Fans of horror will want to take note — after an award-winning international festival run, Canadian indie feature Anacoreta is officially heading to screens worldwide.
The dark, psychologically driven film, written by and starring Matt Visser and Jeremy Schuetze, will make its global digital debut on Feb. 24, arriving on all VOD platforms including Apple TV, Amazon Prime, Google Play, and more.
A CABIN GETAWAY DESCENDS INTO CHAOS
At its core, Anacoreta is a film that blends horror with existential drama. The story follows four friends who retreat to a remote cabin to make a movie, only to find their creative escape unravelling when tensions rise and a true monster emerges from the shadows.
The cast is led by Visser (Woman of the Hour, Fellow Travelers), Schuetze (Jennifer’s Body, The Man in the High Castle), Antonia Thomas (The Good Doctor, Lovesick), and Jesse Stanley (Van Helsing, Raf).
Fun fact: Rather than working from a traditional script, the cast performed from a beat sheet created by Visser and Schuetze, giving the film a raw, naturalistic feel.
USING THE B.C. LANDSCAPE AS THE PERFECT MOODY SETTING
Leaning into familiar cabin-in-the-woods and found-footage tropes, the film puts its own psychological spin on the genre. Shot in B.C. during the pandemic, Anacoreta embraces its stripped-back setting to amplify the tension.
Filmed on location at Anderson Lake in the Squamish-Lillooet region, the rugged B.C. landscape becomes the perfect atmospheric backdrop, adding to the film’s sense of isolation and unease.
A BIG WIN FOR CANADIAN INDEPENDENT CINEMA
Behind the scenes, Anacoreta is also a major win for Canadian independent cinema. Developed, written, and led creatively by Canadian creators — with Matt Visser and Jeremy Schuetze serving as co-writers and lead actors — the film moved through the international festival circuit, screening at BAFTA- and Academy Award–qualifying festivals before securing worldwide distribution following its festival run.
The film screened at the 2022 Heartland International Film Festival and the 2023 Manchester Film Festival, where it won Best Horror and Best International Feature, respectively.
It also screened at the 2023 Vancouver Horror Show Film Festival, further cementing its reception within the international genre festival community.
The film making its global digital premiere across major VOD platforms worldwide on Feb. 24 marks a significant milestone for a Canadian independent production developed outside the studio system.
Check out the trailer for the Anacoreta here:
Anacoreta drops internationally across all VOD platforms, via global distributor Vortex Media, on Feb. 24.
