{"id":276510,"date":"2025-11-11T00:26:12","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T00:26:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/276510\/"},"modified":"2025-11-11T00:26:12","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T00:26:12","slug":"everything-to-know-about-the-coming-of-age-thriller-starring-joel-edgerton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/276510\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything to know about the coming-of-age thriller starring Joel Edgerton"},"content":{"rendered":"

Independent Film Company has unveiled the official trailer for The Plague, a coming-of-age thriller from director Charlie Polinger. The film stars Joel Edgerton alongside rising talents Everett Blunck, Kayo Martin, and Kenny Rasmussen, turning the awkward and often brutal landscape of boyhood into something truly nightmarish.<\/p>\n

After earning acclaim in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, The Plague will open Dec. 24 in New York and Los Angeles, before expanding nationwide on Jan. 2. Read on for everything to know about The Plague.<\/p>\n

More from Gold Derby<\/p>\n

What’s it about?<\/p>\n

Set at an all-boys water polo camp, The Plague follows Jake (Kayo Martin), a socially anxious twelve-year-old who becomes entangled in a cruel ritual targeting an outcast with a mysterious illness the campers call \u201cthe plague.\u201d As the so-called game spirals out of control, Jake begins to fear that what started as a joke may conceal something disturbingly real.<\/p>\n

Watch the trailerWho’s in the cast?<\/p>\n

The film stars Joel Edgerton (Train Dreams, The Gift) as \u201cDaddy Wags,\u201d a camp counselor whose authority hides darker tensions. Edgerton also serves as producer under his Five Henrys banner.<\/p>\n

Rising stars Everett Blunck, Kayo Martin, and Kenny Rasmussen lead the ensemble as the campers caught in the film\u2019s escalating psychological storm. Blunck previously broke out in the 2024 comedy Griffin in Summer, while Martin \u2014 a skateboarder and boxer with over one million social media followers \u2014 makes his feature debut. Rasmussen, known for Chicago Med and Night Sky, plays the ostracized \u201cplague boy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"'The<\/p>\n

‘The Plague’ Independent Film Company<\/p>\n

Who’s behind the camera?<\/p>\n

Director Charlie Polinger makes his feature debut alongside longtime collaborator and cinematographer Steven Breckon, who shot the film on 35mm in Romania.<\/p>\n

The creative team also includes editors Henry Hayes (Cha Cha Real Smooth) and Simon Njoo (The Babadook), composer Johan Lenox (known for collaborations with A$AP Rocky and Travis Scott), and Emmy-winning sound designer Damian Volpe (The Lighthouse, The Northman).<\/p>\n

Producers include Lizzie Shapiro (Shiva Baby), Lucy McKendrick, Steven Schneider (Split, Watcher), Roy Lee (Barbarian, It), Derek Dauchy, and Joel Edgerton.<\/p>\n

\"'The<\/p>\n

‘The Plague’ Independent Film Company<\/p>\n

When will it be released?<\/p>\n

IFC will release The Plague exclusively in theaters in New York and Los Angeles on Dec. 24, expanding nationwide on Jan. 2.<\/p>\n

Best of Gold Derby<\/p>\n

Sign up for Gold Derby’s Newsletter<\/a>. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Click here to read the full article. <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Independent Film Company has unveiled the official trailer for The Plague, a coming-of-age thriller from director Charlie Polinger.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":276511,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[160336,64,63,160334,134,160333,78111,160330,160335,20227,160331,160332,344,70282],"class_list":["post-276510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-2025-cannes-film-festival","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-charlie-polinger","tag-entertainment","tag-everett-blunck","tag-gold-derby","tag-independent-film-company","tag-jake-kayo-martin","tag-joel-edgerton","tag-kayo-martin","tag-kenny-rasmussen","tag-movies","tag-the-plague"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=276510"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276510\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/276511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=276510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=276510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=276510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}