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Hiking Buddies: A Slasher Horror Comedy Feature Film

Hiking Buddies is a fictional story about a woman named Madeline who is so obsessed with Leave No Trace principles that when her hiking buddies litter on the hiking trail, she has to kill them. Ultimately, Madeline breaks her own rules by leaving something in the woods: their blood.

Hiking Buddies has the zany comedic elements of Cocaine Bear with the popular horror tropes of Friday the 13th. We explore ecological vengeance to get people to think twice about littering.

Accolades & Awards

The short version of this script placed in over 15 festivals worldwide and won the best Eco-Horror Award at the Boobs & Blood Festival in Hollywood. The feature script achieved finalist for the screenplay competition at Vancouver Horror Show and Vail. As an investor, you can be part of the success of the feature film!

The Setting

Hiking Buddies is a modern day story set in California’s San Bernardino National Forest. The dry forest creates a classic horror environment featuring numerous obstacles for our characters: steep cliffs, sharp rocks, dangerous ravines, high wildfire risk, and a wilderness so dense and deep that rangers can’t hear their screams. This setting creates the perfect environment for bloody shenanigans intended to please horror fans everywhere.

Investing in Horror Cinema

People pay money to be scared! Horror movie ticket sales consistently dominate box office receipts. And, unlike tech startups that may never deliver a product, our funded project will lead to a completed feature film with our largest investors listed in the credits.

Fans of horror are far more interested in a great story than expensive production values, and low-budget independent films are more likely to be profitable than low-budget films in any other genre.

These stand-out horror films may be outliers, but we are going to do everything we can to drive our audiences to this film (ideally in hybrid or sustainable vehicles), including consulting with experts in distribution and marketing to set up our film for success well before we get to set.

This figure shows revenues of comparable films, but gives no guarantee our film will achieve similar results.

Spending a $1M Budget

Our experienced line producer developed a $1M budget ($800k minimum) that will allow us to deliver all of the elements viewers love about horror films while maximizing each dollar. The vast majority of our budget is going into production expenses like film equipment, crew, lodging, and of course catering and crafty (film industry lingo for snacks). As a conservation-minded production company, we're also planning to reduce our carbon impact by minimizing the use of disposable containers, reusing and recycling materials whenever possible, and hiring close to our shooting location.

Marketing & Distribution

Our production team participated in the six-month 8Above Film to learn effective ways to maximize strategies for marketing and distribution--how we get the finished movie in front of audiences--to promote an independent film like Hiking Buddies. We are already starting to develop strategies to reach our target audiences, identifying potential distributors, and developing plans to maximize our reach and impact.

Timeline

Our proposed timeline acknowledges that some times of the year are more favorable for shooting an outdoor film. We're planning to shoot our film in the Spring, between the typical rain and fire seasons. Weather delays could push production into Fall 2027, but we could still meet our goal of releasing the full film to film festivals by Summer 2028 if we meet our full fundraising goal.

Terms

HIKING BUDDIES LLC will receive investments from four classes of investors: VIP Equity, Standard Equity, VIP Wefunder (includes Wefunder VIPs and the first $100k of investors), and Standard Wefunder.

We will repay investors, in order of their investment status, across three phases: 1) Repayment of 100% of your principal, 2) Payment of an additional 15% of your principle (20% for VIP Wefunder), and 3) 50% split of net profits.

Investor Incentives

Although becoming an indie film investor is a reward in itself, we wanted to add some extra perks to sweeten the deal with each of our investors.

VIP Incentives for Early Investors

In addition to the perks offered above, our earliest investors will also benefit from higher interest rates of return. Wefunder VIPs and the first $100k of investors will receive 120% return instead of 115% return on principal.

How to Invest

Right now, we are accepting investments on this platform. Investors will be asked to connect a payment method to Wefunder and either authorize a payment or make a transaction of the proposed investment price plus a transaction fee of between $8 and $150, depending on the amount invested and the method used (review this link for details).

Please note: funds will not be allocated to this project until after the investment contract is signed. Please contact us or Wefunder if you have any questions about this process.

Production Team: Filmmakers Who Get Things Done

Co-Founders of Erosion, a women-led film company dedicated to producing conservation and climate comedy film, Megan Morrison (Writer/Producer) and Tracy Held (Producer) are experienced filmmakers and hikers with the tools to produce the Hiking Buddies feature film. To date, they have produced over 40 short films and YouTube videos, including Megan’s film Dead Color, which placed in festivals worldwide. In addition to producing and directing independent films, Tracy has written and directed for industrial films through CreatorUp. Tracy has extensive experience project managing highly complex, time-sensitive projects and productions while Megan has managed over $200M in film contracts. Megan and Tracy have extensive networks throughout the industry from Megan’s work in Business and Legal Affairs at major studios including Disney, Paramount, and Netflix, and Tracy’s work as the Vice-Chair of the Writers Guild of America West Asian American Writers Committee. This team also received early seed funding through the Carnegie Mellon University VentureBridge startup accelerator and continues to benefit from its network and mentorship.

Director Katherine Vondy is a Los Angeles-based director and writer working in film, theater, and literature. She is the recipient of the Davey Foundation Theatre Grant for her play The Fermi Paradox, and The Broken Heart of Gnocchi Bolognese, her award-winning short film, has screened at festivals worldwide. She currently serves as playwriting group moderator of The Vagrancy. She received her BA in English and Music from Amherst College and her MFA in Film and Television Production from the University of Southern California. When she's not working on a creative project, you can find her trying out new recipes, sewing items for her wardrobe, or convincing her friends to take day trips to the ostrich farm (and, OK, the vineyards, too) in Santa Barbara Wine Country.

Leah Anova is a Los Angeles-based Director of Photography. She was born in Quezon City, Philippines, and was raised around the globe as a military brat (her father was in the U.S. NAVY). After earning her Masters of Fine Arts degree in Cinematography from The American Film Institute Conservatory, Leah started her journey as a Director of Photography. Leah's work is characterized by a keen attention to detail and use of light and shadow. Capturing the essence of a story through the lens is her highest priority. She has worked on Emmy-winning documentaries alongside esteemed filmmakers such as Oscar-nominated Julie Cohn, Laura Fairrie, Abigail Child, and Oscar-nominated Michele Ohayon. Leah recently completed filming the final episodes of the docu-series Off the Walls, featuring Keanu Reeves and Nora Lum (Awkwafina). Her other projects have received significant recognition, including her latest feature documentary film, Every Body, directed by Academy Award Nominee, Julie Cohen, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and was distributed by Focus Features. Every Body was shortlisted by NYDOC for the 2023 Oscars. The film is currently playing on Apple TV, Amazon Prime, and Peacock.

Great Films Start Big Conversations

Today, 48% of climate-conscious viewers want to see more shows and films with themes related to global warming and the climate crisis, and we know we can activate conversations about litter with our film.

Motivating People to Care About Climate

Our superpower is telling engaging stories that motivate people to take action. So far, everyone who has read Hiking Buddies has reported an increased fear of littering--especially near our screenwriter Megan Morrison.

Collaborating with Wefunder

We're excited to launch this investment campaign in partnership with Wefunder, because this platform makes it easy for horror fans, climate advocates, and movie lovers to get involved with film investing. Our investors are an integral part of our team of collaborators, and we're eager to create fun and impactful work with you.