Samara Weaving's "Azrael" Gets Release Date

IFC Films and Shudder have acquired North American rights to action horror thriller "Azrael," starring Samara Weaving (Ready or Not) and Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (Femme). 

Hailing from Republic Pictures, the pic will release in theaters via IFC on September 27, making its debut on AMC Networks’ genre streamer later in the year.

Directing by E.L. Katz (Cheap Thrills) and written by Simon Barrett (You’re Next), "Azrael" takes place in a world in which no one speaks, watching as a a mysterious, devout community hunts down a young woman named Azrael (Weaving) who has escaped their imprisonment. Recaptured by its ruthless leaders, she is to be sacrificed to pacify an evil which resides deep within the surrounding wilderness — but Azrael will stop at nothing to ensure her own freedom and survival.

Billed as a gritty, relentless parable of sacrifice and salvation, the film world premiered at SXSW 2024 and is set to make its Canadian premiere at the Fantasia Film Festival in August.

"Azrael" is produced by Dan Kagan (Longlegs, Significant Other), Dave Caplan (Longlegs, Babylon), and Barrett. 

C2 Motion Picture Group fully financed the pic, for which North Five Six will handle ongoing international sales.

Best known for directing the darkly comedic thriller "Cheap Thrills", starring Pat Healy, which went on to distribution through Drafthouse Films and Snoot Entertainment following its premiere at SXSW, Katz’s follow-up was the Netflix thriller "Small Crimes" starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. 

He also directed on shows like "Scream: The TV Series", "Swamp Thing", "Channel Zero", and "The Haunting of Bly Manor", also serving as co-EP on the latter two.

Gotto negotiated the deal for Katz’s latest feature for IFC Films and Shudder, with Laura Sher negotiating on behalf of Republic Pictures.