Shudder has secured distribution for PENNY LANE IS DEAD, the feature debut from Australian writer-director Mia-Kate Russell. The film, fashioned as an homage to 1980s Ozploitation horror, follows a college-bound teenager whose celebratory night spirals into violence after a cruel prank.
What to know
According to the announcement, Shudder’s acquisition covers a number of territories. PENNY LANE IS DEAD bowed at the Adelaide Film Festival and was slated for its North American premiere at the Fantasia Festival before arriving on Shudder on August 28.
- Director: Mia-Kate Russell (feature debut)
- Setting: Australia, summer of 1986; a teen celebration that turns deadly
- Distribution: Shudder (streaming release on August 28)
- Territories included in the deal: United States, Canada, Caribbean Basin Islands, United Kingdom and Ireland
Cast and production
The ensemble features Sophia Wright-Mendelsohn, Tahlee Fereday and Alexandra Jensen, with supporting turns from Bailey Spalding, Steve Le Marquand, Fletcher Humphrys and Ben O’Toole. Production credits list Sanctuary Pictures—identified as the new production arm of Umbrella Entertainment—alongside Buffalo Media, with Cyan Films involved in association. Producers named in the announcement include Julie Ryan, Ari Harrison, Andre Lima and Carly Maple.
Shudder framed the picture as a fierce, darkly comic slasher steeped in 1980s atmosphere, while Russell’s team described the film as a visceral tale of love, betrayal and survival rooted in Ozploitation traditions.
For collectors and genre fans, the Shudder release offers a first chance to see a contemporary Australian take on retro slasher tropes and marks the debut of Sanctuary Pictures as a feature producer.
Source: Horror Society