Alice Maio Mackay’s The Serpent’s Skin Drops New Trailer Ahead of March 27 Theatrical Opening
- Horror Movies Uncut
- Feb 27
- 2 min read
Alice Maio Mackay’s The Serpent’s Skin
Slithers Into Theaters March 27 — New Trailer Drops
At 21 years old, Alice Maio Mackay isn’t “emerging.”
She’s building a filmography.
Dark Star Pictures has released the new theatrical trailer and poster for The Serpent’s Skin, Mackay’s sixth feature — a supernatural queer romance thriller that blends 90s cult television energy with trans-forward genre storytelling. The film opens March 27 at the Alamo Drafthouse Downtown Brooklyn and April 3 at the Alamo Drafthouse DTLA as part of a Fantastic Fest Presents showcase, with Mackay and special guests attending opening nights.
If you’ve followed Mackay’s trajectory — from So Vam (released as a Shudder Original when she was just sixteen) to Bad Girl Boogey, T Blockers, Satranic Panic, and Carnage for Christmas — you already know she doesn’t approach horror as a novelty. She approaches it as identity.
The Serpent’s Skin centers on twentysomething Anna (Alexandra McVicker), who escapes her small, transphobic hometown to start over in the city with her sister. There, she reconnects with a mysterious young woman named Gen (Avalon Fast), someone she first encountered in visions. Gen possesses supernatural powers — powers Anna soon discovers she shares.
Magic becomes romance. Romance becomes danger.
When Gen inadvertently unleashes a demon through Danny (Jordan Dulieu), Anna’s former fling and neighbor, the threat begins targeting everyone close to them. What starts as connection spirals into possession, feeding on insecurities and vulnerability.
The trailer leans into mood — neon-lit intimacy, psychic tension, and a darker edge than some of Mackay’s earlier work. There’s clear affection for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Charmed, and early Gregg Araki, but it’s filtered through a distinctly trans lens. Mackay’s signature on-screen evocation — “A Transgender Film” — remains central to her approach, not as branding, but as authorship.
Co-written with longtime collaborator Benjamin Pahl Robinson, the film showcases palpable chemistry between McVicker and Fast, whose performances ground the supernatural chaos in emotional authenticity. Behind the scenes, the project unites a wave of queer and trans creative voices, including Executive Producer Louise Weard (Castration Movie), Editor Vera Drew (The People’s Joker), and Colorist Jessica Dunn Rovinelli (So Pretty).
Mackay’s ascent hasn’t been accidental. Her 2023 film T Blockers earned her the Emerging Talent Award from Outfest L.A., and her festival run for The Serpent’s Skin — including Frameline, Beyond Fest, Fantasia, FrightFest, and NewFest — has only amplified the buzz.
This is her most ambitious work yet — larger in scope, darker in tone, but still deeply personal.
The Serpent’s Skin opens March 27 in New York and April 3 in Los Angeles.
Magic. Desire. Demons born from insecurity.
And a filmmaker who refuses to separate horror from identity.
Watch the new trailer now.
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