The trailer has arrived for Hallowarrior, a post-apocalyptic horror thriller with a Halloween twist starring Hereditary and Hysteria! actress Milly Shapiro, Shannyn Sossamon, Ajani Russell, and AJ Bowen. The feature debut of writer/director Ben Sottak, Hallowarrior will begin streaming on Shudder on October 16.
Hallowarrior follows Pumpkin, the last girl on earth and sole survivor of a humanity-ending plague, as she scavenges the wasteland for supplies on the eve of Halloween. Her lonely holiday ritual is interrupted by the arrival of a savage gang of raiders at her doorstep led by the fearsome Thalia. Outnumbered and armed with candy, wit, and weapons, Pumpkin must ferociously fight back to survive the night.
The film is based on Sottak’s proof-of-concept short film Scavenger. Sottak also produced the feature with Emmajane Hoffman, Gabriel Rosenstein, Danielle Benedict, and Jake Casey. Shannyn Sossamon, Alec Ring, Max Pirkis, and Calum Gray serve as executive producers.
Sottak previously described Hallowarrior as a throwback to the crowd-pleasing genre movies he grew up watching every Halloween, promising nostalgic fall atmosphere, “cheer-inducing kills,” and a lovable final girl in Shapiro’s Pumpkin. He hopes the movie will become part of horror fans’ annual October viewing traditions.
The movie has already picked up some positive early reactions. Dread Central called Hallowarrior “equal parts coming-of-age story, post-apocalyptic thriller, and home invasion film” that effectively captures the spirit of Halloween, while ScreenAnarchy described it as “a wildly entertaining ride.”
Sottak makes his feature debut as both writer and director with The Hallowarrior. His previous commercial work includes campaigns for Warheads, Sweethearts, and the PGA Tour, while his narrative projects have screened at festivals including Tribeca, Fantasia, FrightFest, Telluride Horror Show, and the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival.
Shapiro is best known to horror fans for playing Charlie Graham in Ari Aster’s Hereditary. She also recently starred in the Peacock horror-comedy series Hysteria! Sossamon is known for movies like A Knight’s Tale and The Rules of Attraction, while Russell appeared in Betty and Bowen has become a familiar face in modern horror through movies like The House of the Devil and You’re Next.
Are you interested in Hallowarrior? Take a look at the trailer, then let us know in the comments.