NIGHT OF THE REAPER
A college girl returns home for a weekend and is pulled into babysitting the sheriff’s kid. Meanwhile, the sheriff receives haunting messages from old cases. In the small town of Reedy, something evil is brewing. Shudder Original NIGHT OF THE REAPER is genre throwback greatness.
Deena’s night of watching the sweetest little boy in the history of the profession turns into a living nightmare as things get more frightening by the minute. A hooded figure psychologically torments her while simultaneously sending Arnold on a wild goose chase. Every new clue leads to VHS tapes, each more torturous than the last. 
Opening credits are fantastic. The production design team covers homes with classic ’80s Halloween decorations, and the repeated VHS static filter is chef’s kiss. Every single slasher trope we’ve come to love is utilized to build that creeping sense of dread. The synth score is fantastic. Homages to franchise favorites are endless. Everything from Poltergeist to Halloween, Max’s outfit looks like it’s straight out of Pet Sematery or a nod to Chucky, and the “Kimble, R” buzzer might just be a reference to Australian director Kimble Rendall. 
Casting is delicious. Ben Cockell is outstanding as Chad. Summer H. Howell (Hunter Hunter) sets the scene, while genre regular, the spectacular Keegan Connor Tracy, rounds out the decades of final girl magic. Yes. Yes. Yes. Ryan Robbins gives Sheriff Arnold a down-to-earth quality, whose mournful past becomes the emotional anchor to his frustrations. Robbins is incredible, and I’m glad Christensen gave him such a meaty role. Jessica Clement delivers a nuanced performance as Deena. This is final girl realness. From petrified to powerhouse, Clement gives us her all. It is pure badassery. 
Brandon Christensen, alongside his co-writer brother Ryan, understands how to build suspense while giving horror fans the kills they seek. As a fan of SUPERHOST, I am impressed by this narrative shift again and again. Christensen nails the element of surprise, flipping the script on their head when you least expect it. NIGHT OF THE REAPER is another solid addition to Shudder’s stacked catalog.
Night of the Reaper Trailer:
Available on Shudder September 19th
Directed by Brandon Christensen (STILL/BORN, Z, SUPERHOST)
NIGHT OF THE REAPER Synopsis
In the heart of a quiet, 1980s suburb, college student Deena returns home and reluctantly takes on a last-minute babysitting job. That same night, the local sheriff receives a cryptic package that pulls him into a sinister scavenger hunt that sets off a game of cat and mouse with a dangerous killer. As the clues unravel, Deena finds herself ensnared in a nightmarish mystery that she may not survive.
About the Director
Brandon Christensen is a Canadian film director recognized for his distinctive contributions to the horror genre, focusing on complex familial dynamics, particularly those involving mothers and children. He began his filmmaking journey early in life, making home movies with his siblings, which ignited his passion for storytelling and cinema.
Christensen’s professional career includes notable works such as “Still/Born”, “Z”, and “The Puppetman” – films that explore psychological and supernatural themes against the backdrop of parenting fears. His unique approach often incorporates daytime horror, challenging conventional genre norms to intensify the scare factor, showcasing his knack for crafting compelling narratives from everyday situations.
Director: Brandon Christensen NIGHT OF THE REAPER
Written by: Brandon Christensen and Ryan Christensen
Cast: Jessica Clement, Ryan Robbins, Summer H. Howell, Keegan Connor Tracy, Matty Finochio, Max Christensen, Ben Cockell, David Feehan
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Language: English
Runtime: 93 min
Don’t get ahead of yourself in viewing. ANYTHING THAT MOVES is far more than a high-concept soft porn. I mean, it is also that. The cast fearlessly embraces full frontal nudity, which is incredibly rare for male actors, but more importantly, it honors kink. Audiences will not expect the hidden trauma. Phillips also addresses the demoralization of sex workers.
Shot in Super 16mm, its gritty look completes the homage to 1970s adult films. The Joshua Rains‘s artwork is diabolically genius. The bright spotlight device that denotes an orgasm is brilliant. Casting Nina Hartley and Ginger Lynn Allen was a superior move, as the two essentially served as the film’s intimacy coordinators. By the way, can we acknowledge the importance of that role on a set? I am thrilled we’re adding a Stunt category to next year’s awards season, but Intimacy Coordination is also an art.
