A college freshman studying for his crossing ceremony into his family’s legacy vampire fraternity, which he later faces false accusations and a deadly trap, orchestrated by the HBCU’s Dean and the fraternity leader.

Synopsis:

The prequel to “Pledge: Looks Are Deceiving" is set on the campus of E.C. Brooks University and follows the story of Tre Lewis (19), a student studying for the crossing ceremony of a prestigious vampire fraternity, the Chi Alpha Nu Pi Fangs. Despite distractions from his new roommate Cali, girlfriend Breonna, and the anniversary of his parent's fatal car accident, Tre remains focused on studying for the ceremony. However, when he is falsely accused of breaking the universities application code of conduct, the fraternity members set a trap to mislead Tre into a fake ceremony, then torture him to death. The story ends with an undercover fraternity member, reporting Tre's murder to the complicit Dean, who secretly organized this violent act.

Development:

July 2022, Ariel K. Harris wrote and directed the short film “Pledge” which was used as proof of concept for an original TV series idea. The sizzle reel, consisting of a single scene, won multiple awards at a few lower-level film festivals: Best female filmmaker and best horror short, best sound & music, and audience choice at another. After it's festival run, she submitted for a 100-person test screening to collect data. Then, used this feedback to complete a full 7 episodes, which has now been arranged into a 4-part limited series tentatively named "Pledge - Change is Good". After completing this 200+ page script in December 2022, she prepped for the 15 minute prequel called Pledge: Look's Are Deceiving to use as a prequel short film to launch this crowdfunding for the full series to complete by December 2023.

Why Now?

It's been 50 years since the first on-screen black vampire appeared in William Cranes' 1972 Blacula film, and since then, only 25 black vampires have graced our screens. Meanwhile, the Twilight saga features a whopping 58 non-black vampires. Moreover, there have only been 10 TV or film references to HBCU Greek life, starting with Spike Lee's 1988 School Daze. It's time to change that with our groundbreaking new series, Pledge. Featuring an all-black cast, Pledge will not only entertain but also promote representation and inclusivity. With your help, we can make history and bring this HBCU of Black Vampires to the forefront of culture. Join us in breaking barriers and shattering stereotypes in the entertainment industry!

About Director:

Ariel K. Harris started as a freelance videographer in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2014. Falling in love with the art of filmmaking at a very young age, she thrives to create the perfect visual for each of her projects. During her military service she had the chance to produce hundreds of projects across the U.S. Having well diversified skills across writing, directing, cinematography, and editing, Ariel has both an eye and a passion for all things film. Currently attending The Los Angeles Film School, Pledge is actually her graduation thesis used as proof of concept for a full Vampire HBCU series she wrote after the success of her single scene short, Pledge filmed as a collaborative class project in 2022. She is sole creator of the story and writer of the shorts and full series.

Director's Statement:

"My goal for Pledge is to tie a knot in history between two things I love. I can identify with every emotion I’ve given to these characters. I have been through every scenario I’ve written into their lives. And I believe my truth will individualize this “vampire show” from the rest. I know that representation, imagination, and relatability are the ingredients to something powerful and I want to give that to my community. I want to give BLACK to my community.”

Credits:

ORIGINAL STORY WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY

Ariel K. Harris

PRODUCER BY

Elton Holt & Nicole Wu

STARRING

Tre Kendrick Denose

Dean G Anthony Joseph

CJ Lotanna Muonagor

KY Joshua Anyasike

Bre Alexys Johnson

Cali Julious Alexander

Cali Double Fredrick Sanderson

Fraternity Member Mikell Watkins

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

Elton Holt

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

Elaine Pusey

CAM OPERATOR

Elaine Pusey

1ST ASSISTANT CAMERA

Angelo Deita

Bryan Kaing

2ND ASSISTANT CAMERA

Mikell Watkins

GAFFER

Marcy Facundo-Moya

BEST BOY GRIP

Keven Marroquin

BEST BOY ELECTRIC

Michael Williamson

KEY GRIP

Timothy Ricafort

GRIP

Orlando Morfin

DOLLY GRIPS

Joshua Anyasike

Elton Holt

PRODUCTION DESIGNER

Metzli Duran

SET DRESSER

Jill Fudali

Fredrick Sanderson

Thomas Wyman

GRILL Tech

Jonathan Quinn Hines

PRODUCTION ASSITANT

Ran Hua

SCRIPT SUPERVISOR

Mia Parham

DIGITAL IMAGING TECHNICIAN

Kevin Horkaew

SOUND MIXER

Chaz Byrd

COMPOSER

Kellen “J. Clyde” Ford

ORIGINAL SONG Pledge: Looks Are Deceiving

WRITTEN & PERFORMED BY

D. Jones

ORIGINAL SONG Pledge: Looks Are Deceiving

PRODUCED BY

Kellen “J. Clyde” Ford

SET PHOTOGRAPHER

Duanelle "Taye" Spearman

POSTER PHOTOGRAPHER

Matthew Brooks

SITE Representative

Micky Espinosa

Special Thanks to

Erald Harris

Rhythm Room LA

Ricardo McKinney

Antonio Lopes-Round

Alejandra Santos

Sonja Lark

Matthew Flinn

Andrew Navarro

Alejandra Toledano

Braden Bolin

Evangeline Carino

Ted Chung

Jay Zabriskie

The Los Angeles Film School