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Caught in a cycle of disillusioned dates, a young woman believes she's finally found the love of her life... until she discovers his supernatural secret in Elric Kane's new movie The Dead Thing. With the erotic thriller now streaming on Shudder just in time for Valentine's Day, Daily Dead had the great pleasure of catching up with director/co-writer Elric Kane and stars Blu Hunt and Ben Smith-Petersen to discuss their new film, including exploring the movie's themes of dissatisfaction, the importance of spending time with their layered characters, and taking a unique approach to romance gone wrong.

Synopsis: Alex is trapped in a downward spiral of shallow hookups and tepid connections, but she is caught off guard when her dating app swipes lead her into the arms of a mysterious, charming young man Kyle. Despite their passionate night, when the sun rises, the mystery man is nowhere to be found.

A woman ghosted by her charming dating app suitor refuses to let go of their relationship in The Dead Thing. We have an exclusive new clip that may have you swiping right on Shudder’s erotic thriller.

The Dead Thing debuts on Shudder on Valentine’s Day.

Elric Kane makes his solo feature directorial debut from a script he co-wrote with Webb Wilcoxen.

In the movie, “Alex is trapped in a downward spiral of shallow hookups and tepid connections, but she is caught off guard when her dating app swipes lead her into the arms of a mysterious, charming young man Kyle. Despite their passionate night, when the sun rises, the mystery man is nowhere to be found.

“Alex then sets out to find the one person who made her feel alive. Through her investigation, she reconnects with Kyle, but also digs up a ghastly supernatural secret. The pair quickly...

Stars: Blu Hunt, Katherine Hughes, Ben Smith-Petersen, Josh Marble, Brennan Mejia, Joey Millin, Aerial Washington | Written by Elric Kane, Webb Wilcoxen | Directed by Elric Kane

The Dead Thing opens with an extended montage that gives us a look at Alex and the dead-end routine that takes up her waking hours. Her job is a dead-end position that has something to do with layouts and printing and her social life is a stream of one-nighters arraigned via a hookup app named Friktion, a name that’s meant to evoke the feeling of skin on skin, but serves as an omen of the conflict it’s about to bring her way.

Throw in some Uv light therapy and avoiding her roommate Kara and that’s her existence, I say existence, because it seems a bit of a stretch to call it living. For all intents and purposes, she could be the dead thing the title speaks of.

All eyes are on the alternate poster for The Dead Thing, pictured below. The erotic thriller drops February 14 on Shudder.

The film will also screen on 35mm at New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles on February 6, IFC Center in New York City on February 11, and Music Box Theatre in Chicago on March 7 and 8 with more cities to be announced.

Blu Hunt (The New Mutants) and Ben Smith-Petersen (Mad Max: Fury Road) star with John Karna (“Scream”), Katherine Hughes (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl), and Brennan Mejia (“Power Rangers Dino Charge”).

Elric Kane, co-host of Fangoria’s Colors of the Dark podcast, makes his solo feature directorial debut from a script he co-wrote with Webb Wilcoxen.

In the movie, “Alex is trapped in a downward spiral of shallow hookups and tepid connections, but she is caught off guard when her dating app swipes lead her into the arms of a mysterious,...

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If you are a horror fan, then there is a big chance that you might have heard about the horror streaming service Shudder, and if you have its subscription, you might be wondering what’s in store for you in February 2025. Don’t worry. There is a host of new and old horror movies coming to the service in the upcoming month, and we have listed the 10 best movies coming to Shudder in February 2025.

Unfriended: Dark Web (February 1) Credit – Blumhouse Productions

Unfriended: Dark Web is a screenlife horror thriller film written and directed by Stephen Susco. The 2018 follows a teen who finds a laptop with hidden files. When he and his friends try to investigate, they discover that the previous owner of the laptop had access to the dark web and was watching over them. Unfriended: Dark Web stars Colin Woodell,...

In this edition of Horror Highlights, we have the one-night-only theatrical release details for Alejandro G. Alegre's I Heart Willie, trailers for Elric Kane's The Dead Thing and Mark Anthony Green's Opus, and the cover art and release info for John Harrison's new novel Residue: Paramentals Rising.

