By MICHAEL GINGOLD
Previously titled VERMIN, it’s now set to crawl into release next year.
Shudder has announced that it has picked up North American, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand rights to INFESTED, which makes its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival and its North American premiere at Fantastic Fest. The streamer will debut the movie in 2024. The feature directorial debut of award-winning shorts filmmaker Sébastien Vanicek, it was scripted by Vanicek and Florent Bernard and stars Théo Christine, Finnegan Oldfield, Jérôme Niel, Sofia Lesaffre and Lisa Nyarko. The synopsis: “Kaleb [Christine] is about to turn 30 and has never been lonelier. He’s fighting with his sister over a matter of inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a bazaar and brings it back to his flat. It only takes a moment for it to escape and reproduce, turning the whole place into a dreadful web trap. At the same time, the police lock down the building where the residents are ambushed. Only option for Kaleb and his mates–find the way out to survive.”
“The idea was always to make a movie that’s worth your ticket, a spectacle worth showing up for,” Vanicek says. “To make a film to blow your mind, your ears, and to hit you in the gut. It’s also a very personal film which depicts French suburbs I know, far from the eeriness of the auteur films or the caricature of the comedies. It’s a genre film that shakes you to your core, moves you, makes you shiver, because it seems to me that through emotions you end up concerned and involved.”
“INFESTED terrifies, on a multitude of levels,” says Shudder’s Emily Gotto. “The film is full of horror, suspense and some serious bite. Sébastien is an incredibly talented director, and we are thrilled to bring his feature film debut to the Shudder audience.”