SAINT CLARE
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Visually and technically stunning, if not a touch confusing storytelling-wise. The script has a Freighteners and Civil Dead meets The Sixth Sense vibe. The camerawork suggests potential mental illness in Clare. The audience constantly questions what is real.
Ryan Phillipe makes the best of a weird situation. Rebecca De Mornay is a fantastic addition. Frank Whaley made my heart skip a beat. He deserved way more screentime!
More Dexter than Joan of Arc, Bella Thorne‘s spitfire attitude makes SAINT CLARE compelling through the confusion. I could easily see her captivating in a role similar to Jennifer Garner in ALIAS. Honesty, Thorne could easily slot into a new season of Marvel’s Jessica Jones alongside Krysten Ritter. They would kick major ass together.
The film doesn’t know what genre it wants to be. There is comedy akin to Idol Hands (which is some of the strongest), drama like Pretty Little Liars, and mystery that is as whirlwind as Memento. It feels like a YA graphic novel with panels missing. If anything, SAINT CLARE does make me want to read Don Roff‘s source material, “Clare At Sixteen,” if only for some potential clarification.
![Touch Me (2025) - [www.imdb.com]](https://i0.wp.com/reelnewsdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/Touch-Me-2025-www.imdb_.com_.png?resize=678%2C473&ssl=1)
Writer/director Addison Heinmann follows up his 2022 Fantasia hit 
When a young woman faces a deadly diagnosis, she seeks dark magic from a witch in the woods… but every cure has costs. Written and directed by John and Zelda Adams and Toby Poser (The Adams Family), who also star, shot, edited, and scored, MOTHER OF FLIES is the latest creation from the filmmaking family behind such singular landmarks as 
In one of 2025’s major genre breakouts, four college friends find themselves on an infinite, unending road, forcing each of them to decide how to confront their fate in an unnerving journey into the unknown. Writer/director Alex Ullom and his gifted cast work miracles and offer a compelling, constantly intriguing, and often terrifying road trip into adulthood. Official Selection: SXSW 2025, Overlook 2025. 
Desperate to avenge her daughter’s murder, Irene Kelly (Michaela McManus) journeys through parallel dimensions to repeatedly track down and annihilate her killer (Jeremy Holm). A tense sci-fi vengeance thriller unlike any other, REDUX REDUX is the latest creation by Kevin and Matthew McManus, the Peabody award-winning writers and producers of AMERICAN VANDAL and COBRA KAI, and writers/directors of FUNERAL KINGS (Fantasia 2012) and THE BLOCK ISLAND SOUND (Fantasia 2020). Official Selection: SXSW 2025. Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival 2025. 
After coming to Fantasia as a short film selected for the Frontierés Market Shorts to Features Lab in 2022 and Sitges Fanpitch that same year, directing duo Deanna Milligan and Ramsey Fendall expand the world of Mia Sunshine Jones in their darkly trippy feature, LUCID. Mia is a rebellious art student who struggles to create the ultimate project for a demanding professor. Desperate to find her artistic voice, she takes Lucid, a candy elixir, to access her creativity, but taps into something much darker. Starring Caitlin Acken Taylor, who reprises her role from the short, and Georgia Acken (star of the 2023 Fantasia hit THE SACRIFICE GAME), Milligan and Fendall create a surreal nightmare with a vintage look that fully embraces the 90s grunge era with a punk art aesthetic. Using live on-set music, an eclectic cast, and loads of experimental and haunting visuals, the World Premiere of LUCID will be a nightmare-come-true. 
For her debut feature film, FOREIGNER, Ava Maria Safai (Zip) expertly harnesses the power of identity, social acceptance, horror, and comedy. It’s 2004, and Iranian immigrant Yasamin, or Yasi, is the new girl. Her high school experience is daunting, as she tries to improve her English by watching her favorite sitcom and befriends a trio of pastel-clad girls who feed Yasi’s need to fit in. Desperate for acceptance, she dyes her hair blonde and, in doing so, also attracts a demonic force. With a fun retro setting, great performances by Rose Dehgan as Yasi, Chloë MacLeod as the creepy high school “Queen Bee” Rachel, and a blend of our favorite teen horrors, FOREIGNER takes up space as a new entry to “bubblegum horror,” bringing a fresh narrative to the Canadian immigrant experience. The film has been referred to by some as Mean Girls meets The Exorcist and Ava is definitely a young director to watch. 
