia International Film Festival Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...

, and was released in theaters and on VOD on January 11, 2019 through

IFC Midnight IFC Films is an American film production and distribution company based in New York. It is an offshoot of IFC owned by AMC Networks. It distributes mainly independent films under its own name, select foreign films and documentaries under its Sun ...

Cast

* Zachery Byrd as Justin * Aaron Dalla Villa as Max * Zack Weiner as David * Phillip Andre Botello as Ethan * Cameron Cowperthwaite as Ricky * Jesse Pimentel as Bret * Joe Gallagher as Ben * Jean-Louis Droulers as Sam * Erica Boozer as Rachel * Melanie Rothman as Stacey

Production

''Pledge'' finished its principal photography in the summer of 2016 in New Rochelle, NY and New York City. Part of the film's post-production finances were sourced through

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

Release and reception

The film had its world premiere at the 2018

on July 24, 2018 and its United States premiere on October 14, 2018 at

Screamfest Screamfest Horror Film Festival is a horror film festival founded by film producers Rachel Belofsky and Ross Martin in August 2001. It runs over ten days during the month of October and is hosted at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres in Los Angeles, Ca ...

, where it won awards for Best Directing (Daniel Robbins) and Best Editing (Nik Voytas). The film was later released theatrically and on VOD via

. Pledge had a limited theatrical release in 20 cities across the United States, with additional theatrical releases in Latin America through foreign distributors. Pledge has received generally positive reviews from critics, with score on Rotten Tomatoes with its consensus stating, "''Pledge'' leaves a certain amount of potential untapped in its extreme take on collegiate hazing, but the end result is still well-executed enough to be worth a watch." Jeanette Catsoulis of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' called the film "a ringing indictment of popularity as the cheese in a deadly mousetrap." Dennis Harvey of

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

called Pledge, "a lean and mean shocker that tells its tale of collegiate hazing run amuck with brute efficiency." Noel Murray of ''

The Los Angeles Times ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' said "the movie understands that — whether comedy or horror — all these stories are really about a desperate yearning for belonging."

References

External links

* * {{Rotten Tomatoes, pledge_2019, Pledge 2018 films 2018 independent films American horror films IFC Films films Films about hazing Films shot in New York City Kickstarter-funded films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films