A Gory Australian Revenge Slasher Comes to Shudder on August 28
A festival viewer calls it an enjoyable, gory revenge story with strong fight scenes.
Grave Tone: Horror Podcast · Penny Lane Is Dead Review: The Ozploitation Slasher That Made Fantasia Faint & Someone's Daughter ReviewPenny Lane Is Dead, the Australian feature debut from writer and director Mia Kate Russell, was first shown outside Australia at Fantasia on July 20th and starts streaming on Shudder on August 28th. The film had first premiered in Australia in mid-2025.
Megan, a horror podcast host who attended the Fantasia screening, described it as a really enjoyable revenge payoff with a lot of gore and a satisfying final girl. That is her assessment after one festival screening, not a consensus.
Set in the hot Australian summer of 1986, the film follows a trio recently finished with high school and planning for the future. Bailey Spaulding plays Penny Lane, Tali Faraday plays Tony, and Alexandra Jensen plays Amy, gathered for a girls night at Penny's family cabin near the water.
Megan described the story as a mix of prank gone wrong, home invasion, and revenge. Penny's cousin Kat, played by Sophia Wright Mendelsohn, sets off the trouble with a prank, then calls her boyfriend Angus, played by Ben O'Toole, who arrives with two associates and brings violence to the house.
Megan recalled reading that apparently much of the cast had appeared in films by the Philippou brothers such as Talk to Me. The one she confirmed from her own knowledge was Jensen, who plays Amy and appeared in Talk to Me. She praised the gore effects, action sequences and fight scenes, and said Kat holds much of the film together.
It becomes widely available on Shudder on August 28th.
Questions people ask
What is the Fantasia festival?
Fantasia is an annual genre film festival held in Montreal, with programming in horror, fantasy, and related categories. Penny Lane Is Dead had its international premiere there on July 20th.
What is Shudder?
Shudder is a subscription streaming service focused on horror, thrillers, and supernatural films and series. Penny Lane Is Dead is scheduled to start streaming there on August 28th.
Do I need to have seen Talk to Me to follow this?
No. Talk to Me is a separate Australian horror film. The connection here is casting: Alexandra Jensen, who plays Amy in Penny Lane Is Dead, also appeared in Talk to Me. You can follow the new film without seeing the earlier one.