Available from Arrow Video on August 19th, 2025
A teenage girl in a town where her peers keep going missing soon finds out she has a particular power.
Written and directed by Jennifer Reeder, this take on what teenage life is for girls takes everything any teen girl, or former teen girl, knows to be true: There will be drama, there will be problems, there will be creeps, and survival may not be guaranteed. Add into it a serial kidnapper (potential killer) and superpowers and you get a film that could easily have gone all over the place but manages to make sense, bring up issues of family and friendship while touching upon being othered, body image, and the gun violence in schools crisis. There is a ton in here and the writing and direction make the most of it. The way Reeder puts together this story and brings it to the screen is one that entertains but also allows for thoughts and discourse once the film is over. Is some of this uncomfortable? Of course, lots of it actually. Is this a horror film? Beyond the shadow of a doubt. While it may not connect with everyone, most women and teenage girls will connect at least with some aspect of the story.
The cast here is superb, especially lead Kiah McKirnan as Jonny, her work here brings the film together in just the right way. She has the teenage nonchalance and anger on point, and she brings the emotional side of her character out just right. Her performance is full of contradictions, much like life as a teenage girl, until she needs to be less centered on the self and more nuanced. Her performance makes the film that much more powerful. Joining her as her aunt is Alicia Silverstone who gives an interesting performance that feels almost like it doesn’t belong with the rest of the cast and the rest of the film, but upon closer examination, it is just right for the film. Her character is a little off, but not a ton most of the time, so her performance reflects that. She’s off, she’s on that edge of something being massively wrong with her, but she’s also, mostly, in control. Silverstone makes the most out of that part, showing she can be strong, and weird, and so much more. The cast overall is pretty great with a few standouts and a few slightly flatter performances while the lead cast is solid and clearly able to work with the ideas presented here, not all of which are easy.
The film’s cinematography by Sevdije Kastrati is solid with a true understanding of what the film needs and how to bring it forth in images with some frames that will remain in the viewer’s mind for a while. The work here shows that there is an understanding of light, and sometimes lack thereof, as well as color, framing, and how camera movement can influence how a viewer sees a scene or a character. The work here is one that shows what can be done with a story that includes everything from girls coming of age to fraud to pay for cosmetic procedures. The editing by Justin Krohn works great with these images and the story itself, rounding out the main visual team with talent on yet another level.
Perpetrator is one of those films that feels evergreen with most of the issues and themes it touches upon while giving a nicely creepy story that will connect with a ton of viewers. There is a lot here and the writing, direction, and acting are more than on point with solid cinematography, editing, and special effects. The film is one that is easy to get into and once that happens, the run time flies by.
This new release from Arrow Video sports a good 1080p transfer with matching sound quality. The film being more recent of course helps with having higher quality source material. Here, this new release comes packed with extras including a new audio commentary with director Reeder and cinematographer Kastrati, on-set cast interviews, and three shorts by Jennifer Reeder that need to be seen (especially All Small Bodies. There is a lot, and the mere inclusion of short films makes this a cut above the rest in terms of re-releases for the collector market.