As part of Shudder's "Halfway to Halloween" celebration, Fréwaka is now available to watch and I recently had a chance to talk with writer / director Aislinn Clarke all about this Irish language folk horror movie:
"Shudder, AMC Networks’ premium streaming service for horror, thrillers and the supernatural, today announced the streaming premiere date and released the trailer and poster for FRÉWAKA, from the director/writer of the acclaimed THE DEVIL’S DOORWAY, Aislinn Clarke. The highly anticipated film, which made its world premiere at the 2024 Locarno Film Festival and its U.K. premiere at the BFI London Film Festival, will make its exclusive streaming debut Friday, April 25 on Shudder as part of the Halfway to Halloween celebration.
“We’re honored to give Fréwaka, the first-ever Irish language horror film, an international platform on Shudder,” said Emily Gotto, Senior Vice President of Acquisitions and Production at Shudder. “With this twist on a traditional haunted house, Aislinn skillfully delivers a bold, provocative, deeply emotional and menacing film that weaves folk horror within an impactful investigation of generational trauma.”
The Irish folk horror follows home care worker Shoo (Clare Monnelly), who is sent to a remote village to care for an agoraphobic woman (Bríd Ní Neachtain) who fears the neighbors as much as she fears the Na Sídhe — sinister entities who she believes abducted her decades before. As the two develop a strangely deep connection, Shoo is consumed by the old woman’s paranoia, rituals, and superstitions, eventually confronting the horrors from her own past.
Written and directed by Clarke, FRÉWAKA is produced by Diarmuid Lavery for DoubleBand Films (Doineann) and Patrick O’Neill for Wildcard (Kneecap), and executive produced by Máire Ní Chonláin, Deirbhile Ní Churraighín, Greg Martin and Michael Hewitt. "
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