The first family of indie horror is back to haunt your nightmares, and they’ve brought their darkest ritual yet. After cleaning up at the 2025 Fantasia International Film Festival and taking home the Best Film trophy, Mother of Flies is officially ready to invade your living room.
The powerhouses behind Hellbender—collectively known as The Adams Family—are bringing their latest folk-horror nightmare to Shudder this Friday.
A Deadly Cure: What’s the Price of Life?
The story follows Mickey (Zelda Adams), a young woman staring down a terminal diagnosis. But Mickey isn’t ready to go quietly into the night. Desperate for a miracle, she and her father (John Adams) trek deep into the wilderness to find Solveig (Toby Poser), a mysterious recluse with a terrifyingly intimate connection to the land and the dead.
For three grueling days, Mickey undergoes Solveig’s extreme rituals of “death magic.” But in the world of the Adams family, every cure comes with a brutal cost. As the veil between the living and the dead begins to tear, Mickey uncovers dark truths that only those on the brink of the grave can truly understand.
Meet the Dynasty: Wonder Wheel Productions
Since 2010, Wonder Wheel Productions has been proving that you don’t need a Hollywood budget to redefine a genre. This is truly a family affair: John, Toby, and their daughters Zelda and Lulu handle everything from directing and acting to cinematography and editing.
They’ve already delivered massive Shudder hits like The Deeper You Dig and the critically acclaimed Hellbender. Their style is unmistakable—visceral, atmospheric, and intensely focused on the messy, dark bonds between parents and their children. And yes, that gritty, pulse-pounding score you hear? That’s performed by the family’s own band, H6LLB6ND6R.
Why It’s a Must-Watch
If you’re a fan of the atmospheric folk-horror of Midsommar or the raw, “hand-crafted” energy of the original The Evil Dead, Mother of Flies is exactly your brand of chaos. It’s a new peak for the family, blending high-concept magic with the emotional storytelling they’ve been perfecting over the last decade.
We had a blast interviewing the family back when Hell Hole premiered in 2024, where they gave us the inside scoop on how they manage to live, work, and create nightmares together without losing their minds. You can check out that exclusive interview here for a deeper look at the legacy.
The ritual begins this Friday when it debuts on Shudder—you won’t want to miss this.
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