'Pool Boy Nightmare' Press Release And Trailer Premiere

Writer/Director:

Rolfe Kenefsky

Cast:

Tanner Zagarino as Adam

Jessica Morris as Gale

Ellie-Darcey Alden as Becca

Cynthia Aileen Strahan as Jackie

Clark Moore as Tony

Gina Hiraizumi as Detective Davidson

Sarah French as Rhonda

Pool Boy Nightmare is a sexy suspense thriller about Gale (Jessica Morris), a divorced woman, and her 18-year-old daughter, Becca (Ellie-Darcey Alden), who have just moved into a new home that comes with a beautiful pool in the backyard. Gale hires Adam (Tanner Zagarino), a local pool boy who used to work for the previous owner, Rhonda (Sarah French), who died in a “freak drowning” accident. Turns out that Adam has a thing for older women and has a fling with Gale. Knowing she made a mistake, Gale ends the affair quickly, but Adam is a very determined young man. He starts dating Becca to make Gale jealous. As the twisted love triangle heats up, danger also mounts since Adam will do just about anything to get the woman he wants! As Jackie (Cynthia Aileen Strahan), Becca's best friend, and Gale's ex-husband, Tony (Clark Moore) soon discover, Adam is not only obsessed but very dangerous! In the end, nobody is safe from this POOL BOY NIGHTMARE!

Check out the trailer here:

The Team

Writer/director Rolfe Kenefsky, who has background on writing and directing sexy suspense thriller films and horror films, came back full throttle on this new thriller starring Tanner Zagarino on his feature debut as Adam the pool boy himself. He is the son of veteran actor Frank Zagarino, whose credits include Operation Delta Force, Waxwork II: Lost in Time, and many more. 21-year-old Tanner is also known as an Instagram model and has over 400,000 followers on his Instagram.

Other than Tanner, the film is also starring award-winning actress Jessica Morris (2019's Art of the Dead, 2020’s Party of Five) as Gale, who has a fling with Adam. Morris has gained popularity from playing Jennifer Rappaport on ABC’s One Life to Live. She was also the lead in a horror also starring Judd Nelson (The Breakfast Club) titled Haunting of the Innocent, for which she won Best Actress with her stellar performance.

We also have Ellie-Darcey Alden as Gale’s daughter, Becca. Before gaining her popularity as young Lily Potter in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Alden was involved in a small-time modeling, commercials, and dancing. Alden also appeared in Doctor Who Christmas special "The Snowmen" and an episode of BBC’s Robin Hood.

Cynthia Aileen Strahan portrays Becca’s best friend, Jackie. Strahan has won various awards in major film festivals. A San Jose State University graduate in 2013, with multiple short films under her belt, Strahan made her way to starring in feature films, including Rolfe Kenefsky’s Art of the Dead.

Another award-winning actress included in this ensemble is Sarah French (Automation) as Rhonda. French’s upcoming art house horror film Blind won her Best Actress in multiple major film festivals. She even won that award for the upcoming crime/drama Booze, Broads and Blackjack, which also starring Vincent Pastore (The Sopranos, Carlito’s Way), James Duval (Independence Day, Donnie Darko), and many more.

Director's Statement

Although Rolfe Kanefsky has been writing and directing movies for over thirty years in multiple genres, this is the first time he has both written and directed a Lifetime thriller with Pool Boy Nightmare. Rolfe has worked in the Lifetime world for years, having authored the productions Watch Your Back (also known as Killer Photo), Deadly Sorority, and Stalked by My Patient, Deadly Vows, and The Wrong Babysitter.

Being a big fan of classic television thrillers from the '70s and '80s, Rolfe saw this as an opportunity to embrace the feel that Steven Spielberg created with his first television movies, like Duel and Something Evil, as well as Dan Curtis' classics The Night Strangler, Trilogy of Terror, and Dead of Night.

“I wanted to make something sexy and suspenseful that still fit in the Lifetime mode but created some visual tension and a little more style that is currently found in today's television thrillers. Although we didn't have a lot of time or money, I was determined to shoot this as a real theatrical movie. Getting my DP, Michale Su, who has shot my last two flicks, Art of the Dead and Bus Party to Hell, was a great help and we pulled off some great moments of tension and action. I was also able to pull together a great cast. I wrote the script with

Jessica Morris in mind to play Gale. Having recently worked with her in Art of the Dead and her track record with these kind of thrillers, she was perfect and glorious in this role. I was also able to get Cynthia Aileen Strahan and Sarah French into the cast. They were also recently in my Art of the Dead flick and fantastic as always. I was excited to discover two overall newcomers. Ellie-Darcey Alden sent in an audition tape which impressed me. When she came in for a callback, I was even more impressed to find out that she was British, having done a flawless American accent. Ellie had a small part in one of the Harry Potter movies when she was very young. I knew she and Jessica, playing mother and daughter, would really capture the dramatic moments of the piece and their scenes together are some of the highlights, elevating the acting that is usually found in these kind of movies.”

“And then there's the 'pool boy' himself. In his first acting job ever, Tanner Zagarino landed the role of Adam, the dangerously sexy villain. The funny thing about this casting is that I immediately recognized Tanner's last name, Zagarino, because years ago, I had worked with an actor named Frank Zagarino who made a lot of B action and sci-fi films back in the day. I had written an action thriller script called Shattered Lies that starred Frank Zagarino and his wife, Elizabeth Giordano. They also produced the film and happen to be the father and mother of Tanner. I think Tanner was like three or four years old at the time. So, cut to seventeen years later, and I'm directing their son in his first motion picture. It's a small world.”

Broadcast Schedule

Pool Boy Nightmare will be premiering on the Lifetime channel on Labor Day, September 7th at 8 PM Pacific Time, and will be airing again later that night and the following:

Tuesday, September 8th at 8 PM

Sunday, September 13th at 10:05 PM

Monday, September 14th at 2:05 AM

All times are Pacific Time.