Shudder today announced that they have acquired the halloween thriller-horror, Hallowarrior, the feature debut from writer-director Ben Sottak starring Milly Shapiro (Hereditary, Hysteria!), Shannyn Sossamon (Wayward Pines, Sinister 2), Ajani Russell (Betty, Skate Kitchen), and AJ Bowen (You’re Next, The House of the Devil).
The deal includes rights in North America, UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. Hallowarrior will have its world premiere at the Tribeca Festival on June 10, 2026, and will debut on Shudder this Fall.
Hallowarrior follows Pumpkin (Shapiro), the last girl on earth and sole survivor of a humanity-ending plague, scavenging the wasteland for supplies on the eve of Halloween. Pumpkin’s lonely holiday ritual is interrupted by the arrival of a savage gang of raiders at her doorstep led by the fearsome Thalia (Sossamon). Outnumbered and armed with candy, wit and weapons, Pumpkin must ferociously fight back to survive the night.
“Hallowarrior is a love letter to horror and Halloween, and I am thrilled that the film has found its home with a distributor whose brand is synonymous with both,” said writer-director Sottak. “It’s an honor to have HALLOWARRIOR join the Shudder family, and a treat to introduce their audience to this fun, scary, gory film along with its badass lead, Pumpkin, played by the incredible Milly Shapiro.”
“From the moment we saw Hallowarrior, we knew this was a natural fit for Shudder. The film fully understands what genre fans come to the platform for – strong scares, spooky atmosphere and a wild ride. It’s the kind of horror that plays directly to our audience and reinforces why the service is such a trusted home for bold, crowd-pleasing genre filmmaking, especially around the Halloween season,” said IFC Entertainment Group Director of Acquisitions and Productions Adam Koehler.
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