Following last month’s trailer drop, we now have a red band trailer and full release details for The Serpent’s Skin.
Drawing influence from “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Charmed,” the queer horror romance is the sixth feature from 21-year-old trans director Alice Maio Mackay (Carnage for Christmas, T Blockers).
The Australian indie film will sink its fangs into Digital on April 21 via Dark Star Pictures after opening in select theaters:
- 3/19 – Boston, MA – Brattle Theatre (Boston Underground Film Festival)
- 3/27-4/2 – Brooklyn, NY – Alamo Drafthouse (opening night Q&A w/ Maio Mackay and more)
- 3/28 – Catskill, NY – Community Theater (Q&A w/ Maio Mackay)
- 4/2 – San Francisco, CA – Roxie Theater (Q&A w/ Maio Mackay)
- 4/3-4/9 – Los Angeles, CA – Alamo Drafthouse (opening night Q&A w/ Maio Mackay)
- 4/4 – Los Angeles, CA – Vidiots (Q&A w/ Maio Mackay and more)
Beginning April 10, it will have a one-week engagement at Alamo Drafthouse locations in Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denton, Denver, New York, Yonkers, Raleigh, San Antonio, San Fransico, Santa Clara, Woodbury, MN, and Naples, FL.
The Serpent’s Skin follows 20-something Anna, who leaves her small, transphobic hometown to start a new life in the city with her sister when she quickly finds herself face-to-face with Gen, a confident young woman she’d first seen in visions.
Gen, Anna learns, has supernatural powers—powers that the two of them share. Their bond of magic and romance is threatened when Gen inadvertently unleashes a demon in Danny, Anna’s one-time fling and neighbor, and the mysterious evil begins targeting — and feeding on — everyone close to them.
Alexandra McVicker (“Vice Principals”), Avalon Fast, and Jordan Dulieu star with Charlotte Chimes, Scott Major (“Heartbreak High”), Alyssa Peters (Carnage for Christmas), and Lewi Dawson (T Blockers).
Mackay co-wrote the script with frequent collaborator Benjamin Pahl Robinson. The People’s Joker filmmaker Vera Drew served as editor, while H6LLB6ND6ER composed the score.
The Serpent’s Skin‘s premiered at Frameline 2025 and went on to screen at Fantasia, Beyond Fest, FrightFest, SXSW Sydney, Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, and more.
Joe Lipsett wrote in his review, “Mackay’s bold color scheme, elliptical editing, and counter culture attitude are all present in The Serpent’s Skin, but the narrative moves at a more deliberate pace than her previous films, which allows the characters time to breathe between set pieces.”