The horrors of adolescence are physically manifested in the trailer for The Plague. The psychological thriller opens in New York and Los Angeles on December 24 before expanding nationwide on January 2 via Independent Film Company. At an all-boys water polo camp, a socially anxious 12-year-old is pulled into a cruel tradition targeting an outcast […]
The horrors of adolescence are physically manifested in the trailer for The Plague.
The psychological thriller opens in New York and Los Angeles on December 24 before expanding nationwide on January 2 via Independent Film Company.
At an all-boys water polo camp, a socially anxious 12-year-old is pulled into a cruel tradition targeting an outcast with an illness they call “The Plague.” But as the lines between game and reality blur, he fears the joke might be hiding something real.
Joel Edgerton stars alongside newcomers Everett Blunck, Kayo Martin, and Kenny Rasmussen.
“I was inspired by genre films like Carrie, Raw, Black Swan, and Eighth Grade — stories that explore the social terror of vulnerability, transformation, and the body,” said writer-director Charlie Polinger, who makes his feature directorial debut on the film.
“But I realized these narratives almost always center around young women. When it comes to boys, films either lean bro-y or nostalgic, rarely allowing them to be the subject of horror. Because true horror demands vulnerability—and traditional masculinity doesn’t make space for that.”
Edgerton produces alongside Steven Schneider (Insidious, Paranormal Activity), Roy Lee (Weapons, IT), Lizzie Shapiro (Shiva Baby), Lucy McKendrick, and Derek Dauchy (Late Night with the Devil).
Shot on 35mm film, The Plague premiered at Cannes earlier this year to an 11-minute standing ovation.
