ADVENTURE BOYZ Trailer: 1st Family Feature From Howard J. Ford

The director of horror-hit The Dead and the award-winning thriller Never Let Go, Howard J. Ford has taken his filmmaking career path in a new and unexpected direction with his first family film, Adventure Boyz.

“Global Disaster” of Device Screens

Inspired by what Ford considers to be the “Global Disaster” of children focusing on device screens rather than engaging in real-life adventures, Adventure Boyz takes audiences on a journey with thrills, spills and humor.

Howard was driven to create Adventure Boyz after seeing how much time his own children, Rory (9) and Felix (7), spent on their own hand-held devices. In keeping with the theme of the movie, making the movie became a family-affair and a real-life adventure for the father and his sons. Ford asked his sons to list everything they would want to see in a movie. They listed all sorts of things—”Outsmarting Criminals,”  “Motorbike action,” “Finding Treasure,” “BMXing,” “Bullies getting their comeuppance,” —by the next morning, Howard had written a synopsis with all of those, plus other kid-approved plot ideas and action. There was nothing else to do other than write and direct the film, with Rory and Felix in the roles they helped create.

Tailor-Made Adventure Plot

In Adventure Boyz, ex-motorcycle speedway champ Mike Harris (Jon Campling) looks forward to outdoor fun with his two young sons (the director’s real-life sons Rory and Felix Ford) over the summer break, but is stunned that they just want to sit inside playing on their devices. When he encourages them to get out into the real world for exercise and adventure, little does he realize he is about to set off a chain of events that will change their lives forever.

The boys stumble into the middle of a robbery tied to the nearby castle of a royal family member, and now a notorious crime boss and his bumbling goons are in hot pursuit. The brothers not only lead the thieves, but also the police, to the family home where the boys have hidden the stolen loot they discovered. With Mike now a prime suspect and their Mom on the warpath, it is up to the boys to prove who the real thieves are and clear their dad’s name in time for his final speedway race.

“The technology and choice available to us – and our kids – nowadays is amazing and I’m not suggesting we ever let it go altogether. I think sometimes parents and children do not even realize how little time the kids actually spend outside being active and having fun. After watching Adventure Boyz, my dream is that parents and kids feel inspired to then go and do something amazing together, get some air in their lungs, get moving, and not just drift onto the next thing on our screen; it’s all about balance,” said Howard, in a press advisory distributed to the media.

“I felt I had to do something urgently to remind my own kids, and perhaps millions of others, that there was more to life than just playing the latest addictive game. It’s been widely reported that children worldwide are falling into ‘device addiction’, with apparently some young people spending up to 10 hours a day on social media! I wanted to encourage and inspire all of us to get outdoors more, exercise and re-connect with each other.”

Angela Dixon (Never Let Go), Justin Hayward, Russell Shaw and Glenn Salvage also star. Ford produces and directs from his own script.

Gravitas Ventures, a Red Arrow Studios Company, will release Adventure Boyz on DigitalHD, Cable VOD, Blu-ray and DVD on February 21 throughout North America.