Shudder has acquired writer/director Isabel Paczad’s feature debut, Find Your Friends. The film stars Bella Thorne (Divinity), Chloe Cherry (Euphoria), Helena Howard (Madeline’s Madeline), Sophia Ali (Uncharted), and Zion Moreno (Gossip Girl). “Find Your Friends” will be released on Shudder on June 12th.
Amber and her four best friends flee Los Angeles for a girls’ trip to Joshua Tree, only to find they are not welcome in a hostile desert town. As contact with the locals becomes more dangerous, resentment within the group begins to surface. Their vacation soon spirals into an intense struggle for control and survival.
In an interview with Variety, Pakzad said he was inspired to make the film after a frightening experience he had while on a Joshua Tree-like vacation with friends.
“Of course, the Airbnb was a dead end, so I pulled out of the driveway and there was a green Mustang waiting outside on the street,” she said. “He turned on his lights, turned his car around, and pulled me into a dead end. Immediately I knew something was wrong…this was premeditated, something was wrong. On a hunch, I just got in the car and drove around him — right on the grass next door — and sped off. But then it turned into a 160 mph car chase on the Joshua Tree Expressway where he swerved into my car and tried to run me off the road. We called the police, but they didn’t respond. Eventually, he saw a car in the distance and started honking his horn for help, but he ended up turning around. But it was the scariest 7 minutes of my life. ”
“‘Find Your Friends’ had its world premiere as one of the headliners at the Fantasia Film Festival, as well as the Toronto International Film Festival as one of the 10 Industry Select films, followed by its U.S. premiere at Fantastic Fest. The deal includes rights in North America, the UK, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Australia and New Zealand.”
Pakzad is an Iranian-Greek American filmmaker, writer, and actor. The 2022 short film Don’t Worry, which she directed, wrote and starred in, had official screenings at the Raindance Film Festival and Holy Shorts, and won Best Short Film at the LA Film Festival. Previously, Pakzad produced and starred alongside Chris Bauer, Virginia Gardner, Brian Mark and Will Peltz in the independent feature film Tena, which had its world premiere. Taormina Film Festival in June 2025.
“The Defenders of Horror refuses to play by the rules and is in the business of challenging everything we think young women should be in genre films. My hope was to make a film that audiences felt was raw, unapologetic and daring. I’m so grateful to be able to partner with them. I couldn’t think of a more perfect home for Find Your Friends,” said Pakzad.
“We’re thrilled to share Find Your Friends, a visceral film that begins as an escape to the rugged beauty of the desert and quickly descends into a fascinating struggle where paranoia, resentment and survival collide,” said Emily Gott, Shudder’s senior vice president of acquisitions and production. “Audiences should prepare for an intensely emotional experience that reimagines the Final Girl trope.”
“Find Your Friends” is produced by Alison Friedman, Andrea Iervolino, Luca Matrandola, Monica Bacardi, Gary Michael Walters, and Pakzad. Thorne will serve as executive producer. The deal was negotiated by Shudder with CAA on behalf of the filmmakers. WTFilms will handle international sales.
Here’s the special clip:
