Deadline reports that Toni Collette and Milly Alcock are set to team up for Hot Mother, a survival thriller that will shoot in Australia next year. The pair will play a mother and daughter who “visit a remote wellness spa for the weekend in an attempt to reconnect. But their time together quickly turns into a physical and psychological fight for survival when they get trapped in a sauna where no one can hear their cries for help.“
It’s been a while since I last made use of a sauna, but… new fear unlocked. Writer-director Lucy Knox will make her feature debut with Hot Mother, which is based on her 2020 short film of the same name. The project will be produced by Sarah Shaw and Anna McLeish for Carver Films and Alex Coco for Rapt Films.
In a statement, Sarah Shaw and Anna McLeish said, “As producers with a strong track record of launching Australian filmmakers, we’ve been aware of Lucy’s exceptional talent as a writer-director for many years. She’s beyond ready to bring Hot Mother to life for audiences worldwide, with its thrilling screenplay and incredible cast.“
Alex Coco added, “Lucy is a filmmaker’s filmmaker, exactly the directors that I’m most committed to working with. With our two lead actresses, this film will play wide globally, and introduce a new and fresh voice to the directing game.“
Stephen Kelliher of Bankside Films, who will be handling worldwide sales and co-repping North America with CAA Media Finance, said, “We were sold on Hot Mother from the title alone but discovering Lucy Knox’s incredible short and reading the screenplay solidified our immense passion for this story. With character and mother-daughter relationships at its heart, the film will thrill audiences with its edge-of-your-seat take on a survival story.“
Collette was recently seen starring in Wayward, a Netflix mystery thriller series. She will not be seen starring alongside Kate Winslet in Goodbye June, a “touching, yet humorous” drama that follows a fractured group of siblings who come together under sudden and trying circumstances. Winslet is making her directorial debut with the film.
As for Alcock, she made her DCU debut as Kara Zor-El in James Gunn’s Superman and will take center stage in Supergirl, which will hit theaters on June 26, 2026.
