Jennifer Reeder’s horror “Perpetrator” is out on Shudder in September (official trailer)

Despite the fact that the Berlinale festival doesn’t have a big history in horror films, this year it was the setting for the world release of the horror movie Perpetrator (2023) [watch our review here], a neo-noir horror telling the story of monstrous transformation in a world where you don’t belong.

The movie has been written and directed by Jennifer Reeder. She is not a foreigner in the Berlinale environment since her latest film, the mystery thriller Knives and Skin (2019), was nominated for the Crystal Bear for Best Film.

Perpetrator (2023) tells the story of Jonny Baptiste, a reckless teen sent to live with her estranged Aunt Hildie. On the event of 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.

Alicia Silverstone, Melanie Liburd, Kiah McKirnan, Casimere Jollette, Ilirida Memedovski, Ireon Roach, and Sasha Kuznetsov form the main cast of Perpetrator (2023).

The director Jennifer Reeder said about her film: “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 (2023) is dark but feminine, a nuanced noir, a grrrl power take on modern horror”.

Even before the world premiere of the movie, the horror streaming channel Shudder announced the acquisition of its distribution rights. The final release date is September 1, 2023.

Watch the official trailer for Perpetrator (2023).