Perpetrator is a 2023 horror film written and directed by Jennifer Reeder. It stars Kiah McKirnan, Melanie Liburd, Ireon Roach, Casimere Jollette, Tim Hopper, Josh Bywater, Chris Lowell and Alicia Silverstone. The film follows Jonny, an impulsive teenage girl living in a town where young women continue to go missing.
It was nominated to compete for the Panorama Audience Award at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival, where it had its world premiere on February 17, 2023. The film was released on the streaming service Shudder on September 1, 2023.
Cast
Kiah McKirnan as Jonquil "Jonny" Baptiste
Melanie Liburd as Jean Baptiste
Ireon Roach as Elektra
Casimere Jollette as Aviva
Tim Hopper as Gene Baptiste
Josh Bywater as Officer Sterling
Audrey Francis as Marcy
Christopher Lowell as Principal Burke
Alicia Silverstone as Hildie Baptiste
Sasha Kuznetsov as Kirk
Ilirida Memedovski as Avalon
Greta Stolte as Darby
Production
Jennifer Reeder's second feature to screen at Berlinale, following 2019's Knives and Skin, is produced by newly turned producers, Paris-based sales agent WTFilms. It also marks her third collaboration with Shudder, since 2021 anthology film V/H/S/94 and 2022 film Night’s End. Reeder and her crew shot Perpetrator in Chicago during March 2022, which she described as "a miserable time to shoot a film, but we got beautiful footage."
Release
Perpetrator had its premiere at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival on February 17, 2023. It was reported in December 2022, that Shudder had acquired the distribution rights. It was invited to Horizons section of 57th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, where it was screened on June 30, 2023.
The film was released on September 1, 2023.
Reception
Jessica Kiang reviewing at Berlin Film Festival, for Variety wrote, "The tonal uncertainty is hardly helped by an arch performance style that too often strays closer to play-acting than acting — an impression enhanced by the disparity in age between much of the principal cast and the teenagers they’re playing." Jude Dry reviewing for IndieWire graded the film B- and wrote, that the film "suffers from a novice lead performance and a script that tries to do too much." Dry praising Silverstone stated, "she is a steely delight as the sharp-tongued and demanding mystery lady." Concluding she said, "There are satisfying genre elements, to be sure, Perpetrator cannot be accused of playing it safe."