Exclusives
‘MadS’ Exclusive Clip Teases Real-Time Outbreak Horror with Claustrophobic Elevator Attack
Out today on Shudder is MadS, an intense new horror movie from director/writer David Moreau (Them) that tranforms a night of carefree partying into a harrowing nightmare that plays out in real-time. An exclusive new clip below highlights just how intense things will become.
In MadS, “Eighteen year old Romain has just graduated and makes a stop at his dealer’s place to try a new pill. As he heads off to a party, he sees an injured woman on the side of the road and decides to help her, but when she gets in his car, she suddenly smashes her own head against the dashboard, bleeding out until she dies. Is this a bad trip? Or is it something else? One thing is for sure, it’s only the beginning of the night.”
Milton Riche, Laurie Pavy, and Lucille Guillaume star.
In the clip below, Julia (Guillaume) has just evaded an unhinged attacker that’s left her doused in blood, only to become trapped in an elevator. That may or may not be a good thing, judging by the sounds of a massacre taking place outside of the elevator.
“The fundamental choice to shoot this film in a single shot stems from the desire to make this hallucinatory journey as authentic as possible. By closely following Romain, Anaïs, and Julia without interruption, the camera becomes a direct witness to this descent into hell, capturing every moment without filter or escape,” Moreau said in a statement.
I wrote in my review out of Fantastic Fest, “Moreau and cinematographer Philip Lozano ensure the fluid camerawork and inspired closing moments make an impact. We’ve seen viral outbreak horror movies before, following the exact same path. But MadS’ innovation is in the way it tells it. Limiting the perspective solely to a single person at a time, obscuring how the rest of the world is coping, adds to the suspense. Laurie Pavy’s performance is also worth the price of admission to this horror filmmaking experiment.”
Add MadS to your Halloween watchlists this weekend now that it’s available to stream on Shudder.
Exclusives
Shudder’s ‘Hellcat’ Exclusive Trailer Traps an Infected Hostage in a Race Against Time
A gnarly infection threatens to claw its way out of a moving camper in the first trailer for Shudder’s claustrophobic Hellcat.
The feature debut of writer/editor/director Brock Bodell, who previously edited the Fantasia title Ultrasound, makes its debut on Shudder on August 14.
In Hellcat, “Lena wakes up in a moving camper trailer with a horrifying wound. She’s warned by the driver that they have one hour to get to a doctor, or she’ll succumb to an unimaginably awful fate. As the pain sets in and reality begins to fray, who should really be afraid?”
Dakota Gorman (Natural Disasters) leads the cast that also includes Todd Terry (“Breaking Bad”), Liz Atwater (The Other People), Jordan Mullins (The Bikeriders), and James Austin Johnson (“Saturday Night Live”) in a voice role. Bodell also produces alongside Andrew Duensing and Nate Eggert.
Hellcat made its world premiere last summer at Fantasia. I wrote in my review, “Hellcat is a bit of a Trojan horror that defies easy classification, by design. Bodell’s sneaky debut feature is occasionally too sparse in its worldbuilding in its bid to preserve the mystery, but not enough to detract from the thrilling road thriller that transforms into a completely left-field type of horror we don’t get nearly enough of. The stripped-down tribute to a classic horror staple catches you off guard in more ways than one, marking Bodell as one to watch.”
In other words, there’s a lot more than meets the eye to Hellcat‘s simple infection setup, delivering plenty of surprises along its bumpy road of horrors.
Check out the trailer and poster below and add Hellcat to your watchlists asap.

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