Shudder Serves Up Psychological Thriller ‘Bloody Tennis’ 

Shudder has acquired Nikias Chryssos‘ English-language horror film Bloody Tennis ahead of its world premiere at the Locarno Film Festival, reports Variety.

The film takes the world of elite sports to disturbing new extremes. After being admitted to an elite tennis academy hidden deep in Southern Europe, Sophie (Sandra Guldberg Kampp) must contend not only with the fierce brutality of her teammates, but with the school’s increasingly sinister undercurrents, where competitive sports are taken to their painful limits and only the hungriest survive.

Bloody Tennis stars Sandra Guldberg Kampp (Foundation), Helena Zengel (News of the World, The Legend of Ochi), Tracy Gotoas (Safe House), Lucie Zhang (Paris, 13th District), Lily Taieb (The French Dispatch, Bergman Island), Elina Löwensohn (Schindler’s List), and Zlatko Burić (Triangle of Sadness).

The score is composed by Jim Williams (Titane, Raw, Possessor).

“Bloody Tennis serves up an unexpectedly wild ride that will keep viewers exhilarated from start to finish,” said Adam Koehler, Director of Acquisitions and Productions at IFC Entertainment Group. “Distinctive, elegant, and gleefully offbeat, it’s exactly the kind of bold, boundary-pushing horror we strive to champion at Shudder. We’re thrilled to give this unforgettable film a home on our platform.”

The film is produced by Jonas Katzenstein and Maximilian Leo (The Weight, The Assessment, Mother Mary) of Augenschein in co-production with Port au Prince Film & Kultur Produktion and ZDF. It was shot in Gran Canaria, Spain, and NRW, Germany, with Volcano Films providing Spanish production services. The production was supported by Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF), and the Canary Islands tax incentive program. Port au Prince will distribute the film in Germany, while Shudder will handle its first release in North America.