I Heart Willie Theatrical Release Date: "Hewes Pictures is excited to announce the special One Night Only®, release of I Heart Willie, a Steamboat Willie-inspired horror/slasher, coming exclusively to theaters across North America for One Night Only®, February 26th, 2025. Directed by Alejandro G. Alegre, this chilling origin story presents genre fans with a sinister reimagining of one of the most iconic cartoon characters in history, along with one of the most horrifying love stories of the year.

Synopsis: Popular YouTubers Daniel and Nico are invited to investigate a haunted property drawn by rumors of a malevolent force. The legend...

Dating is brutal, right? In Shudder's upcoming The Dead Thing, it's also terrifying. The streaming platform has now released a trailer for the upcoming horror outing. The indie feature debuted at the Fantasia Film Festival last year before making its way to London's FrightFest and the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival. While there will be plenty of Valentine's Day movie offerings across streamers, The Dead Thing promises a scary date night when it lands on Shudder on February 14.

Directed by Elric Kane (best known for hosting the podcasts Pure Cinema and Colors of the Dark), the indie thriller follows a young woman named Alex (Blu Hunt), who is disillusioned with dating until she meets a charming man named Kyle (Ben Smith-Petersen). A passionate night ensues, but things get eerie quickly after Kyle vanishes. The Dead Thing's official synopsis teases that once Alex reconnects with Kyle, she "digs up a ghastly supernatural secret.

A woman ghosted by her charming dating app suitor refuses to let go of their relationship in The Dead Thing.

Preview the erotic thriller in the new trailer and images below, ahead of its Shudder release on February 14.

Blu Hunt (The New Mutants) and Ben Smith-Petersen (Mad Max: Fury Road) star with John Karna (“Scream”), Katherine Hughes (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl), and Brennan Mejia (“Power Rangers Dino Charge”).

The indie film marks the solo feature directorial debut of Elric Kane, co-host of Fangoria’s Colors of the Dark podcast, who wrote the script with Webb Wilcoxen.

In the movie, “Alex is trapped in a downward spiral of shallow hookups and tepid connections, but she is caught off guard when her dating app swipes lead her into the arms of a mysterious, charming young man Kyle. Despite their passionate night, when the sun rises, the mystery man is nowhere to be found.

Are you a fan of erotic thrillers? If so, you're in for a treat with the upcoming release of The Dead Thing on Shudder. Here's everything you need to know about this thrilling new Shudder original film.

Elric Kane, who is known for his podcast shows Pure Cinema and Colors of the Dark, makes his feature debut with this movie. He directed this 95-minute film as well as co-wrote the script with Webb Wilcoxen (The Frontier). In addition, Yellow Veil Pictures and Rubric Pictures are the production companies behind The Dead Thing, with Matt Mercer and Monte Yazzie as producers.

It stars Blu Hunt as a young woman named Alex. Alex finds herself stuck in a cycle of meaningless hookups and unfulfilling connections until a chance swipe on a dating app leads her to Kyle, a mysterious and captivating young barista. After a passionate night together, Kyle vanishes by morning,...

Shudder has announced today that they have acquired the North American, UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand rights to Elric Kane’s solo feature debut, The Dead Thing, ahead of its U.S. premiere at the 2024 Brooklyn Horror Film Festival.

The erotic thriller world premiered at the 2024 Fantasia International Film Festival and will debut on Shudder on February 14, 2025.

The Dead Thing follows “a young woman lost in a series of meaningless connections, who falls in love with a charismatic and sensitive man, who hides a dark secret that turns her affair into a dangerous obsession.”

Blu Hunt (The New Mutants), Ben Smith-Petersen (Mad Max: Fury Road), John Karna (Lady Bird), and Katherine Hughes (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl) star in the film.

Elric Kane wrote the script with Webb Wilcoxen (The Frontier).

“I’ve been a Shudder subscriber since almost day one and preaching about it on podcasts for just as long,...

Stars: Blu Hunt, Ben Smith-Petersen, John Karna, Katherine Hughes | Written by Elric Kane, Webb Wilcoxen | Directed by Elric Kane

Directed by Elric Kane and co-written by Webb Wilcoxen, The Dead Thing is an erotic thriller with a supernatural twist. By turns haunting, chilling and achingly melancholy, it’s also a compelling drama about digital dating and modern-day malaise.

