Perpetrator: Shudder acquires Jennifer Reeder horror film starring Alicia Silverstone

After contributing a segment to the horror anthology V/H/S/94, which was released through the Shudder streaming service, director Jennifer Reeder made the horror film Night’s End, which was already released through Shudder. Now Reeder and Shudder are locked in for their third collaboration, as Variety reports the streaming service has acquired the distribution rights to Reeder’s latest genre film, Perpetrator. Starring Alicia Silverstone (Clueless) and Kiah McKirnan (Mare of Easttown), Perpetrator centers on

Jonny (McKirnan), an impulsive teenage girl living in a town where young women continue to go missing, and revolves around the power she’s forced to unlock to survive. The filmmakers say that the film is “inspired by the shared experience of generations of women,” as well as an “exploration of youthful chaos.”

Christopher Lowell (My Best Friend’s Exorcism), Melanie Liburd (The Idol), and Ireon Roach (Candyman) are also in the cast.

Perpetrator was produced by Gregory Chambet of WTFilms and Derek Bishé of Divide/Conquer. Trevor Groth and Sarah Hong of 30West served as executive producers with Adam Hendricks and Greg Gilreath of Divide/Conquer, Dimitri Stephanides of WTFilms, and Emily Gotto of Shudder.

Shudder had this to say about the distribution deal: “Our third collaboration with Jennifer is her boldest, most exhilarating yet. Perpetrator is a wild coming of age tale, and we’re thrilled to continue to support a director like no other.“

Reeder added: “This is a significant moment for women working in genre films. 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.“

And Chambet provided the following statement: “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. 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.“

It’s not clear when Perpetrator will be reaching Shudder, but the release will come sometime after the film has its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival in February.

How does Perpetrator sound to you? Are you a fan of Reeder’s previous works, and are you looking forward to this one? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Here’s a crazy first look image featuring Kiah McKirnan: