Frameline47: Perpetrator

There’s no shame in fury, which Jonny (Mare of Easttown’s Kiah McKirnan), a master lock picker, thief, and all-around badass, has a lot of. With her 18th birthday fast approaching, Jonny’s overwhelmed, pill-addicted single dad sends her to stay with a mysterious relative (played by a sultry Alicia Silverstone in her film noir glam era) to guide her through this milestone.

But Jonny’s new school is full of plastic surgery-obsessed adults, acerbic teens, and fake purity pledges — not to mention a masked maniac picking off the popular girls one by one. With the help of her budding love interest, the down-to-earth Elektra (Ireon Roach of The CW’s 4400), Jonny learns that harnessing the power of a long-held family secret could be the key to saving her classmates. A campy, dark, and utterly fun bloodbath written and directed by Jennifer Reeder (Knives & Skin, Frameline43), Perpetrator offers a wild, layered, feminist look at empowerment, solidarity, and empathy as a gift, a strength, and a weapon.

Presented as part of Frameline47 International Film Festival.