Independent filmmakers behind HOLLER: A Midwestern Gothic Horror-Western have launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the final stretch of production. Alongside the campaign, the team released a new trailer for the film.
The Story
HOLLER follows Ray Holly, a survivor who has spent years alone in the rural Midwest after the dead overran the country. He gets by on routine, instinct, and whiskey, with only a stuffed bear named Cotton Candy for company. Everything changes when he meets Sydney, a pregnant young woman trying to get home. Ray reluctantly agrees to guide her through a landscape overrun by the undead, the desperate, and the wreckage of a world that no longer makes sense.
According to the filmmakers, the undead are part of the story, but they aren’t the point. At its core, HOLLER is about grief, guilt, and the choice to keep moving when the world gives you every reason to stop.
You can watch the official trailer here.
Not Just an Idea
Unlike many crowdfunding pitches, this campaign isn’t financing a concept from scratch. The filmmakers say principal photography is already about 60% complete, with roughly ten production days left to shoot. So far, the team has filmed major dramatic scenes, exterior sequences, practical effects, and quiet character moments. What started as a screenplay and proof-of-concept trailer has become a real feature film with actual footage and performances in the can.
How the Project Got Here
Writer-director Devin Smock leads the production through Subterranean Sound and Vision, based in Jacksonville, Illinois. The project’s first Kickstarter, launched in 2025, raised $5,355 and got the film off the ground. Private investors then added roughly $15,000, bringing total production resources to about $20,000. That funding let the team assemble a cast and crew, complete their first major production block, and shoot the footage now featured throughout the new campaign.
Campaign Details
The new Kickstarter, titled “HOLLER: The Final Push,” aims to raise $6,000 to complete the remaining production and post-production work. The campaign built early momentum, too: it had 85 followers waiting before launch and hit 20% of its goal within the first 12 hours. As of this writing, it’s surpassed its target, sitting at $6,725 pledged from 40 backers, with over a month left to go. Like most Kickstarter film campaigns, funding is all-or-nothing, so pledges only go through if the goal is met by the deadline.
Horror fans looking to back an indie feature already well into production can find the full campaign, reward tiers, and behind-the-scenes footage on Kickstarter.