A woman (Dakota Gorman) wakes in the back of a moving camper trailer. A voice (Todd Terry) from the truck towing it tells her they must reach a mysterious doctor within the hour. Thus begins HELLCAT, the feature debut of writer/editor/director Brock Bodell, who previously cut the mind-bending 
THE BUILDOUT
Cameron and Dylan are not the first to set foot on the land. Timelines cross. The two friends document what they find on a camcorder. In the isolation, they discover more questions than answers, and the viewer travels down a rabbit hole of unnerving chaos.
Jenna Kanell gives Cameron a feisty edge that reminds me of Robin Tunney in Empire Records, appearance and all. There is a visible aversion to the hyper-religious nature that Dylan openly expresses. Hannah Alline (
The audience holds its collective breath with only drips of information at any given time. The eclectic camera work by Justin Moore is jarring in the best way possible, delivering a continuously menacing vibe. (Don’t think I missed your EP credit, 
Eric McGinty‘s STOCKADE follows Ahlam, a Lebanese woman trying to get her artist’s visa extended in NYC. To pay her lawyer, she agrees to deliver a package upstate. 
Halfway through the story goes in an entirely bizarre direction when Richard doesn’t show up, Paul isn’t answering the phone, and two strangers appear in the house demanding the contents of the package. Suddenly, easy money is not so easy after all.
While the rest of the cast is mediocre at best, Sarah Bitar is spectacular. She has a commanding presence about her. Ahlam holds unspoken trauma and guilt from leaving her family in Beruit. Bitar holds you captive with her fierce energy. She is the reason to watch this film.
PERSONA
Sophia Ali is Sam, a fiery, take no shit woman whose severe injury and unresolved trauma threaten to end her fight. Ali nails every beat. You are rooting for her every second she is on screen.
Shanti Lowry gives Tricia a hopeful nature. Underneath is a mess of cryptic hallucinations and garbled memories. Lowry moves through the character with grace amongst the unpredictable.
Ho’s editing is quick and clever. Some of the most effective moments come as the women imagine rescue scenarios for better or worse. PERSONA taps into every true-crime-obsessed female fear. It’s like some demented practice run for very real circumstances. The film boasts an explosive final act. This pulse-pounding, dark ending is worth the wait.
CELLAR DOOR
The set is marvelous. Wood-paneled rooms mixed with modern updates, a sprawling terrace, and an exterior straight out of Great Expectations, the audience falls in love with the house at first glance.
2. The varying visual aspects are so cool, from the black and white to the halo effect. Those specificities keep the audience relatively grounded in Jack’s chaotic “space and time.” What did this storyboarding look like? With all the elements involved, I imagine it was a huge wall or an entire room.
4. Can you tell us about casting Kelly Marie, Chris, and Jack? Their chemistry is magic. Did you let them play with dialogue during the shoot?
5. The set is incredible. As a theatre nerd, it was immersive enough for the imagination to fill in the blanks and for the cast to play on. How did you decide on a unit set?
6. Would you and Nik consider a franchise with new characters? I would be the first person watching the interactions of other people’s minds swirling with what-ifs!
THE COMPLEX FORMS
A sweeping opening shot accompanied by Riccardo Amorese‘s booming cinematic score immediately grabs your attention. The location is exquisite, with sprawling grounds and old-world villa architecture. THE COMPLEX FORMS is visually spectacular at every turn. Our mysterious entities remind me of the darkest Jim Henson creatures and Moana’s villainous crab, Tamatoa.
David Richard White gives leading man Christian an intriguing mix of fear and determination. Aided by D’Orta’s sharp cinematography, White compels you to root for him.
The entire cast nails each beat. Kelly Marie Tran oozes charm as Mia. She is so watchable and gives Mia a genuine heart. Chris W. Smith delivers honest best-friend vibes. He’s got that sitcom aura in the best way possible. Jack De Sena is spectacular, running through the emotional gambit. He reminds me of Jack Black, with a loveable quality that draws you in. Discovering that Smith is De Sena’s comedy partner in their popular sketch comedy channel Chris and Jack and now the world makes more sense.
