Shudder is doubling down on its love affair with The Adams Family, the indie horror dynamos behind Hell Hole and the cult hit Hellbender. The streaming platform has nabbe North American, UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand rights to their newest nightmare, Mother of Flies. The deal lands just days before the film’s much-anticipated world premiere at the Fantasia Film Festival on July 24, followed by a screening at this year’s FrightFest London — all sure to build further buzz ahead of its streaming debut in 2026.
Mother of Flies centers on Mickey, grappling with a grim diagnosis, heading deep into the woods with her father in a last-ditch search for survival. There, she crosses paths with Solveig, a reclusive witch whose connection to death is as old as the land itself. Over three harrowing days, Mickey endures a series of brutal rituals that blur the line between healing and damnation. As secrets long buried claw to the surface, the veil between the living and the dead shreds apart, forcing Mickey to confront truths only the dying ever glimpse.
The film is a true family affair, written, directed, and starring Toby Poser, John Adams, and their daughter Zelda Adams, with Lulu Adams joining in a co-starring role. It’s another chapter in the Adams Family’s singular brand of backwoods horror, and Shudder’s programming chief Samuel Zimmerman is all in:
“Once again, Shudder embraces the singular world of the Adams Family, some of the most original voices in horror. ” Zimmerman said. “Mother of Flies is a gnarled complement to their witchy gem, Hellbender—deeply felt and frightening. We’re thrilled for it to dig its twisted roots into our members.”
The filmmakers echoed the sentiment, calling Shudder “a beautiful creative home offering up the most diverse and eclectic platform to its voracious, horror-loving audience.” In their words: “For our small family that loves making bloody movie magic together in the woods, it feels so good to be welcomed back with Mother of Flies to the cine-madness and dark, brilliant mayhem at Shudder.”
Sharing the celebrations on Instgram, Zelda Adams added: “We don’t work with much. A broken tripod, a canon, and two recycled and Frankensteined rock-band mic stands with Sennheizers attached holding on for dear life. And still, Shudder loves us in all of our monstrosity!”
The deal was brokered by Zimmerman for Shudder and Hugues Barbier, Justin Timms, and Joe Yanick of Yellow Veil Pictures on behalf of the filmmakers.
With a pedigree of atmospheric horror and a fiercely DIY spirit, Mother of Flies looks set to serve up a perturbing parable of pain and penance, thick with grief and revelation.
