Shudder is set to premiere Penny Lane Is Dead, the debut feature from Australian writer-director Mia-kate Russell, on August 28. The blood-soaked homage to 1980s Ozploitation horror stars Bailey Spalding, Sophia Wright-Mendelsohn, Tahlee Fereday, and Alexandra Jensen in a darkly comic survival story set on a single volatile summer night in 1986.

Set in Australia, the film follows Penny Lane as she celebrates getting into college with her longtime girlfriends Toni and Amy. The night unravels when Penny’s jealous and troubled cousin Kat decides a cruel prank is in order — what begins as a spiked cupcake game spirals into an escalating, irreversible night of bloodshed. Infused with dark comedy, rage, and a sapphic love story at its core, the film is firmly in the Ozploitation tradition: unrelenting, blunt, and wickedly entertaining.

Russell (Maggie May, Liz Drives, Swallow) comes to features after a decorated short film career, with work recognized at Sitges, Screamfest, Shriekfest, and Sydney Indie Film Festival. She writes and directs from her own screenplay. The supporting cast also includes Ben O’Toole (Hacksaw Ridge), Steve Le Marquand (Vertical Limit), and Fletcher Humphrys (“Wolf Creek”). The film is produced by Sanctuary Pictures (the production arm of Umbrella Entertainment), Buffalo Media, and Cyan Films, with Julie Ryan, Ari Harrison, Andre Lima, and Carly Maple producing.

“It’s exhilarating that my feature directorial debut is being released by Shudder, one of the most fearless and bold distributors out there,” said Russell. “The Shudder team has such a keen understanding of genre films, and are the perfect partners to unleash this powerful film with audiences.”