Set in present-day Los Angeles, the film stars Blu Hunt as Alex, a bored twenty-something working a dead-end office job as a “scanner bitch” and spending her nights with a series of one-night stands she meets through a dating app called Friktion. Meanwhile, there’s increasing tension between her and her best friend Cara (Katherine Hughes), whose flat she has been “temporarily” sharing for more than two years and who is currently recovering from a recently called-off wedding.

One night, Alex meets kind-hearted, sensitive Kyle (Ben Smith-Petersen) via the app and sparks...

Light-touch genre maybe isn’t as celebrated as it should be – human dramas that gently fold in elements of the sublime and surreal to make a louder and more exciting impact. They’re often not quite sexy or crowd-pleasing enough for horror fans, and a bit too aggressive for everyone else. Rarely does anyone manage to walk the ever-thinning tightrope between the two worlds, so to say that director Elric Kane’s engrossing relationship chiller The Dead Thing does is to not just call it impressive, but a full-on marvel.

An achingly millennial ghost story, set amongst the constant conveyor belt of swipe-right dating apps, Kane’s indie is a truly accomplished look at the hunt for human connection in an impersonal world. 20-something artist Alex (a likably messy Blu Hunt) barely exists, working nights in a menial job while slinking from casual hookup to casual hookup. It’s only...

How does one form a meaningful relationship in the modern world? And once you do, how do you keep that relationship from dying, or turning into something else entirely? The Dead Thing is a supernatural story set in the modern online dating scene. It is an examination of how we make (or fail to make) connections in a technology-fueled world, and what can happen when those connections become too intense. This film comes from Elric Kane and is his first feature as a solo director.

Co-written with Webb Wilcoxen, The Dead Thing opens on Alex (Blu Hunt), a lonely woman trapped in the internet dating scene of LA. She splits her time between a colorless job as a document scanner and swiping through her dating app. She regularly goes out with men, hoping that one of them will be the right match. But none of the men that she meets are terribly interesting.

Ingress is a visually stunning and emotionally charged film that is set to take viewers on an extraordinary adventure through alternate realities. The highly anticipated sci-fi film, directed by award-winning filmmaker Rachel Noll James, is set to release on multiple digital platforms following a successful theatrical and festival run. This joint US/UK production by Emergence Films will be available on Cable and all Tvod platforms including InDemand, iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Tvod, and Vudu, courtesy of Glass House Distribution.

Ingress has been noted for for its innovative approach to both storytelling and production. It tells the gripping story of Riley (portrayed by James), a woman endowed with the ability to traverse between alternate realities. After the tragic death of her husband Toby (Johnny Ferro), Riley embarks on a journey through these realities, seeking solace and a way to reunite with him. Along the way, she encounters Daniel (Christopher Clark...

There’s horror to be found in LA’s dating scene, at least according to the first solo fiction feature film from director Elric Kane. Working from a script he co-wrote with Webb Wilcoxen, Kane’s The Dead Thing is a moody, atmospheric look at the toxicity of finding someone in the city of angels.

Alex (Blu Hunt of The New Mutants) is a twenty-something single who is stuck in a perpetual dating rut. She’s active on Friktion, a dating app, and the opening of the film finds her in a cycle of generic looking men: first on the app, then at the bar, and finally in bed. For Alex, this is repetitive, it’s unexciting, and it’s transactional.

It’s also notable that the only sound is dialogue from men and/or the score by Michael Krassner and Robin Vining. Alex herself doesn’t speak until nearly nine minutes into the film,...

Yellow Veil Pictures has proudly announced the international premiere of Elric Kane’s debut solo feature, The Dead Thing, an obsessive and lust-driven thriller set to captivate audiences at Pigeon Shrine FrightFest. The film will screen on 26th August at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square, promising a unique blend of horror and romance that will leave viewers spellbound.

The Dead Thing marks a significant milestone for Kane, known for his work as the host of the Pure Cinema podcast and Fangoria’s Colors of the Dark podcast. This debut solo feature is based on a script co-written with Webb Wilcoxen and produced by Matt Mercer and Monte Yazzie, with Colors of the Dark co-host Rebekah McKendry (Glorious) serving as executive producer. Yellow Veil Pictures is handling worldwide sales, underscoring the film’s anticipated global appeal.