The script is whip-smart. It is a ping-pong match of wits between best friends through self-doubt, anxiety, and depression. The film is a dizzying whirlwind of meta-purgatory, tackling the incredible nuance in relationships and the importance of communication. It’s about owning your shit. Me, Myself, & the Void is one of the best indie gems of the year.
Danielle Octavien plays Tara’s best friend, Helen. She is incredibly natural, and I enjoyed every minute of her screen time. Georgie is the most intriguing character. Andrew Diego‘s commitment to the character’s PTSD and/or neurodivergence is applause-worthy, even if writer Patricia V. Davis writes him as a borderline offensive stereotype.
Johnny is toxic as hell. Joshua Malekos gives audiences an extremely unlikable and manipulative character. He is a gaslighting master, and I wanted nothing more than for him to find a tragic end, regardless of his backstory. Tara Nichol Caldwell is perfectly passable as Tara. Unfortunately, the script does nothing for her, leaving a mediocre and likely forgettable turn.
The script never hides Johnny’s shady leanings. Having masks appear everywhere ends up coming off as hokey. The costumes also make little sense in specific scenes. Honestly, the fact that Tara sticks around is utterly preposterous. The amount of tropes all smashed together makes for a messy finished product. LYVIA’S HOUSE ends up being an overly long, frustrating watch.
THE CRITIC
Lush cinematography and lighting immediately draw you into the narrative alongside McKellen’s iconic voice. From the costumes to the jewel-toned sets, it’s a period drama fans dream.
Sir Ian McKellen is vicious and brilliant. Playing Jimmy Erskine, he is a rather vile curmudgeon who revels in taking down enthusiastic artists and their work. Jimmy is an unapologetic diva. The fear he leaves in his wake destroys careers with the stroke of his pen. McKellen succeeds in making audiences adore a genuine villain.
Ladi Emeruwa is a star. He exudes effortless charm, diving headfirst into Eddie’s unresolved trauma and the ensuing panic attacks. Emeruwa’s ability to grab the audience is a filmmaker’s dream. He has that ” It” factor in spades. 
The score is proper neo-noir, but the volume is often distracting. Filmmakers Bertie Speirs and Samantha Speirs deliver a well-crafted thriller. Eddie has dreams with flashes of memories or fantasies. We aren’t exactly sure. His lost time ups the ante. They skillfully tease a mysterious backstory so the audience constantly questions Eddie’s possible culpability. MIDNIGHT TAXI takes you along for a complex psychological ride.
FANTASIA 2024
A road trip through Canadian oil fields conjured up fantasies of secrets deep in the dirt for the Adams family, and inspired them to create HELL HOLE, an indie rock-n-roll monster movie set at a far-away fracking site. Known for their DIY ethos, John and Lulu Adams and Toby Poser, partnering with Shudder, have joined the team behind The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs and FX legend Todd Masters to shoot their latest in Serbia with a local cast and crew. Absurd, mutinous, and transgressively comical, Hell Hole is old-school sci-fi horror, yet in typical family fashion, they subvert the genre with textures of biological and environmental horror in tandem with questions of gender and bodily autonomy. This will be the fourth time Fantasia World Premieres work from the gifted filmmaking family, following launches of 
After the success of 
Peter Vack (ASSHOLES) and Dasha Nekrasova (THE SCARY OF SIXTY-FIRST) star as couple on the rocks during the early part of the Covid-19 pandemic in American filmmaker Eugene Kotlyarenko (
It’s been 21 long years since Scooter McCrae (SHATTER DEAD) released a new feature, and he’s lost none of his smart, transgressive bite. Desperate for work, Derek (Damian Maffei, THE STRANGERS: PREY AT NIGHT) accepts a job at a shady tech start-up, working intimately with Susan (Yvonne Emilie Thälker in a powerful debut role), a bleeding-edge BDSM sex doll meant to receive and appreciate sexual punishment as an integral part of her evolving AI. Shot on Super 16, BLACK EYED SUSAN counterbalances its dark, vulgar core with a surprisingly tender vulnerability, creating a lo-fi science-fiction landscape infused with surprising fragility, as legendary Italian composer Fabio Frizzi (THE BEYOND, ZOMBIE) lends the picture a lush, atmospheric backdrop. Not for the faint of heart, BLACK EYED SUSAN delves into themes and questions that will only become more pertinent with the continued evolution of artificial intelligence. World Premiere.
