Shudder has landed the North American rights to Infested, the Venice-bound, spider-filled thriller. The AMC-owned streaming service also landed the film in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.
Infested, which was previously titled Vermin, will screen in competition at Fantastic Fest in Austin following its bow as a special screening at the Venice Film Festival. Shudder is planning for a 2024 release.
The synopsis for Infested reads: “Kaleb is about to turn 30 and has never been lonelier. He’s fighting with his sister over a matter of inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a bazaar and brings it back to his flat. It only takes a moment for it to escape and reproduce, turning the whole place into a dreadful web trap.”
Théo Christine, Finnegan Oldfield, Jérôme Niel, Sofia Lesaffre and Lisa Nyarko star.
Sébastien Vanicek makes his feature directorial debut on the film after a series of short films, having co-written the film with Florent Bernard.
“The idea was always to make a movie that’s worth your ticket, a spectacle worth showing up for. To make a film to blow your mind, your ears, and to hit you in the gut,” said Vanicek. “It’s also a very personal film which depicts French suburbs I know, far from the eeriness of the auteur films or the caricature of the comedies. It’s a genre film that shakes you to your core, moves you, makes you shiver, because it seems to me that through emotions you end up concerned and involved.”
“Infested terrifies, on a multitude of levels. The film is full of horror, suspense and some serious bite,” said Shudder vp global acquisitions Emily Gotto. “Sébastien is an incredibly talented director, and we are thrilled to bring his feature film debut to the Shudder audience.
Harry Tordjman, via My Box Films, produced the feature that hails from Charades and WTFilms, which negotiated the deal on behalf of the filmmakers.
