EXCLUSIVE : Vertical has acquired U.S. distribution rights to the horror film Pendulum , the directorial debut of Mark Heyman, the BAFTA-nominated writer of Black Swan . Produced by Darren Aronofsky ( The Whale ) for Protozoa, Motel Mojave’s Jacob Jaffke ( X trilogy), and C2’s Dave Caplan ( Longlegs ), the film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt ( Looper ), Phoebe Dynevor ( Fair Play ), Norman Reedus ( Ballerina ), and two-time Oscar nominee Jacki Weaver ( Silver Linings Playbook ). Vertical is setting Pendulum for a wide release on January 1, 2027. Below is a first-look at the movie. In Heyman’s script, “married couple Patrick (Gordon-Levitt) and Abigail (Dynevor) journey to a new-age retreat in New Mexico, drawn by the possibility of healing after a traumatic event. Patrick is willing to do anything to help his wife, but becomes distrustful of the retreat’s enigmatic leader (Weaver) even as Abigail falls under her spell.…