Starring Blu Hunt, Ben Smith-Petersen, John Karna, and Katherine Hughes, The Dead Thing delves into...

Mike Mignola and Ben Stenbeck Return to the Hellboy Universe with The Serpent in the Garden: Ed Grey and the Last Battle for England: "Mike Mignola and his longtime collaborator Ben Stenbeck are joining forces to create the next chapter of the Hellboy Universe in The Serpent in the Garden: Ed Grey and the Last Battle for England, a new 3-issue miniseries written by Mignola and drawn by Stenbeck with colors by Dave Stewart, with lettering from Clem Robins. Issue 1 will be published in November by Dark Horse Comics. Nineteenth-century paranormal investigator Ed Grey’s illustrious and otherworldly career has been a pivotal part of Mike Mignola’s Hellboy Universe. From his first appearance of Hellboy: Wake the Devil to his unforgettable roles in Hellboy in Hell and Sir Edward Grey: Witchfinder, Grey has always been one of the most important and enigmatic figures in the Hellboy Universe.

“Ed Grey...

Yellow Veil Pictures has boarded worldwide sales for Cannes on Elric Kane’s feature The Dead Thing, which it was announced on Thursday will premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival in July.

Described as a contemporary haunted romance and urban legend for the internet dating app era, the film follows a young woman who, lost in a string of meaningless hook-ups, falls in love with a sensitive and charismatic man harbouring a dark secret that turns their affair into a twisted obsession.

Kane co-wrote the script with Webb Wilcoxen (The Frontier)

The Dead Thing stars Blu Hunt, Ben Smith-Petersen...

At one point, there was hype for The New Mutants, the film that was being promoted as a horror entry in the X-Men franchise… but unfortunately, things didn’t end up going very well for that project. Hopefully it will all work out better for the new genre movie The New Mutants cast member Blu Hunt stars in: The Dead Thing, which is described as being “a neo-realist take on an Invisible Man story”.

According to Deadline, The Dead Thing will see Hunt taking on the role of a

young woman who, lost in a string of meaningless hookups, falls in love with a sensitive and charismatic man who she soon discovers harbors a dark secret that turns their affair into a twisted obsession.

Hunt is joined in the cast by John Karna (Lady Bird) and Katherine Hughes (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl), with Ben Smith-Petersen (Mad Max: Fury Road...

A friend to many here in the horror community, Elric Kane will be making his directorial debut with The Dead Thing, and Deadline reports that filming has wrapped in Los Angeles.

Blu Hunt (The New Mutants), Ben Smith-Petersen (Mad Max: Fury Road), John Karna (Lady Bird) and Katherine Hughes (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl) will star in the film.

Deadline details, “Billed as a neo-realist take on an Invisible Man story and a modern urban legend for the online dating era, the film follows a young woman (Hunt) who, lost in a string of meaningless hookups, falls in love with a sensitive and charismatic man (Petersen) who she soon discovers harbors a dark secret that turns their affair into a twisted obsession.”

Elric Kane wrote the script with Webb Wilcoxen (The Frontier).

Producers for The Dead Thing include Monte Yazzie and Matt Mercer, with Rebekah McKendry (Glorious) on board as executive producer.

Duncan Jones has begun principal photography in Berlin on Netflix’s upcoming 2017 thriller.

Alexander Skarsgård, Paul Rudd and Justin Theroux star in the project about a mute man searching for a missing person in the year 2052 while duelling with two villains.

Jones co-wrote the Mute script with Michael Robert Johnson. The filmmaker’s longtime business partner Stuart Fenegan produces for Liberty Films.

Charles J.D. Schlissel serves as executive producer along with Henning Molfenter, Charlie Woebcken and Christoph Fisser of Studio Babelsberg.

Mt. Philo Films has cast Pierson Fode and Sedale Threatt Jr. in It’s Time. Fritz Mitchell is directing from a script by Jeff Sarokin the true story of a friendship that arose from a tragic accident during a 1989 American football college game between Vanderbilt and Ole Miss. Mitchell’s Mt. Philo Films partner Wendy Yamano produces.Rlj Entertainment’s Acorn brand has licensed all Us television, digital and home entertainment rights to ITV Studios’ six-part...

Keep up with the wild and wooly world of indie film acquisitions with our weekly Rundown of everything that’s been picked up around the globe. Check out last week’s Rundown here.

