Casting "Exemplum" Psychological Horror Feature Film

Central character. Mara is a woman living alone in a densely lived-in apartment. She has a quiet, unsettling presence, grounded and realistic, but with an underlying sense of something “witch-like” and hard to define. Subtle, restrained performance with minimal dialogue. Russian-speaking or Slavic language preferred, or willingness to learn a few Russian lines. Required Media: Headshot/Photo, Video Reel Required Skills: Languages: Russian Accents/Dialects: Russian

(must play late teens). Guarded, cynical, and fiercely independent, June hides deep emotional vulnerability. She takes a cat-sitting job to earn extra cash and build her independence. Seeking a highly expressive actor with strong emotional range, capable of shifting from subtle sarcasm to intense fear and hysteria. Heavy physical acting required. Strong screen presence and realism preferred. Includes a realistic bathroom scene with no nudity; modesty garments provided on a closed set.

A composed man arrives with a request to resolve a dangerous situation, but the encounter with an elderly woman turns into an intense psychological and moral test, where control begins to slip. Strong presence and subtle performance required. Minimal dialogue.

A tall, scruffy young man with a constant hint of exhaustion. He uses dry humor to deflect tension and serves as the logical counterbalance to June’s growing fear. Seeking an actor with naturalistic delivery who can shift from comedic timing to quiet panic. Includes an intense hot-water scalding effects scene requiring strong physical acting. Implied simulated semi-nudity only (side profile/hip visible); no nudity. Modesty garments and strategic camera angles will be used on a closed set.

A deeply stressed, exhausted single mother balancing grueling medical shifts. Professionally sharp, clinical, and protective, she maintains a polite, modern mask for the outside world but harbors an instinctual, generational fear of Mara and the dark history of the apartment building. Requires a highly grounded, naturalistic acting style. The character delivers crucial narrative exposition and must convey a subtle, mounting dread beneath a professional exterior.

Intrusive, intense, and deeply unsettling, she serves as the cold, watchful "internal enforcer" of the apartment building's twisted logic. Outwardly, she maintains a forced, brittle mask of neighborly politeness, but underneath lies a calculating, severe presence. She is bound completely to her mother's will and hereditary control.

A cruel, deeply insecure, and aggressive woman who harbors intense disdain for young Mara. Piercing, frantic, and intimidating, she uses verbal abuse and humiliation to assert dominance. Her story ends in a shocking supernatural climax as her own body turns against her, forcing her into a violent confrontation. Seeking an actress with exceptional physical control and emotional intensity, capable of delivering a sharp-tongued performance and executing a demanding highly coordinated stunt sequence

The Stepmother’s daughter. Smug, cruel, and vindictive, she delights in mocking young Mara and watching her mother humiliate her. Her sadistic amusement turns to absolute horror when a supernatural force takes control of the room. Seeking an actress who can shift from a mocking snicker to raw terror. Requires intense physical acting as her body is violently contorted into unnatural positions by an unseen force. Parent or guardian required on set.

Mara’s teenage daughter, bearing a sharper version of her mother’s severe features. Caught between obedience and becoming a cold enforcer of the family line, she carries out a terrifying act against her own father with eerie precision. Seeking an actress capable of a highly controlled, naturalistic performance, shifting from quiet intensity to chilling detachment as she delivers the line, “You were right, Dad. I’m just like Mom,” and completes the family’s blood ritual.

Mara’s husband. A pale-eyed, quiet, and helpless man trapped in a bathtub, he becomes the victim of his family’s dark hereditary ritual, forced to face his wife and daughter as they turn against him. Seeking an actor with exceptional facial acting and emotional vulnerability. Since the character is paralyzed, he must convey terror, desperation, and silent pleading through his eyes, breathing, and gasps. Features a special-effects scene with fake blood, water, and a simulated throat injury.

Female. Mara in adulthood, a severe and imposing woman with a hardened face marked by a vivid blood-red birthmark on her forehead. Cold, detached, and authoritative, she guides her teenage daughter through a dark hereditary family ritual with unwavering composure. Seeking an actress with a powerful, chillingly still screen presence, capable of conveying immense authority and a complete lack of empathy without resorting to theatrical villainy.