EXCLUSIVE: AMC Networks’ genre streaming service Shudder has acquired rights in North America, the UK and Ireland to Scare Me and La Llorna. The deals come ahead of both films landing at the Sundance Film Festival next month.
Scare Me, written and directed by Josh Ruben in his feature debut, is a comedic thriller that will have its world premiere in Sundance’s Midnight section. It revolves around two strangers who tell scary stories during a power outage in the Catskills. The more Fred (Ruben) and Fanny (Aya Cash) commit to their tales, the more the stories come to life in the dark cabin. The horrors of reality manifest when Fred confronts his ultimate fear: Fanny is the better storyteller. Chris Redd co-stars.
Jayro Bustamante’s La Llorna had its world premiere in the Venice Days sidebar at the Venice Film Festival and then played Toronto. It is making its U.S. premiere in Park City in Sundance’s Spotlight sidebar. The plot delves into magical realism as it follows Enrique, a retired general who oversaw the Mayan genocide and is haunted by his devastating crimes. The pic reimagines the iconic Latin American fable as an urgent metaphor of Guatemala’s recent history.
“We are thrilled that the Sundance Film Festival has recognized the exceptional talents of Jayro Bustamante and Josh Ruben and their new films, each of which pushes the boundaries of genre cinema in exciting and surprising ways,” Shudder GM Craig Engler said. “We can’t wait to share La Llorna and Scare Me soon with Shudder members around the world.”
For Scare Me, ICM Partners negotiated the deal with Shudder’s Emily Gotto, while Gotto negotiated the La Llorna acquisition with Film Factory.
The pics join Shudder’s recent deals for Coralie Fargeat’s Revenge, Issa Lopez’s Tigers Are Not Afraid and Shinichiro Ueda’s One Cut of the Dead.