• Exclusives
  • News

Exclusive first photos: Serial-killer shocker “ED KEMPER”

The true-life horror story has now wrapped.

Director Chad Ferrin (H.P. LOVECRAFT’S THE OLD ONES, PIG KILLER) sent along the exclusive pics seen above and below from ED KEMPER, based on the titular “Co-Ed Killer” who murdered seven young women in 1972-73 (as well as his own grandparents). The film, which we first told you about here, was written by Stephen Johnston (ED GEIN, TED BUNDY) and stars Brandon Kirk, Susan Priver, Brinke Stevens, Lew Temple, Cassandra Gava, Robert Miano, Silvia Spross, Elina Madison, Timothy Muskatell, Katie Silverman, Joe Castro and Jerry Irons.

“I’m still reeling from the amazing experience of shooting ED KEMPER,” Ferrin tells us. “In the immortal words of Ed Wood, ‘This is the one I’ll be remembered for.’ From the excellent script by Stephen Johnson to the pitch-perfect cast and a talented crew with an uncompromising eye for period-correct detail, we have accomplished something that I’m truly proud of.”

Meanwhile, Ferrin informs us that he’ll round out his true-crime trilogy with DOROTHEA, based on the life and times of serial killer Dorothea Puente, which he plans to shoot this October/November. And his latest Lovecraftian feature, UNSPEAKABLE: BEYOND THE WALL OF SLEEP (see our last story on that one here) will have its U.S. premiere this Sunday, August 4 at The Valley Film Festival.

Read More

Get The Grim Reader.
Rue Morgue's free newsletter.
Editor's notes.
Cultural insight.
Curated horror across film, books, music, and art.
First looks.
Select previews.
No algorithms.
Join Free

Advertisement

In Print Since 1997

Issue 231

Rue Morgue #231 Jul/Aug 2026

Plus

Inside Rue Morgue #231 – Summer Slasher Issue FEATURES Filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun’s TEENAGE SEX AND DEATH AT CAMP MIASMA guts the slasher formula from the inside out, turning it into a romance about the horror of becoming who you were always meant to be. Plus! GILLIAN ANDERSON and HANNAH EINBINDER unpack Schoenbrun’s radical dismemberment of…

Issue 230

Rue Morgue #230 May/Jun 2026 – RARE

Plus

Inside Rue Morgue #230 FEATURES Filmmaker Curry Barker transforms a simple wish into a spiralling nightmare of love, possession, and bloodshed in his breakout feature OBSESSION. Plus: The story of Barker’s found-footage shocker MILK & SERIAL, which turned a micro-budget experiment into a viral horror breakout. Hollywood made it a monster. History tells a different…

Issue 229

Rue Morgue #229 Mar/Apr 2026

Plus

Inside Rue Morgue #229! FEATURES A nerve-shredding found-footage thriller built around sound, UNDERTONE signals the arrival of a terrifying new voice in Canada’s booming independent horror scene. Plus! Meet the new breed of independent Canadian horror filmmakers behind DREAM EATER, SWEETNESS, HANGASHORE, THE LAND OF NOD and THE CURSE OF GHOST ISLAND. Part post-punk, part…

Issue 228

Rue Morgue #228 Jan/Feb 2026

Plus

Inside Rue Morgue #228! FEATURES He fascinated audiences in 2001 with the French period martial arts horror film BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF. Then he followed it up in 2006 by bringing the eerie world of SILENT HILL to cinematic life. Now, visionary director CHRISTOPHE GANS unleashes his latest nightmare with RETURN TO SILENT HILL. Plus!…