Shudder Buys Erotic Thriller ‘The Dead Thing,’ Plans February Release (EXCLUSIVE)

Shudder, AMC Networks’ streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural, has acquired “The Dead Thing” ahead of its U.S. premiere at the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival. The deal is for North America, U.K., Ireland, Australia and New Zealand distribution rights.

The erotic thriller follows a young woman, lost in a series of meaningless connections, as she falls in love with a charismatic and sensitive man — who turns out to be hiding a dark secret that transforms her affair into a dangerous obsession.

“The Dead Thing” is Elric Kane’s solo feature debut. It was co-written by Webb Wilcoxen and Kane and stars Blu Hunt (“The New Mutants”) and stuntman-turned-actor Ben Smith-Petersen (“Mad Max: Fury Road”). It had its world premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival and will debut on Shudder on Feb. 14. 

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“I’ve been a Shudder subscriber since almost Day One and preaching about it on podcasts for just as long, so it’s a thrill to know our film is in such great hands,” Kane said. “Shudder continues to expand the scope of what horror can be by including films that push the boundaries of the genre. I consider our film to be one of these and even our scrappy production was inspired by many of the independent films they’ve released over the years.”

“With the perceptive and eerie ‘The Dead Thing,’ Elric Kane, who has dedicated so much to the genre already, makes a terrific leap into horror filmmaking. We’re thrilled to be its home,” said Shudder’s VP of programming Samuel Zimmerman.

The deal was negotiated by Justin Timms, Hugues Barbier and Joe Yanick at Yellow Veil Pictures on behalf of the filmmakers and Zimmerman on behalf of Shudder. 

“The Dead Thing” is produced by Matt Mercer, Monte Yazzie and executive produced by Rebekah McKendry. Kane is repped by Atlas Artists.