On February 11th, 1992, 28-year-old Johnny Frank Garrett was executed by the state of Texas, having been convicted of the rape and murder of a 76-year-old nun when he was just 17. Garrett maintained his innocence until his dying breath, and there is compelling evidence to support it, as highlighted in 2008 documentary The Last Word.
Garrett’s execution is just the beginning of the tale in supernatural revenger Johnny Frank Garrett’s Last Word however, which explores a mysterious string of deaths that follow. Having premiered at last year’s SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas, the fact-based shocker is headed to VOD on March 7th, courtesy of Momentum Pictures.
Here’s the synopsis:
Based on a true story… a nun was murdered in her convent bedroom in Amarillo, Texas, on Halloween 1981. The police arrested a young man, Johnny Frank Garrett, who always maintained his innocence; but he was found guilty and sentenced to death. On the night of his execution, he wrote a curse letter condemning the people and their families who helped send him to his demise. Shortly after Garrett’s death, members of the community start mysteriously dying. One of the jurors takes it upon himself to break the curse when his son is suddenly struck with a life-threatening illness.
Johnny Frank Garrett’s Last Word was directed by Simon Rumley, the man behind acclaimed horror thrillers Red White & Blue and The Living and the Dead. It stars Sean Patrick Flanery (Saw 3D: The Final Chapter, TV’s The Dead Zone), Erin Cummings (Bitch Slap, Late Phases) and The Invitation’s Mike Doyle.
Words: Kevan Farrow (@KevanX)