FrightFest to Host World Premiere of ‘Sick Puppy’

Canadian filmmaker Jay Reid’s debut feature Sick Puppy will have its world premiere at FrightFest London on 25 August 2025, screening in the festival’s Discovery section at the ODEON Luxe West End. Billed as a psychological shocker with pitch-black humour, the film examines love, complicity and moral collapse through the lens of an unconventional domestic pact.

Natasha Calis (The Possession, SkyMed) stars as Charlie, a woman whose serial killer husband, John, finally agrees to abandon murder at her urging. Initially elated by the promise of suburban stability, Charlie’s certainty begins to erode when their fresh start is threatened by outside forces. As her doubts grow, she takes matters into her own hands, raising the question of whether her loyalty is driven by love, self-preservation, or something far darker.

Brett Geddes (The Boys), Rachel Boyd (Days of Our Lives) and Dylan Taylor (Station Eleven, Covert Affairs) round out the cast, anchoring a story that draws inspiration from Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, Maniac, and The Honeymoon Killers, while incorporating the idiosyncratic mood of Twin Peaks.

Reid’s script was influenced by a real-life case from his university years, in which the wife of a notorious killer resettled nearby after her release from prison. Although she claimed to have been a victim herself, evidence suggested a more active role. The ambiguity of her involvement stayed with Reid, prompting him to explore the idea of relationships forged and sustained through acts of violence.

Rather than focus on the killings themselves, Sick Puppy turns its attention to the psychological and emotional aftermath, probing the limits of love and denial. Shot in Hamilton and Toronto, the independent production was developed by Nameless Films and Servitor Films, with producers David M. James, Jason Arsenault, Natalie Dale and Reid, and partial funding from Ontario Creates.

Following its FrightFest debut, the film will look to connect with audiences drawn to complex, unsettling character studies. Reid describes Sick Puppy as a “love story steeped in violence” that dares viewers to question their own capacity for empathy in the face of irredeemable actions.

For more information on this year’s fantastic FrightFest, and for tickets, visit frightfest.co.uk. Check out the trailer for Sick Puppy below.

Sick Puppy trailer