Don’t Kill Loretta Boards The Playmaker Ahead of 2027 Release

A remote forest retreat turns deadly in Oliver Kienle’s Don’t Kill Loretta. / Courtesy of X Filme Creative Pool, Dor Film / Variety

‘Don’t Kill Loretta’ Lands International Sales as Oliver Kienle Preps English-Language Horror Debut

A new forest-set horror project is gaining momentum as The Playmaker boards Don’t Kill Loretta, the upcoming supernatural feature from Oliver Kienle, marking his first English-language film.

Best known for the acclaimed series Bad Banks and Netflix’s Sixty Minutes, Kienle shifts into horror with a suspense-driven story set deep within Germany’s forests—leaning into isolation, psychological tension, and physical transformation.

The film follows a group of young Americans from the beauty and fashion world attending a remote wellness retreat. What begins as a night of indulgence quickly spirals into something far more dangerous after they encounter a presence in the woods. Initially dismissed as hallucination, the threat becomes real as one of them begins to undergo disturbing physical changes—triggering a fight for survival.

The cast includes Kudakwashe Rutendo, George Ferrier, Sharahya Carter, Leonie Wesselow, Lily Mo Sheen, and Timothy Innes—a young international lineup positioned to carry the film’s ensemble-driven tension.

Production is backed by X Filme Creative Pool and DOR Film, in co-production with ZDF and Erfttal Film. Distribution is already lined up regionally, with X Verleih handling Germany and Filmladen covering Austria. A theatrical release is currently targeted for early 2027.

Behind the scenes, the project brings in notable effects talent, including Twilight Creations (The Matrix Resurrections, Game of Thrones, All Quiet on the Western Front) and Atelier Braunhofer (Babylon Berlin), suggesting a practical-forward approach to the film’s body horror elements.

The Playmaker is expected to launch the film to international buyers at Cannes, positioning Don’t Kill Loretta as a contemporary genre entry with clear nods to early 2000s horror—an era defined by ensemble casts, escalating paranoia, and physical stakes.

Kienle’s track record spans multiple genres, from award-winning features like Stronger Than Blood to global streaming successes. With Don’t Kill Loretta, he pivots into a more aggressive tonal space—blending psychological breakdown with supernatural threat in a contained, high-pressure environment.

As production continues to build toward its 2027 release window, the project is shaping up as a notable entry in the current wave of international horror—where location, atmosphere, and transformation drive the experience as much as the narrative itself.