A serial killer ravages a city in the crime-driven horror “Sebastian”

Sebastian (ac. AD 288) was an early Christian saint and martyr. He was killed during the Roman emperor Diocletian’s persecution of Christians, initially being tied to a post or tree and shot with arrows, though this did not kill him. Irene of Rome would come to his rescue and nurture him back to health. Although he survived, Sebastian was later killed by his enemies.

For centuries after this event, there has been a mass number of young women named Irene murdered and missing around the globe. Legend has it that Sebastian has been living among us disguised as a regular civilian named Augustus and is the murderous, revenging spirit that is reborn every 60 years because of the blood of Irene. The present-day Irene is first charmed by his gentleman aurora and his world sophistication but then becomes put off from his aggression. Sebastian will not stop until he gets her blood. Or her love. Anyone that’s gets in the way of his pursuit of Irene will be eliminated.

The horror and thriller Sebastian (2023) centers on the Christian martyr who is reborn every 60 years as he goes on a pursuit to win the love of Irene, eliminating anyone who gets in his way.

The character of Irene Ludwick is played by Jamie Bernadette, one of the most exciting new faces in the horror genre having starred in The Bunnyman Massacre (2014), All Girls Weekend (2016), Face of Evil (2016), The 6th Friend (2016), Killing Joan (2018), I Spit on Your Grave: Deja Vu (2019), The Bone Box (2020), Dead by Dawn (2020), Axeman at Cutters Creek (2020), Ash and Bone (2022), and many more. Clifton Powell, Darius McCrary, Torrei Hart, Cocoa Brown, Jayson Warner Smith, Jermaine Hopkins, Jermel Howard, Michael Emery, Tracey Graves, and Luca Della Valle as Sebastian.

Mann Robinson is the producer, director, and co-writer of the film. Jan O’Connell, also a producer in Sebastian (2023), compared the film to David Fincher’s Se7en (1995) and praised the entire cast and director Mann Robinson. Darius McCrary, who is also a producer on the film, says, “I am honored to have had the pleasure of working with my partner Torrei Hart and the brilliant cast she and Mann assembled. Sebastian (2023) is one small step for a brilliant independent filmmaker named Mann and one giant step for all his Mankind”. Ken King (American Conjuring (2016)) is the co-writer of the screenplay.

Director Mann Robinson stated, “It was an honor to work with true legends on this project. Felt like I was working with 7 acting instructors!” Jamie Bernadette commented about joining the cast, saying, “It was a no-brainer to accept the lead protagonist role of ‘Irene’ after I read the brilliant script by Mann Robinson and watched his excellent past directing work. Add to that a really strong cast of seasoned actors and an awesome producing team, and we have gold. They all made my job easy”.

Sebastian (2023) is available in the streaming platform Tubi. Watch its official trailer.