Shudder has released the new festival poster and first-look clip from Jennifer Reeder’s upcoming horror-noir PERPETRATOR, set to world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival Friday, February 17. The Shudder Original Film stars Kiah McKirnan (Mare of Easttown), Christopher Lowell (MY BEST FRIEND’S EXORCISM, PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN), Melanie Liburd (The Idol), Ireon Roach (CANDYMAN [2021]), and Alicia Silverstone (CLUELESS, KILLING OF A SACRED DEER) and is produced by Gregory Chambet for WTFilms and Derek Bishé for Divide/Conquer.
Written and directed by Reeder, PERPETRATOR follows Jonny (McKirnan), a reckless teen sent to live with her estranged Aunt Hildie (Silverstone). On her 18th birthday, she experiences a radical metamorphosis: a family spell that redefines her called Forevering. When several teen girls go missing at her new school, a mythically feral Jonny goes after the Perpetrator.
PERPETRATOR is Reeder’s second feature to screen at Berlinale following the 2019 break-out hit KNIVES AND SKIN, which IFC Midnight released theatrically, and marks her third collaboration with Shudder, preceded by NIGHT’S END (2022), featuring Michael Shannon, and the critically acclaimed anthology entry V/H/S/94 (2021), which revived the widely popular found-footage horror franchise. Reeder was named one of Bong Joon Ho’s 20 upcoming directors for the 2020s, and her shorts and features have shown at festivals and museums around the world, including Sundance, Berlin, SXSW, The Whitney Biennial, and The Venice Biennale.
The full cast includes Casimere Jollette (Tiny Pretty Things), Ilirida Memedovski (THE BOOK OF BIRDIE), Sasha Kuznetsov, and Greta Stolte. PERPETRATOR is lensed by Sevdije Kastrati and edited by Justin Krohn. Previous KNIVES AND SKIN collaborators, costume designer Kate Grube and production designer Adri Siriwatt, return for Reeder’s latest.
Trevor Groth and Sarah Hong executive produced for 30West (TRIANGLE OF SADNESS), along with Adam Hendricks and Greg Gilreath for Divide/Conquer, Dimitri Stephanides for WTFilms as well as Emily Gotto for Shudder.
