By MICHAEL GINGOLD
World-premiering in February at the Berlin International Film Festival, it’s now set for wider release.
Shudder has announced its acquisition of PERPETRATOR, written and directed by Jennifer Reeder, who won widespread praise for her 2019 feature KNIVES AND SKIN. This is her third collaboration with the scream streamer after this year’s NIGHT’S END and last year’s V/H/S/94, and the movie stars Kiah McKirnan, Christopher Lowell (MY BEST FRIEND’S EXORCISM), Melanie Liburd, Ireon Roach and Alicia Silverstone (THE LODGE). The synopsis: “PERPETRATOR follows Jonny [McKirnan], a wild and impulsive teenage girl living precariously in a town where young women continue to go missing, and the power she’s forced to unlock to survive. At its core, a horror film inspired by the shared experience of generations of women, PERPETRATOR is equal parts modern mythmaking, thrilling story of revenge, and extraordinary exploration of youthful chaos.”
“Our third collaboration with Jennifer is her boldest, most exhilarating yet,” Shudder says in a statement. “PERPETRATOR is a wild coming-of-age tale, and we’re thrilled to continue to support a director like no other.”
“This is a significant moment for women working in genre films,” says Reeder. “Women are very well-suited for horror in particular–we have a personal relationship to fear from a very young age, and are able to bleed for days and not die. This film in particular takes on the myth of the out-of-control teen girl–the wild child. In this story, she has agency in her lawlessness and embraces her abject nature. PERPETRATOR is dark but feminine, a nuanced noir, a grrrl-power take on modern horror.”
“When we started developing the movie, the idea was to walk in the footsteps of powerful female horror references such as CAT PEOPLE CARRIE, and JENNIFER’S BODY,” says Gregory Chambet of WTFilms, who produced the film with Divide/Conquer’s Derek Bishé. “On PERPETRATOR, everything gelled together perfectly: the unique voice of Jennifer, a breakthrough performance from Kiah, a great and surprising turn from Alicia, inspirational shots from our DP Sevdije Kastrati, and so much more. We assembled a dream team of partners with the strong know-how of Divide/Conquer, who have worked on numerous hit Blumhouse films, and the packaging talents of 30West. Shudder is the perfect home for our daring, bloody, and mysterious teenage tale and we can’t wait to share the movie with international distributors as well.”
