EXCLUSIVE: Genre specialist WTFilms has boarded comedy-thriller The Dregs, about a group of friends whose trip to the Italian Alps takes a terrifying turn after they drink a cursed bottle of Grappa, for an AFM sales launch.
The movie brings together a buzzy cast, announced by Deadline earlier this year, featuring Stephen Lang (Don’t Breathe) as an evil waiter whose bewitched recipe for Grappa takes out the group one by one.
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With their numbers dwindling and even witchcraft failing to break the curse, the hungover survivors race against time to outlast the poisoned drink and hunt down the Grappa’s mysterious creator.
Maddie Phillips (4X4: The Event), Charlie Gillespie (Splitsville), Piper Curda (May December), Nava Mau (Baby Reindeer), Shohreh Aghdashloo (Renfield) top a large ensemble cast playing the friend group.
WTFilms will unveil a promo-reel for the film which is in post-production after wrapping its shoot in British Columbia earlier this year.
The Dregs marks the directorial debut of Connor Martin who also wrote the screenplay.
The emerging genre director, who was featured on 2024’s annual Black List, won Chroma and Fantastic Fest’s 2026 Pitch Lab with his 1970s-set folk horror movie Father Figure in September.
The prize – judged by Gore Verbinski, Catherine Hardwicke and Nicolas Curcio this year – comes with a $100,00 financing award from Chroma, a distribution deal and a premiere at next year’s Fantastic Fest. Previous winners include Curcio’s Play House, which has since sold to Focus Features and Blumhouse for a theatrical release.
“The Dregs is the product of a talented cast and crew taking full ownership of their craft to elevate the laughs and thrills to their fullest extent,” says Martin. “WTFilms’ strong reputation for elevating genre-bending films and finding the best home precedes them. We are lucky to have them on board.”
The Dregs is produced by Anwar Pictures, Fraulein Filmworks, Microelle, Astral Plane and Rosewood.
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