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Exclusive photos & comments, plus teaser & poster: “NIGHT OF THE DEMONS” star returns for “REUNION FROM HELL”

Tuesday, December 22, 2020 | Exclusives, News

By MICHAEL GINGOLD

Actress Cathy Podewell has returned for her first horror feature in the 32 years since playing Judy in Kevin Tenney’s cult favorite.

REUNION is written and directed by Hayden Newman, who describes the movie to RUE MORGUE as “a huge love letter to films like HALLOWEEN, SCREAM and the ’90s slasher/whodunit craze. I wanted to create a film that I as a horror fan would want to see, where you care about the characters. This is not your average girl-running-through-the-woods-waiting-to-be-killed-off film. We shot in Louisville, KY in October 2020, and Cathy [being made up in first photo below] actually wrapped her final scenes on the night that NIGHT OF THE DEMONS opened 32 years ago.”

Newman also co-stars in REUNION FROM HELL, along with Johnna Vaughn, Jeremiah Lee Steinert, Jessa Flux, Cody Alexander, Stephen McGill and Adam Freeman. The synopsis: “Since his father’s passing, Riley Conner has not returned to his hometown. But when the news of a murdered friend comes to light, Riley is forced to return home–not knowing that his life, along with those of his friends, will soon be in grave danger. As the body count rises, Riley discovers that the killer has a very specific plan in mind while hunting down his former classmates. It’s a race against time as Riley must learn the identity of the killer, before all those he cares deeply for are dead. It’s going to be one hell of a reunion.”

“I feel this film will be groundbreaking, and will possibly gain a following like NIGHT OF THE DEMONS did 32 years ago!” Podwell tells us. “I felt the script was unique and fell in love with the characters, and I knew this was a film I wanted to be part of. In a lot of ways, it felt like it was meant to be. NIGHT OF THE DEMONS was my first film, and was also an independent project. So it felt like coming full circle 32 years later for my first film back to be an independent horror film.”

Michael Gingold
Michael Gingold (RUE MORGUE's Head Writer) has been covering the world of horror cinema for over three decades, and in addition to his work for RUE MORGUE, he has been a longtime writer and editor for FANGORIA magazine and its website. He has also written for BIRTH.MOVIES.DEATH, SCREAM, IndieWire.com, TIME OUT, DELIRIUM, MOVIEMAKER and others. He is the author of the AD NAUSEAM books (1984 Publishing) and THE FRIGHTFEST GUIDE TO MONSTER MOVIES (FAB Press), and he has contributed documentaries, featurettes and liner notes to numerous Blu-rays, including the award-winning feature-length doc TWISTED TALE: THE UNMAKING OF "SPOOKIES" (Vinegar Syndrome).