STARSUCKERS SET TO DESCEND ON LONDON FOR FRIGHTFEST WORLD PREMIERE

STARSUCKERS, the darkly satirical new thriller from Canadian independent filmmakers Brett and Jason Butler, is set to make its World Premiere at FrightFest 2026 in London, with stars Manon Ens-Lapointe (The Last Anniversary) and James Alex joining the filmmakers for the premiere.

Taking aim at celebrity culture, blind ambition and our fascination with fame, STARSUCKERS will premiere during FrightFest’s August Bank Holiday event, running August 27–31, 2026 at ODEON Cinemas Leicester Square and West End, followed by an additional screening at FrightFest @ the Arzner on Saturday, September 5.

Ens-Lapointe, Alex, Brett Butler and Jason Butler will all be in attendance in London and available for interviews surrounding the World Premiere.

STARSUCKERS introduces celebrity power couple Bjorg Everglow (James Alex) and Sasha Nightshade (Manon Ens-Lapointe), two larger-than-life personalities who invite a “normal” couple into their rarefied world through a contest promising an unforgettable weekend at a private cottage retreat.

Chuck and Eileen are the lucky winners.

They arrive ready to experience the luxury, access, and excess that come with spending a weekend alongside two people accustomed to being watched, admired, and desired. But as the carefully constructed celebrity fantasy begins to slip, their dream weekend starts becoming something else entirely.

What Bjorg and Sasha really have planned is best left for FrightFest audiences to discover.

Darkly funny, provocative and increasingly unpredictable, STARSUCKERS plays with the peculiar hold celebrities can have over people and how quickly admiration can cloud judgment when you’ve finally been invited beyond the velvet rope.

The film puts Manon Ens-Lapointe and James Alex in the spotlight as Bjorg and Sasha, giving the two emerging performers outsized roles as the celebrity couple driving the film’s increasingly strange weekend.

Ens-Lapointe reunites with The Butler Brothers following her appearance in their recent feature, The Last Anniversary, in which she takes on a very different character as Sasha Nightshade.

Alex plays Bjorg Everglow, Sasha’s charismatic other half, in a performance that introduces the rising actor to FrightFest’s international genre audience.

Together, Ens-Lapointe and Alex have the opportunity to make a considerable impression as STARSUCKERS reaches audiences in London for the first time.

The cast also includes Steven Hobé (How Disney Built America), Jersey Anderson and Jacob Stickles.

For Brett and Jason Butler, the FrightFest World Premiere adds another international chapter to a remarkably prolific period of independent filmmaking.

Through their production company, Substance Production, and distribution label, Tiny Cabin Pictures, the brothers have directed, written, and produced ten feature films, while producing or executive producing another five.

Their catalog also shows how little interest the filmmakers have in being confined to one type of movie. Their work spans horror, thriller, dark comedy, drama, and documentary, including films such as Purgatory Jack, The Last Anniversary, and Unfriending.

Their films have screened internationally and reached audiences through Amazon Prime, Tubi, Apple TV, Roku Channel, Plex, Hollywood Suite, Fawesome, Revry, Xumo and other platforms and territories.

With STARSUCKERS, The Butler Brothers turn their attention to the currency of celebrity itself. The film looks at the attraction of fame, the privilege attached to it, and what can happen when ordinary people are given the chance to enter a world they’ve previously only experienced from the outside.

The film’s first official trailer was recently premiered exclusively by Rue Morgue Magazine, giving audiences their first taste of the film while keeping its many turns under wraps.

Now the countdown is on for FrightFest and the World Premiere of STARSUCKERS.

Founded in 2000, FrightFest has become one of the international genre film community’s major annual gatherings, bringing filmmakers and audiences from around the world to London for horror, fantasy, thriller and genre cinema.

STARSUCKERS
WORLD PREMIERE – FRIGHTFEST 2026
August 27–31, 2026
ODEON Cinemas Leicester Square & West End
London, UK

Additional Screening
FrightFest @ the Arzner
Saturday, September 5, 2026