
2025
Penny Lane Is Dead
World Premiere.
A sweltering beach house party in 1986 turns savage when a spiked cupcake, a jealous cousin, and a gang of violent men crash the scene. Penny Lane is Dead is a punk-fuelled, blood-soaked survival thriller laced with dark comedy and gendered rage.
Director
Mia’Kate Russell
Runtime
90 Minutes
Country
Australia
Classification
Unclassified 18+
Set during the sweltering Australian summer of 1986, Penny Lane is Dead is the ferocious debut feature from writer-director Mia’Kate Russell. Penny Lane (Bailey Spalding) and her best friends Toni (Tahlee Fereday) and Amy (Alexandra Jensen) are celebrating Penny’s university acceptance with a debauched ‘no dick event’ at a remote beach house. But the night spirals into chaos when Penny’s volatile cousin Kat (Sophia Wright-Mendelsohn) arrives uninvited, spiked cupcake in hand and a cruel agenda in tow. Things turn deadly with the arrival of Kat’s seedy boyfriend Angus (Ben O’Toole) and his crew - Rodowsky (Fletcher Humphrys) and the menacing Merrick (Steve Le Marquand).
What begins as a night of celebration unravels into a brutal fight for survival. Fuelled by punk-rock energy and pitch-black humour, Penny Lane is Dead tears into internalised misogyny, toxic masculinity and the gendered violence simmering beneath Australia’s sunburnt surface. With breakout performances and razor-sharp direction, Mia’Kate Russell delivers a bold, blood-soaked genre piece that blends savage satire with cult-cinema attitude - an electrifying new voice in Australian film.
What begins as a night of celebration unravels into a brutal fight for survival. Fuelled by punk-rock energy and pitch-black humour, Penny Lane is Dead tears into internalised misogyny, toxic masculinity and the gendered violence simmering beneath Australia’s sunburnt surface. With breakout performances and razor-sharp direction, Mia’Kate Russell delivers a bold, blood-soaked genre piece that blends savage satire with cult-cinema attitude - an electrifying new voice in Australian film.
Film Credits
Director
Mia’Kate Russell
Year
2025
Country
Australia
Language
English
Type
Feature & Fiction
Program Strand
AFF Investment Fund & World Cinema
Producer
Julie Ryan, Ari Harrison, Andre Lima & Carly Maple
Writer
Mia’Kate Russell
Cinematographer
Liam Gilmour
Editor
Dan Lee
Cast
Sophia Wright-Mendelsohn, Tahlee Fereday, Alexandra Jensen, Bailey Spalding, Steve Le Marquand, Fletcher Humphrys & Ben O'Toole
Music
Chiara Costanza
Film Source
Julie Ryan & Umbrella Entertainment
Genre
Horror, LGBTQIA+, Satire & Thriller
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