Red Christmas star Dee Wallace played the mother in E.T more than 30 years ago.
Craig Anderson's Indie Aussie horror feature debut Red Christmas, starring Dee Wallace (E.T, Cujo) will have its world premiere at Sydney Film Festival.
Anderson is an award-winning director best known for television (Black Comedy, Double the Fist).
His debut feature, Red Christmas, is a horror film about abortion and will receive its world premiere at Sydney Film Festival in June as part of the Freak Me Out program.
Red Christmas tells the story of a mother who must defend her family from a deranged killer on Christmas day.
Unbeknown to her, the killer is her son who survived an abortion twenty years earlier and was raised by an extremist who bombed the clinic.
American actress, Wallace, who most audiences will know as the mum in Steven Spielberg’s E.T, will also star in the film.
Horror fans will recognise her from films such as The Howling and Peter Jackson’s The Frighteners.
Co-starring with Wallace is Australian actor, Geoff Morrell.
The supporting cast is made up of some of Australia’s best comedic talent, taking a dramatic turn to bring Anderson’s dark vision to life.
The cast includes David Collins (one half of The Umbilical Brothers), Sarah Bishop (Active Wear), Janis McGavin (Comedy Inc), Bjorn Stewart (Black Comedy), Gerard O’Dwyer (Be My Brother, Tropfest 2009) and Sam Campbell, winner of Best Newcomer at the Sydney Comedy festival, 2015.
Anderson took two years to complete the script, doing academic research and interviewing men and women of all ages and backgrounds who had varying experiences and opinions on abortion.
Anderson said abortion was a subject that hadn't been explored widely in horror film, "despite the genre’s ability to tackle challenging subjects.
"What I've tried to present is a question rather than an answer."
Sydney Film Festival Freak Me Out guest programmer, Richard Kuipers said high quality Christmas themed horror had been glaring omission in Australia's distinguished cinematic history.
"Not any more! Clever, scary, grisly and witty, Red Christmas is a cracking good Oz-horror and I can't wait for it to Freak 'em Out at Sydney Film Festival’.
Written and directed by Craig Anderson, produced by Craig Anderson, Belinda King and Bryan Moses and starring Dee Wallace, Red Christmas is screening at Sydney Film Festival on June 11 at 8.30pm; at Dendy Newtown and June 17 at 8.15pm at Event Cinemas, George Street.