– L.A.-based outfit Strand Releasing has acquired U.S. rights to Michael O’Shea’s Cannes premiere “The Transfiguration.” The film was sold by Protagonist Pictures at Toronto, and it marks the feature debut of writer-director Michael O’Shea. The atmospheric feature puts a new spin on the vampire movie.

“Mr. O’Shea’s film is a unique hybrid that audiences and critics will be compelled by,” said Strand Releasing’s partner Jon Gerrans, who discovered the film at Cannes. No word yet on release plans.

– Oscilloscope Laboratories has announced that Joel Potrykus’s latest dark comedy, “The Alchemist Cookbook,” will be available worldwide for pay-what-you-wish via BitTorrent Now on October 7, before it screens in select theaters across the country.

Read More: Exclusive: Awesome Retro Poster for SXSW Thriller 'The Frontier' Alchemy has acquired "The Frontier," about an outlaw who tries to steal money from a gang of violent thieves. The noir thriller was directed by Oren Shai, who also wrote the screenplay with Webb Wilcoxen.  The cast of "Frontier" includes Jocelin Donahue, Kelly Lynch, Jim Beaver, Izabella Miko, Jamie Harris, Liam Aiken, and Aj Bowen. The story follows a desperate young woman as she tries to rip off some thieves at a desert motel called The Frontier. "The Frontier" premiered at SXSW earlier this year. Read More: Magnolia Pictures Acquires Psychological Thriller 'The Ones Below'...

Alchemy has acquired U.S. distribution rights to The Frontier, director/co-writer Oren Shai’s noir thriller that had its world premiere this year in the Narrative Spotlight section at SXSW. Jocelin Donahue, Kelly Lynch and Jim Beaver star in the story penned by Shai and Webb Wilcoxen about a desperate young woman (Donahue) on the run from the law who discovers a violent gang of thieves at a desert motel and hatches a plan to escape with their stolen cash. Izabella Miko…...

Oren Shai directed the noir starring Jocelin Donahue, Kelly Lynch, and Jim Beaver.

Webb Wilcoxen and Shai co-wrote The Frontier, about a young woman on the run who encounters a violent gang of thieves at a desert motel and hatches a plan to escape with their stolen cash.

Izabella Miko, Jamie Harris, Liam Aiken, and Aj Bowen also star. Dana Lustig produced.

Alchemy brokered the Us deal with Zac Bright and Kevin Iwashina of Preferred Content and attorney William Immerman.

Instrum International handles international sales.

The 2015 SXSW Film Festival will be running from March 13th through March 21st in Austin, Texas and the first wave of selections were announced today to get attendees excited for all the amazing films coming our way next month. And while horror fans have to wait until next week for the announcement of the Midnighters slate, here’s a look at some of the genre-related titles already revealed amidst SXSW’s other film categories for this year.

Narrative Feature Competition

Manson Family Vacation

Director/Screenwriter: J. Davis

The story of two brothers: one who’s devoted to his family, the other who’s obsessed with the Manson Family. Cast: Jay Duplass, Linas Phillips, Leonora Pitts, Tobin Bell, Adam Chernick, Davie-Blue. (World Premiere)

Headliners

Ex Machina

Director/Screenwriter: Alex Garland

Alex Garland, writer of 28 Days Later and Sunshine, makes his directorial debut with the stylish and cerebral thriller Ex Machina, starring Domhnall Gleeson,...

South by Southwest, the multi-faceted film, music and technology festival held annually in Austin, TX will feature such upcoming films as Paul Feig’s Spy, David Gordon Green’s Manglehorn, Alex Gibney’s documentary Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine, and Ondi Timoner’s Russell Brand profile Brand: A Second Coming as headliners in this year’s film festival lineup.

SXSW runs from March 13 to 21 in Austin and is now in its 22nd year. Variety has details of the 145 films and 100 world premieres bowing at this year’s festival. Brand, as previously reported, will be the festival’s opening night film.

Other notable titles on the list are the Will Ferrell/Kevin Hart comedy Get Hard, a rough cut of Judd Apatow’s Trainwreck, the directorial debut of 28 Days Later screenwriter Alex Garland, Ex Machina, and a new comedy by Michael Showalter, Hello, My Name is Doris.

On the small screen,...