The first big Berlinale horror news is that Shudder has released a new festival poster and first-look clip from Jennifer Reeder’s upcoming horror-noir PERPETRATOR. The already-buzzy 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).
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 first feature as writer/director since her 2019 Berlinale break-out cult hit KNIVES AND SKIN (the two films being seperated by a director-for-hire stint making the very “we shot it under lockdown” NIGHT’S END), and has a backing cast featuring Casimere Jollette (Tiny Pretty Things), Ilirida Memedovski (THE BOOK OF BIRDIE), Sasha Kuznetsov, and Greta Stolte.
As you’ll see from the clip below, its style is a little bit Brandon Cronenberg, a little bit Shinya Tsukamoto – and I’m here for it!
Perpetrator debuts on Friday 17th February, at the Berlinale, and will be coming to Shudder – with theatrical release TBC.
Whitlock&Pope 