Spirituality

Witchcraft: The Lanterne of Light adds Tom Mabe and Kato Kaelin as executive producers

Comedian Tom Mabe and actor Kato Kaelin have joined Witchcraft: The Lanterne of Light as executive producers, Horrorfuel.com reports, the latest addition to the cast and production team of the long-running occult horror franchise. Directors Carissa and Andrew Pierson are leading the project, which Horrorfuel.com reports as the series' first found-footage installment, centered on a cult called The Children of the Hollow that draws power from a 15th-century manuscript.

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A high-profile cast breaks found-footage convention#

Found-footage films typically cast unknown actors to preserve a sense of realism, but Horrorfuel.com reports that Witchcraft: The Lanterne of Light instead assembled a recognizable ensemble. Screen veteran Eric Roberts leads the group, joined by A Nightmare on Elm Street star Lisa Wilcox, along with Sandy Johnson and Marc Price, according to Horrorfuel.com.

The cast also includes former Studio 54 DJ Rockin' Ronnie and paranormal researcher Chris McKinnell, Horrorfuel.com reports. Kaelin is widely known for testifying as a witness in the 1995 O.J. Simpson murder trial, according to Wikipedia.

McKinnell brings the Warren family's paranormal legacy#

McKinnell is the grandson of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren and serves as director and founder of the Warren Legacy Foundation for Paranormal Research, an organization Horror Society describes as continuing the Warren family's work and offering free help to people facing unexplained situations.

Director Carissa Pierson called McKinnell's casting "incredibly exciting," telling Horror Society that his background "adds another level of authenticity to the paranormal side of the film." Horror Society reports that the story follows William Spanner, co-host of a paranormal television program called Unmasking the Paranormal, as his team investigates the Children of the Hollow in the woods of North Carolina.

A franchise already expanding on two fronts#

The Lanterne of Light arrives as the Witchcraft franchise, which began in 1988, grows elsewhere too. Filmmaker Jason Paul Collum is making a 40th-anniversary trilogy, with Witchcraft XIX: Our Father and Witchcraft XX: 40 Years Later already filmed and Witchcraft XXI: Brotherhood of Saints set to shoot in early 2027, Rue Morgue reports.

Collum told Rue Morgue that the new trilogy gives the franchise "the most sequels in horror history" while connecting more directly to the original film than to the 18 sequels between them. He said viewers can watch the new films without having seen the earlier ones, since "we give you the necessary information where needed."

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