New RED BAND trailer for THE SERPENT’S SKIN Released Ahead of March 27 Theatrical Launch
The Latest Feature from Prolific 21-Year-Old Indie Filmmaker Alice Maio Mackay, a Supernatural Queer Romance Thriller for Lovers of Buffy, Charmed, and the Early Films of Gregg Araki
Opening in:
New York March 27 | Los Angeles April 3
NY Opening Night Q&A
Alice Maio Mackay, Alexandra McVicker & Avalon Fast moderated by Jack Haven (I Saw the TV Glow)
LA Opening Night Q&A
Alice Maio Mackay moderated by Misha Osherovich (Freaky, She’s the He)
Expanding to Select Alamo Drafthouses on April 10
Austin, TX, Boston, MA, Chicago, IL, Dallas, TX, Denton, TX, Denver, CO, Naples, FL, Manhattan, NY, Yonkers, NY, Raleigh, NC, San Antonio, TX, San Francisco, CA, Santa Clara, CA, and Twin Cities, MN.
Synopsis: Twentysomething Anna (Alexandra McVicker) leaves her small, transphobic hometown to start a new life in the city with her sister when she quickly finds herself face-to-face with Gen (Avalon Fast), a confident young woman she’d first seen in visions. Gen, Anna learns, has supernatural powers—powers that the two of them share. Their bond of magic and romance is threatened when Gen inadvertently unleashes a demon in Danny (Jordan Dulieu), Anna’s one-time fling and neighbor, and the mysterious evil begins targeting—and feeding on—everyone close to them.
Alice Maio Mackay’s The Serpent’s Skin kicks off its North American theatrical release this month from Dark Star Pictures, first in New York City on March 27 and in Los Angeles on April 3, with Maio in person for opening nights.
The Serpent’s Skin is the 21-years-old trans Australian filmmaker’s most ambitious film to date, combining her distinct filmmaking voice—known for channeling genre tropes through a trans lens, her innovative approach to aesthetics, and a unique wit—with a larger scope that leans into a darker storyline and a loving influence of 90s cult television like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Charmed.
After writing and directing a string of low-budget horror shorts in her teens, Maio Mackay—who begins every feature with the on-screen evocation of “A Transgender Film”—erupted onto the scene with her 2021 vampire horror-comedy So Vam, starring BenDeLaCreme and Etcetera Etcetera from Drag Race, which was released as a Shudder Original when she was only sixteen years old. Following her breakout, she helmed Bad Girl Boogey (2022), featuring a cameo from horror icon Bill Mosley; the explosive underground horror T Blockers (2023), which earned her the Emerging Talent Award from Outfest L.A.; musical horror-comedy Satranic Panic (2023); and queer holiday horror Carnage for Christmas (2024), with I Saw the TV Glow’s Jane Schoenbrun executive producing her forthcoming feature Our Effed Up World.
Co-written with her constant collaborator Benjamin Pahl Robinson, the film stars Australian actor Jordan Dulieu (Everything in Between) alongside rising American actor and performance artist Alexandra McVicker (HBO’s Vice Principals, Castration Movie) and award-winning Canadian filmmaker and actor Avalon Fast (Castration Movie), with McVicker and Fast bringing their characters—doomed lovers who unwittingly unleash a demon through their deepest insecurities—and their romance to life with a palpably intense on-screen chemistry.
Maio Mackay has quickly cemented her position in the exciting new wave of queer filmmaking and The Serpent’s Skin brings many of the trans luminaries in the scene together, with Castration Movie auteur Louise Weard as Executive Producer, The People’s Joker breakout Vera Drew as Editor (after first teaming up on Carnage for Christmas), and So Pretty’s Jessica Dunn Rovinelli as Colorist.
Theatrical Dates
3/27 – 4/2 — Brooklyn, NY – Alamo Drafthouse Downtown Brooklyn
As part of Fantastic Fest Presents showcase
** Opening night Q&A w/ Maio Mackay, McVicker, and Fast moderated by Jack Haven (I Saw the TV Glow)
3/28 — Catskill, NY – Community Theater
** Q&A with Maio Mackay moderated by Jane Schoenbrun (I Saw the TV Glow)
4/2 — San Francisco, CA — Roxie Theater
** Q&A with Maio Mackay moderated by Frameline Executive Director Allegra Madsen
4/3 – 4/9 — Los Angeles, CA – Alamo Drafthouse Cinema DTL
** Opening night Q&A with Maio Mackay moderated by Misha Osherovich (Freaky, She’s the He)
4/4 — Los Angeles, CA – Vidiots
** Q&A with Maio Mackay and Vera Drew moderated by comedian Roz Hernandez
4/10 – 4/16 — Austin, TX – Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar
4/10 – 4/16 — Boston, MA – Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Boston Seaport
4/10 – 4/16 — Chicago, IL – Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Wrigleyville
4/10 – 4/16 — Dallas, TX – Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Cedars
4/10 – 4/16 — Denton, TX – Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Denton
4/10 – 4/16 — Denver, CO – Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Sloans Lake
4/10 – 4/16 — New York, NY – Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Lower Manhattan
4/10 – 4/16 — Yonkers, NY – Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Yonkers
4/10 – 4/16 — Raleigh, NC – Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Raleigh
4/10 – 4/16 — San Antonio, TX – Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Park North
4/10 – 4/16 — San Francisco, CA – Alamo Drafthouse Cinema New Mission
4/10 – 4/16 — Santa Clara, CA – Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Valley Fair
4/10 – 4/16 — Woodbury, MN – Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Woodbury
4/10 – 4/16 — Naples, FL – Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Naples
85 mins / Australia / 2025
Directed by: Alice Maio Mackay
Written by: Alice Maio Mackay, Benjamin Pahl Robinson
Produced by: Alice Maio Mackay, Louise Weard
Starring: Alexandra McVicker, Avalon Fast, Jordan Dulieu, Scott Major, Charlotte Chimes
Edited by: Vera Drew
Cinematography by: Aaron Schuppan
Composers: Alexander Taylor, Eduardo Daniel Victoria
Music by: H6LLB6ND6ER
Festivals: Beyond Fest, BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival, Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, Fantasia Film Festival, Frameline: San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival, Frightfest, Melbourne Queer Film Festival, NewFest – The New York LGBTQ+ Film Festival, SXSW Sydney, and more
