Some people watch horror films to get their adrenaline pumping. But the folks at a Butchertown theatre company are using a spooky movie to develop their upcoming play.
After a two-year hiatus when they didn’t have a suitable space, Time Slip Theatre returns Friday with a three-part series through next spring. The first production is modeled after a horror comedy film from 2022.
That main stage show, “Who Invited Them” is a play adaptation of a film written and directed by Duncan Birmingham. The movie follows a couple’s housewarming party as it comes to an end. They assume all their guests have left, but then realize a couple they don’t know is still in the house.
“The night kind of spirals from there,” said Time Slip’s founder Remy Sisk. “It's really, really funny, and it's also a little bit spooky. It's got some horror vibes. It's really fun.”
“Who Invited Them” has an 80% rating from film critics on Rotten Tomatoes. This is higher than average among movies made by film giants like Warner Bros., according to recent data.
The film is also listed on Rotten Tomatoes “2025 Audience Hot List” for horror movies.
When Sisk watched the film with a group of theatre friends, he said he knew it would make for an interesting production. He said he worked with Birmingham to bring the movie to the stage.
“It's so fast-paced, and it's so tight and the dialog is so sharp that it feels almost like you're watching a movie,” Sisk said. “It has this cinematic quality to it. [It’s] kind of a suspense comedy or a horror, a dark comedy. It's such a genre blend.”
“Who Invited Them” runs Aug. 29-Sep. 6 at the Henry Clay Theatre in downtown Louisville.
Time Slip will follow up with Alanis Morissette’s musical “Jagged Little Pill” in January and an interactive adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe’s short story “The Masque of the Red Death” in May.
Sisk said “Who Invited Them” is the theatre company's way of returning “better than ever” and paying homage to the company's love of horror films.
“Our logo is inspired by imagery from the Twilight Zone, because that is the kind of theater we want to do,” Sisk said. “I think that the city is so replete with incredible companies doing really diverse, amazing productions.”
Time Slip wanted to create a space for theatre productions that put the audience on edge, Sisk said.
“When we launched, we knew that we wanted to do stuff that no one else was doing,” he said “Stuff that was … just kind of edgy, a little bit darker.”
The theatre company’s name comes from the song “Time Warp” from “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” a film that Sisk has produced as a musical with Play Louisville for more than 12 years.
This year’s production will be held at the Louisville Palace on Oct. 3.
