Horror Movie ‘Don’t Kill Loretta,’ From ‘Sixty Minutes’ Director Oliver Kienle, Boarded by The Playmaker (EXCLUSIVE)
The Playmaker has come on board as the international sales agent on the upcoming horror feature “Don’t Kill Loretta,” the English-language debut of German writer-director Oliver Kienle, whose credits include hit series “Bad Banks” and Netflix martial arts movie “Sixty Minutes.”
The film, which is a suspense-driven supernatural horror story set deep in Germany’s forests, is produced by “Babylon Berlin” producer X Filme Creative Pool and Dor Film in co-production with ZDF and Erfttal Film.
“Don’t Kill Loretta” has a young international cast including Toronto Film Festival 2023 Rising Star Kudakwashe Rutendo (“Backspot”), George Ferrier (“The Hunting Wives”), Sharahya Carter (“Wu-Tang: An American Saga”), Leonie Wesselow (“How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast)”), Lily Mo Sheen (“Massive Talent”) and Timothy Innes (“The Last Kingdom”).
Set against the eerie backdrop of a remote forest in Germany, the story follows a group of young Americans from the beauty and fashion industry attending a wellness retreat. After a night fueled by excess, they encounter a terrifying presence in the darkness. What begins as a presumed hallucination soon escalates into a nightmare as one of them undergoes disturbing physical changes, leading to a life and death fight.
The film is produced by Genia Krassnig, Danny Krausz and Florian Krügel from DOR Film, alongside Jorgo Narjes and Uwe Schott from X Filme Creative Pool, and co-produced by ZDF and Klaus Dohle from Erfttal Film. Markus Reinecke (Erfttal Film) is associate producer.
The film is supported by ÖFI+ and FFA. X Verleih will distribute in Germany, with Filmladen handling Austria. ZDF is the German broadcaster. A theatrical release is planned for beginning of 2027.
The special effects makeup is by Twilight Creations (“Matrix – Resurrections,” “Game of Thrones,” “All Quiet on the Western Front”) and Atelier Braunhofer (“Babylon Berlin”).
“The Playmaker team is incredibly grateful and excited to be working with our long-time partners from Dor Film, X Filme, and above all with the fantastic director Oliver Kienle again. Since his film ‘Four Hands,’ our first collaboration with Oliver over 10 years ago, we have been huge fans of his amazing work and are proud to present his English-language debut ‘Don’t Kill Loretta.’ With a very cool and young international cast, a lot of suspense, and a really angry spirit, we promise you the screens will be on fire!” Ramona Sehr, head of acquisitions at The Playmaker, said.
“We’re thrilled to launch ‘Don’t Kill Loretta’ by Oliver Kienle at Cannes with The Playmaker. It’s a bold, contemporary take on the genre that also pays homage to the iconic horror films of the early 2000s,” producers Genia Krassnig, Danny Krausz, Florian Krügel, Jorgo Narjes and Uwe Schott said.
Kienle’s first feature film “Stronger Than Blood” (2010) received multiple honors and won, among many others, the Bavarian Film Award, the Max Ophüls Festival and First Steps Award. Kienle, as both writer and director, made another feature film titled “Four Hands,” which screened at numerous international festivals, among others Chicago and Tallin.
Kienle created and wrote two seasons of international drama series “Bad Banks,” which was acclaimed when it premiered in 2018, and received, among others plaudits, a nomination at the International Emmy Awards in 2019.
In 2020, Kienle wrote and directed the first German Netflix film “Isi & Ossi,” a romantic comedy, which became one of Netflix’ most successful German-language features and recently directed the martial arts movie “Sixty Minutes” (2024) for Netflix, which became one of the most successful non-English Netflix productions worldwide.