A true DIY passion project from Estonian filmmaker Sander Maran, CHAINSAWS WERE SINGING is a zany, blood-soaked musical about lovers split up by a chainsaw-wielding killer. Over a decade in the making, Saran not only directed but wrote, scored, shot, and edited this colorful murder-fest that’s part gory horror movie and part ridiculous musical. The camerawork is inventive, the editing slapstick, and the tone truly absurdist. Most importantly, though, the songs are incredibly catchy, with Sander clearly deeply indebted to Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s CANNIBAL! THE MUSICAL and Frank Oz’s LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS. Underground Section. International Premiere.
The stunning sophomore feature from award-winning director Carlota Pereda (
My favorite shorts collection of the year, this wildly eclectic and insanely talented group of female filmmakers aims to please, shock, and gag audiences. You never know what you’ll get with each passing year and I get giddy in anticipation. Fantasia 2024’s Born Of Woman lineup includes the following films:
THE BLEACHER
WILDFLOWER
DEAD TOOTH
The heightened sound editing by Andrew Siedenburg and Nikolay Antonov is a character in the film. There is no better way to articulate its effect. The camera work from Lidia Nikonova swings from following closeups to static long takes, and it is nothing short of magnificent.
There is a theatrical delivery of much of the dialogue. Deragh Campbell is marvelous playing Katy. She delivers a compelling performance, reminding us how much we rely on the family matriarch to set our boundaries. Campbell’s pervasive anxiety flows on the screen.
The film brilliantly captures the poetic chaos of family gatherings. A myriad of intimate vignettes are all swirling together in an authentic picture where time loses all meaning. FAMILY PORTRAIT is haunting in so many ways. It will leave you breathless and wanting more.
Beth’s protective best friend Julia, played by Alex Essoe, balances Emma’s anxiety-ridden nature. Essoe’s level-headed portrayal feels authentically grounded. Juliette Kenn de Balinthazy as Lex is extra cool as writers David Blair and Vida give her character a rare disease, making her unable to sense physical pain. Juliette Kenn de Balinthazy is a star.
Jane Badler plays Mona with an eccentric personality, fully tapping into her career toolbox. Wise and mesmerizing, curious and terrifying, Badler delivers an intriguing villain like the pro she is. Beth Million is Emma. She is timid, paranoid, and desperate for cash. Million is relatable and quietly powerful.
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is, to no one’s surprise, spectacular. My introduction to his work began with Game of Thrones. Even thirty years ago, he possessed a magnetic presence on screen. 
NIGHTWATCH taps into classic fears and creates authentic dread from beginning to end. A premise stemming from toxic masculinity gets a perfect foil in its horror element. Bornedal’s dialogue is particularly meta, no doubt inducing a smirk from the audience more than once. 
The film is a genre-bender. When you think you know what’s happening, the plot twists again. Bornedal’s sequel, 30 years in the making, has a lot to live up to. The Shudder Original 
The film starts with a bang. Bravo to Casper Kjær Jensen for one hell of a performance. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau returns as Martin. We now know he and Kalinka married and had a daughter named Emma. After Kalinka’s suicide, Martin is distraught. Emma discovers the newspaper clippings about her parents’ traumatic ordeal. Seeking answers, she takes her father’s old job on night watch. 
Kim Bodnia is the same thoughtless jackass settling right back into the role of Jens. The character’s development feels darker and more insensitive than before, but Bodnia’s chemistry with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is still dazzling. 
Ole Bornedal makes the sequel a true family affair. His daughter, Fanny Bornedal, plays Emma. She is a pro. Ole gives her characteristics of Martin and Kalinka. Emma is a bold, bright, and fearless medical forensics student. Fanny commands each frame. She’s a star. 
Summoning Sylvia
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