CARRY THE DARKNESS to Screen at Queens World Film Festival

The haunting psychological thriller Carry the Darkness will screen this Thursday, November 6, at 7:30 PM as part of the Queens World Film Festival at the Kaufman Zukor Theater in Long Island City. The screening marks a major milestone for Joel Meyers, known to Broadway audiences for his acclaimed portrayal of Albus Potter in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child during the 2022-2024 Broadway seasons, as he makes his transition from stage to screen in his first leading film role.

Following the screening, writer/director Douglas Forrester and Meyers will participate in a live Q&A session, offering audiences a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film and its thematic undercurrents.

Set against the backdrop of small-town hysteria and inspired by true-crime tragedy, Carry the Darkness is an atmospheric descent into paranoia and moral panic. The film follows Travis Baldwin (Joel Meyers), a misunderstood metalhead teen cast as the scapegoat for a string of brutal crimes. As fear grips the community, an unseen force begins to take hold-blurring the line between human and supernatural evil.

The film also stars Helen Laser as high schooler Stacey Wagner, Jaden Gant as Jordan Conrad, and Hollis Fox as Detective Jillian Carter. Laser, a New York-based actor and award-winning audiobook narrator, brings nuance and intensity to her role, while Gant and Fox round out a cast that captures the raw emotional stakes at the heart of the story.

Drawing inspiration from both the defining film and television of the early 1990s and the unsettling non-fiction of that era, Carry the Darkness explores the intersection of teenage isolation, moral panic, and collective fear. Forrester weaves a tense, atmospheric narrative that reflects on how communities react to the unknown-and how misunderstood youth often become its casualties. The result is an ominous thriller with a beating heart, speaking to anyone who has ever felt like an outsider.

Screening Details:

Thursday, November 6, 2025
7:30 PM

Kaufman Zukor Theater - Long Island City, NY

Q&A with Douglas Forrester and Joel Meyers following the film

Tickets available here: Carry the Darkness - Eventbrite