Despite the cheery decorations and colorful lights, the winter holidays aren’t necessarily all that festive for some people. The bitter cold, the casual presence of alcohol, and the obligation to interact with family may be a little too much to handle all at once. The snowy setting of December isn’t necessarily well suited for horror films, but seeing how elevated horror has reached a wide audience in recent years, who’s to say a horror movie can’t take place during the holidays? It’s been done before, with great success. It’s even argued that Black Christmas, which originally came out in 1974, was a progenitor for the slasher genre, directly inspiring John Carpenter’s Halloween only four years later.

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Marking director and writer Alison Locke’s feature film debut, The Apology is looking to be a startling entry in the holiday-horror genre. Seeing as how the holiday season arrives earlier and earlier with every passing year, why not celebrate a little early? With a surprisingly high-profile cast, an up-and-coming director, and the involvement of Company X Productions, here’s to hoping that Shudder’s next big exclusive will see great success.

Here’s everything we know about The Apology.

The Apology: The Plot

According to the official trailer’s description, the plot synopsis for The Apology is as follows:

Twenty years after the disappearance of her daughter, recovering alcoholic Darlene Hagan (Anna Gunn) is preparing to host her family’s Christmas celebration again with the help of her friend and neighbor, Gretchen (Janeane Garofalo). Late Christmas Eve, Darlene’s estranged ex-brother-in-law, Jack (Linus Roache) arrives unannounced, bearing nostalgic gifts and a heavy secret. Soon, Darlene finds herself caught between reason and ruthless instinct. Trapped together by a dangerous storm, a battle of wits escalates to a violent game of revenge.

It appears that The Apology will be another horror film that makes heavy use of a single location, fitting with the aforementioned idea of forced interaction. Alcohol will likely play a significant role in the story as well: it was utilized extensively in a similar film, The Lighthouse, where it served to pass the time in isolation with the unintended effect of feeding into the characters’ paranoia and declining mental state. Adding onto this, the “violent game of revenge” might imply that one of the three was responsible for the disappearance of Darlene’s daughter.

Films that take place in a single location tend to skew more toward the psychological side of horror, even when an exterior threat is introduced. From the trailer alone, there didn’t seem to be any kind of supernatural phenomena taking place. Instead, it focused more on tensions between Hagan, Gretchen, and Jack, intercut with blackened corners of the house and the garish, festive colors of Christmas. The two color palettes deliberately clash with each other, no doubt reflecting the film’s bubbling conflict.

The Apology: The Cast and Crew

     Shudder

Playing the lead of Darlene Hagan will be Anna Gunn, most famously known for her role as Skyler on AMC’s Breaking Bad. While reception to her performance on Breaking Bad was certainly mixed, it’s a testament to just how well she can perform a layered, complicated character. Darlene Hagan will certainly have significant character flaws, so it’ll be interesting to see how Gunn presents those flaws in her own unique way. While Anna Gunn isn’t necessarily a “scream queen,” she did have a minor role in Kevin Smith’s Red State in 2011.

Linus Roache, meanwhile, had a significant role as Jeremiah Sand in one of Company X Productions’ previous films, Mandy, as well as the recently released My Policeman. An actor ever since he was a child, Roache is no stranger to playing villainous roles. From the Purifier in The Chronicles of Riddick to King Eckbert in Vikings, his performance will certainly be something to look forward to in The Apology.

Janeane Garofalo has had a varied filmography. Aside from playing the role of Gretchen, she’s been just about everywhere, even playing herself in shows like The Sopranos, The Simpsons, and a variety of Adult Swim programs. Originally performing as a stand-up comedian, she’s expanded her repertoire to include dramatic films, animated comedies, and now horror films.

As for the production studio, Company X Productions has a significant history in independent filmmaking, producing titles like No Man of God, a crime film detailing the relationship between Ted Bundy and an FBI interrogator; A Teacher, a drama about the ramifications of a teacher-student romance; and You’re Next, a delightfully fun horror film about a home invasion gone awry. Company X Productions has also collaborated with Shudder’s parent company, AMC Networks, prior to The Apology.

Release Date

The Apology will premiere in theaters, on Shudder, and on AMC+ on December 16th, 2022.